Colin’s Film Journal

Movie Poster

My mixed feelings on the fourth Indiana Jones installment are beginning to err on the side of caution now. There are many things I like about reports on the new film; the Mayan setting, the fact that Indy is back for one last adventure and even the enthusiasm of the cast and crew. However, there are things that are causing me concern - George Lucas for one, whether Ford is too old for the role now and the lastly the gastly rumoured ’sci-fi’ elements.

For those that aren’t ‘in the know’, the Crystal Skulls of the title are supposedly based on some hotly debated artefacts, the most famous of which was allegedly discovered in 1926 by Anna Le Guillon Mitchell-Hedges. There are many rumours regarding the authenticity of the ‘Mitchell-Hedges’ skull, but it is still somewhat of a mystery. The ‘real’ skulls are anatomically correct copies of the human skull made out of solid crystal - anyone would think this enough to write an exciting Indy adventure. Alas, it seems that instead these fascinating skulls have been shelved and instead we have a very ‘alien’ looking crystal skull in it’s place. While legal threats have seen images of the film skull taken off the ‘net, the poster above shows this so called skull in the background.

Indy has always been on far-fetched adventures, but they have always been resolutely grounded on Earth with our own legends and stories providing the back story. I just don’t like the idea of aliens (even dead ones) making it into the mix…