Harrison Ford Defends ‘Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull’ Hate: “Where Are Those Critics Now?”

Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones” franchise is generally well-beloved, and yes, it has its mystical, supernatural, and paranormal elements—see the end of “Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade” or even, hell, the end of “Raiders Of The Lost Ark.” Geez, there were all kinds of wild iterations that almost made it to the screen like “Indiana Jones and the Saucermen from Mars,” Frank Darabont’s “Indiana Jones and The City of The Gods,” but for whatever reason, the alien elements in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull,” were a bridge too far for most audiences. The film famously “nuked the fridge,” a modern-day analogy for “jumping the shark,” and audiences at the time generally thought the film’s disregard of realism in favor of wild fantasy was just too much.

Well, in a new THR cover story with Harrison Ford discussing things like the “Yellowstone” spin-off “1923” and the upcoming “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” due in theaters this summer, the iconic actor has come to defend the much-maligned ‘Crystal Skull.’

Asked about the heavy reproach that critics brought to ‘Crystal Skull,’ Ford responded with, “Where are they now?” [editorial note; look at Rotten Tomatoes, and most of those prominent critics are still here and still writing]

“[The critics] were harsh on it, but what are they doing now?” Ford continued. “I understand. But those were their rules — not [director Steven Spielberg’s and co-writer George Lucas’] rules. They were imposing their rules on what the movie should be. I don’t feel it’s necessary to address those issues. I think that everyone has a right to their opinion. The film was not as successful as we wanted it to be, perhaps. But it didn’t create an attitude or a behavior that carried over into this film.”

Ford seems to be talking about the fantasy vs. realism debate, and one could argue the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise always balanced both. “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” is very much a gritty action-adventure film, but in the end, spirits fly out of the Ark of the Covenant and melt a ton of Nazis. “Temple Of Doom” showed the harsh conditions of slaves in 1930s India but also featured Mola Ram, a Thuggee priest who performed rites of human sacrifices and even plucked the hearts out of his victims while they were still alive. ‘Last Crusade’ was the same, but then ended with the fountain of youth and ancient knights that had been dead for centuries. But overall, it was realism with a small dose of wild fantasy and mysticism.

So, while that element and that mix were always there, Ford seems to suggest that critics’ and audiences’ rules dictated that the fantasy vs. realism special sauce was out of wack but that Spielberg and Lucas were always the keepers of those rules, so tough. Frankly, I don’t think audiences were too wrong, and the alien components are maybe the least of ‘Crystal Skulls’ problems. It’s a film that just pushed the boundaries of the realism that had grounded the series up until then, just too far, misjudging the careful mix of illusory and practicality. Ford can think they’re wrong all he wants; it’s his prerogative as much as it is the audience. But hell, even Spielberg has been critical of that film, felt using Nazis again wasn’t the smartest move, and has always spoken about that film with a sense of regret.

It should be noted that the film’s screenwriter David Koepp never loved the alien ending either. “I was never happy with the idea,” he said on the Script Apart podcast last year. “When I came on, I tried to convince [director Steven Spielberg and franchise co-creator George Lucas] to change it – I had this other idea. They didn’t want to change it. I’m not saying mine would’ve been better, but I think that a lot of the pushback that movie got, in a larger sense aside from little things people might not have liked — that were too silly or whatever— the larger one was that [fans said] ‘We don’t feel like aliens should’ve been in an Indiana Jones movie.’ Fair enough, in retrospect, you’re probably right [laughs].”