Throughout Hollywood history, there have only been a handful of film franchises that have truly been embraced by the masses. After all, a movie series has to be truly beloved to be compared to other film franchises like the MCU, Star Wars, Fast and Furious, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.
Luckily for everyone involved in the making of the Indiana Jones franchise, virtually everyone would agree that most of those movies have become truly beloved. In fact, some film fans consider Indiana Jones to be the best character in cinematic history.
Of course, anyone that is familiar with the Indiana Jones franchise will likely be fully aware that the last movie in the series to date is far from beloved. Instead, almost all of the franchise’s most vocal fans have massive problems with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Amazingly enough, even one of that movie’s stars, Shia LaBeouf, has been vocal about the problems with it and why he blames himself for some of them.
Shia’s Perspective
Given how incredibly popular the Indiana Jones film franchise has been over the years, landing a notable role in the series is the kind of thing that most young actors would dream of. For that reason alone, we can only imagine how excited Shia LaBeouf was when he was hired to star in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. After all, his character played a major role in that film and it eventually gets revealed that he is Indiana Jones’ son so there were hopes that he would go on to headline the franchise.
After Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released and it became clear that most fans of the franchise were very disappointed by it, many people started pointing fingers. When it comes to Shia LaBeouf, however, during a 2010 interview with the LA Times he made it clear that he felt like everyone involved in the movie dropped the ball.
Speaking about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull‘s most famed actor, LaBeouf said that the acting veteran was aware of how poorly the film turned out. "We [Harrison Ford and LaBeouf] had major discussions. He wasn't happy with it either. Look, the movie could have been updated. There was a reason it wasn't universally accepted."
Going on to speak about the man that helmed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Shia LaBeouf spoke about Steven Speilberg with great reverence while also being forthright. "I'll probably get a call. But he needs to hear this. I love him. I love Steven. I have a relationship with Steven that supersedes our business work. And believe me, I talk to him often enough to know that I'm not out of line. And I would never disrespect the man. I think he's a genius, and he's given me my whole life. He's done so much great work that there's no need for him to feel vulnerable about one film. But when you drop the ball you drop the ball."
Looking Inward
Unlike a lot of people that like to avoid blame when things go wrong, when talking about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Shia LaBeouf saves the most cutting criticism for himself.
"I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished." Continuing, LaBeouf then addressed one of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s most maligned sequences. "You get to monkey-swinging and things like that and you can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on Steven [Spielberg]. But the actor's job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn't do it. So that's my fault. Simple."
Steven Speilberg’s Take
For his part, when Steven Spielberg talked to an Empire Magazine interviewer about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he said he is “happy with the movie”. After making that statement, he went on to say he never loved the alien reveal at the end but that was George Lucas’ idea and he was going to remain loyal to his friend. From there, he threw himself under the bus by saying that one of the movie’s worst sequences was his idea.
“What people really jumped at was Indy climbing into a refrigerator and getting blown into the sky by an atom-bomb blast. Blame me. Don’t blame George. That was my silly idea. People stopped saying “jump the shark”. They now say, ‘nuked the fridge’. I’m proud of that. I’m glad I was able to bring that into popular culture.”
No matter what Steven Spielberg has said about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it is interesting to note that he has opted against helming its upcoming sequel. Instead, James Mangold is set to direct Indiana Jones V which is something many film fans are excited about. At least, that is the plan for the film, assuming the movie gets made at all.
