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Whether it was Tony Stark’s arms-dealing past, or Bruce Wayne’s vigilantism, the blockbuster gloss covered a much more cynical narrative, with an internal tussle over the legitimacy of their actions. The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Quantum of Solace all premiered in 2008, and centred on characters who fought for “good” in a much murkier way than Jones.
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There is a shade more cynicism within Crystal Skull, particularly through the triple-crossing Mac, but the reality is that the film remains clearcut, despite being released into a cinematic landscape where blockbusters had decided upon the moral ambiguity of their protagonists as the central thematic tension. Things were cleanly black and white, with Indy struggling for a just cause, and his opponents heavily dabbling in evil. One of the joys of the original Jones films was their simplistic moral compass. This lampooning continues into the college bar fight, in which two “tribes” go to war like a scene from West Side Story (a remake of which is Spielberg’s next release, of course). You can pick up Spielberg’s glee in quite literally blowing up the “nuclear family” and contrasting America’s postwar prim-and-properness with something much more grim. While many look at that fridge scene as a 21st-century version of “jumping the shark”, it bookends a tense, pacy opening. As such, Cate Blanchett’s scenery-chewing Irina Spalko is perfectly placed, as is Ray Winstone’s lively portrayal of the slippery George “Mac” Michale. There’s something satisfying about two of Hollywood’s most influential creatives caricaturing the pervasive McCarthyite Red Fear that gripped America during the 50s. Entering adolescence in 1958, their formative years were tangled in the pastiche view of the Soviet Union that the film portrays. It’s a film set during what would have been a memorable time for both Spielberg and Lucas. True, the CGI is far from flawless, but any allusions to Mutt (or Henry Jones III) inheriting the hat and whip from his newly revealed father are more playful than profound. The main criticisms levelled at Crystal Skull are ones that afflict many modern blockbusters namely a sketchy use of CGI and a lingering gaze on the franchise’s future.