They say all good things come to those who wait. And for
those of us who have been waiting some 18 years for another
adventure starring the one and only Indiana Jones, the wait is
nearly over.
Only seven days from now, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull" will roll into theaters, sure to be
one of the summer’s biggest hits, sure to entice a whole new
generation of fans to celebrate this rough-and-tumble,
gritty-and-grimy archaeologist hero.
So what is it about this guy that tantalizes us so? More than
Bruce Willis’ tough-talking John McClane from the "Die
Hard" franchise, more than the suave martini sipper James
Bond, there is something about Indiana Jones - as played by
Harrison Ford - that makes him an indelible American hero.
I think it’s because he’s scrappy.
He’s not the smartest, not the toughest, not the most sexy,
but he does the best with what he’s got, and keeps showing up
the bad guys who keep underestimating him. All of which, of
course, does make him smart, and tough and sexy. It’s more
than he’s not playing a part; Indy is who he is, and is better
at being himself than almost anyone else is in playing the part
of Nazi, treasure plunderer or government agent.
A look at his journey thus far:
"Raiders of the Lost Ark"
1981
Box office: $209 million
Grade: 4 stars out of 4
Not many people know this, but "Raiders" marked the
first time that director Steven Spielberg - already the
wunderkind behind "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of
the Third Kind" - was nominated for a best director Oscar.
And I think there’s something appropriate about all this,
that it wasn’t with the terrifying spectacle of the shark
thriller, or the otherworldly effects of the alien invasion
film, that made people hail Spielberg - not so much as a guy
with a hat and a whip, running around the jungle.
It’s fitting, because that’s what drew Spielberg, and
executive producer George Lucas, and star Harrison Ford, to this
material in the first place: its sheer simplicity. They weren’t
trying to make a blockbuster of the new, post-"Star
Wars" world order, but a decidedly old fashioned epic of
cowboys versus the Indiana (only this time around it was
free-world archaeologists against the imperialist Nazis.)
"Raiders" is still truly the masterpiece of fusion,
bringing together rip-roaring adventure with religious
mysticism, romantic frustrations and, above all, a marathon of
jokes. I can still recall the euphoria of Indiana, after
narrowly escaping from the rolling boulder and avoiding all the
arrows being fired in his direction, hopping aboard his water
plane and being terrified of the snake.
Or how about the scene in which Indiana faces down a
sword-toting attacker, patiently waiting for the other man to do
his dance of intimidation before shooting him dead in his tracks
with his superior technology?
Indiana knows how to fight, but won’t bother if he doesn’t
have to, and it’s that sort of lazy-smart paradox that made
"Raiders" so much fun.
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
1984
Box office: $179 million
Grade: 4 stars out of 4
In "The Temple of Doom," the laid-back good humor
of "Raiders" is tempered by a commitment to zany,
scary, bizarre, all-out action. If "Raiders" is one of
the great road adventures, then "Doom" is one of the
great fortress thrillers, with a dose of the macabre, the gonzo,
the gritty, all mixed up and allowed to explode onto the screen.
We go back to "Raiders" to laugh, and go back to
"Doom" to be excited.
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
1989
Box office: $197 million
Grade: 4 stars out of 4
Just about the time that Indiana Jones should be growing old,
he comes off feeling as fresh as ever, given the new foil of his
old man, a gruff and grouchy Sean Connery who only serves to
make Indiana more of an anti-hero. As he’s being criticized by
his pop, or finding himself thrown into a tizzy because dad’s
in trouble, we identify even more with this professor trying to
play the part of the wild west adventurer - trying to be the boy
who lives up to his daddy’s expectations.
With so many trilogies, it’s in the third chapter where
things hit a wall, where they lose grasp of what made the
franchise so unique to begin with. But something about the
addition in "Last Crusade" is inspired in its
absurdity. One would think he’d be given a helper, or a
younger counterpart - not an older traveling companion who would
mock him on his way.
One hopes that the changes waiting for us in "Crystal
Skull" are equally inspired - that Indiana will not
stumble, but will ride off into the sunset yet again as one of
the most creative and enjoyable big screen heroes ever created.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull" hits theaters next week. Read Steve Snyder’s
review next week in TimeOut.
