A moment nineteen years in the making has finally arrived- Indian Jones has returned to theaters. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the king and crown prince of milking a film and/or franchise for all its worth have collaborated on ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ a supernatural addition to the ranks of the beloved ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, the mediocre ‘Temple of Doom’, and buddy comedy-eske ‘Last Crusade’. Lucas in a recent interview with Vanity Fare said that he always wanted to continue the Indiana Jones saga but was waiting for the right archeological prize to jump start the movie making process. And indeed, he may have found the right artifact in the crystal skull as ‘Kingdom’ stands head and shoulders above his last revisit to a franchise, the Star Wars prequels.
Leave Them Wanting More
The old adage goes, ‘let sleeping dogs lie’. And many film fans would agree. Sometimes as much as everyone would love to see another ‘Star Wars’ film sometimes its better to go out on top as they say – leave them wanting more. There is too big a risk associated with revisiting a film or films years later. You risk alienating your devoted fans by ruining tarnishing the great cinematic piece of art you created all those years ago. And George Lucas of all people should be all too aware of that risk. Episodes I through III of ‘Star Wars’ have become a punch line – the black sheep of the Star Wars universe.
Indiana Jones Goes Forward
Lucas may have gotten lucky with Indiana Jones, however. And the one big difference that sets the Star Wars prequels and ‘Crystal Skull’ apart is that George Lucas went forward with the Indiana Jones trilogy, not back. He didn’t go back to a young Indiana and what made him into the man he was during the original trilogy. Part of that, of course, is due to the ‘Adventures of Young Indiana Jones’ television series and the film ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ which provided a flashback to Dr. Jones’ youth. People seemed to get just enough back story to be satisfied. After all they weren’t captivated by a young upstart but by an everyman who had become a reluctant hero – an archeologist version of Han Solo.
Star Wars Falls Back
The ‘Star Wars’ films on the other hand, went back and devoted an awful lot of time to a back story that frankly many people couldn’t have been all that interested in. While Darth Vader is undoubtedly one of the greatest villains in film history, no one was particularly interested in what catapulted him to the dark side. What people were interested in, however, was what a post-Vader universe held for Luke, Han and Leia. What happens next? It’s the question spurred by many an event that EVERYONE ALWAYS wants to know the answer to. So why wouldn’t Lucas have taken the next logical step and continued the sage from the end of ‘Return of the Jedi’ where the possibilities are endless? Why go back to a very structured and limited time frame to fill in blanks no one was that interested in defining in the first place?
The Wrap Up
And in the end this is the fundamental reason why despite mixed reviews ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ is the more successful trilogy revisit. Earnings aside, ‘Kingdom’ moves forward. Sure there are some unbelievable situations that are a little over the top even for Indy. But the film remembers where it came from and gives the franchise a logical place to go. Indiana still gets his butt kicked, gets the girl and manages to never lose sight of his prized fedora. And at the same time the movie doesn’t pretend he’s a superhero who will be around forever. We are introduced to Henry Jones III or Mutt who could definitely pick up the franchise where Indy left off. And wouldn’t it be great to see ‘The Last Crusade Part II’? Or maybe it's better, as they say, to let a sleeping dog lie.
