Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[S. Thompson]

Anyone see this yet? I'm going tonight at 10:30p. My expectations are on the middle of the road. I normally put zero stock in what reviewers say, but I have seen a few reviews saying this film won't live up to the hype. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Thoughts?

- Fuzmeister

[mrandyk]

I went last night at midnight because some friends invited me and I had nothing else to do. I have never seen any of the Indiana Jones movies, so I didnt know what to expect.

The movie is quite entertaining right away, the action scenes along the way were pretty cool, but the story seemed quite lacking throughout the movie. But they worked the whole movie towards a goal they hardly achieve, and the way the main villain is taken out of the movie was pretty dumb. One thing that got on my nerves a lot during the movie was Indiana Jones's new partner (dont want to say who it is, might ruin it for some people), he was just so overly ambitious and taking over the show.

In the other movies does he survive completely everything? Because in this movie he actually survives the nuclear bomb testing in Nevada back in 1957. And is Mack in the other movies? I kind of feel like checking the first three movies out because I am sure they are probably a lot better than this one.

[mrandyk]

whoops, double post.

[S. Thompson]

In "Raiders of the Lost Ark" he gets hurt pretty badly like half-way through. He's never entirely invincible, but probably close to it.

Mac is a new character for this film.

Definitely check out the first three if you've never seen them. They're fun movies.

- Fuzmeister

[Luriden]

I haven't seen it yet, but is it really necessary to have the Disturbia kid in the movie? He can't act for shit.

[Covar]

Its Indiana Jones so I'm not expecting high quality cinema here. As long as its as entertaining as the originals I'll be happy (I'm seeing it Saturday).

Also Raiders of the Lost Arc is by far the best of the movies.

[toastman]

My favorite Indiana Jones film is Temple of Doom. Probably because it was the first one I watched, but I've always enjoyed it the most.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is probably the worst of the Indiana Jones movies to date. But, it does have a pretty high bar to to try and reach, so saying it is the worst Indiana Jones movie just means that it is the weakest of four good films.

That's right, it's good. After 19 years, Harrison Ford is still able to slip into the character easily. The story and script could have used some work. But between Spielberg and Ford, they manage to keep Lucas from imprinting too much suck on it. I really don't want to go into too much since I believe everyone should go check it out, so I'll stop here and go off on a couple of related thoughts.

Kingdom is the quality of film that Phantom Menace should have been. Having seen this, I believe that Lucas might have been better served had he let someone else fix his story and direct the prequel films. Hell, Kingdom is even better than Revenge of the Sith (not bad, but gets dragged down by its predecessors). The main reason I mention this is that Lucas said that Kingdom wouldn't be able to please anybody based on fans' reception of the prequel trilogy. No, the prequels were received poorly because they were poor.

Also, watch "Wristcutters: A Love Story", oddly funny.

[gamedudex2]

mac is a new character, he is rumored to eventally be indys son and replace harrision ford, but that wont happen til indy 7 or 8. so far hes signed to indy 7 and ford is signed u to 6 so far.

[mrandyk]

mac is a new character, he is rumored to eventally be indys son and replace harrision ford, but that wont happen til indy 7 or 8. so far hes signed to indy 7 and ford is signed u to 6 so far.

There are going to be more of these movies? That does not sound like a good idea at all, they shouldnt have even made the fourth one.

I think that you have Mac mixed up with Mutt. Mac is an old guy, Mutt is a teenager who turns out to be Henry Jones III. And if he is going to replace Ford, then this series is going to flat out suck. He just isnt Indiana Jones, at best he is the equivalent to what Robin is to Batman.

[gamedudex2]

mac is a new character, he is rumored to eventally be indys son and replace harrision ford, but that wont happen til indy 7 or 8. so far hes signed to indy 7 and ford is signed u to 6 so far.

There are going to be more of these movies? That does not sound like a good idea at all, they shouldnt have even made the fourth one.

I think that you have Mac mixed up with Mutt. Mac is an old guy, Mutt is a teenager who turns out to be Henry Jones III. And if he is going to replace Ford, then this series is going to flat out suck. He just isnt Indiana Jones, at best he is the equivalent to what Robin is to Batman.

ya sorry, didnt see the new one yet though

[Mattiethomas]

I saw it at midnight with a lot of friends and I have to say, I wasn't sure what to expect. I did enjoy it though. Somehow the style/camering in the beginning stood out from a lot of other movies. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed that. story was indeed a little weak, but I think it was made up for in the action and dealing with Indy and Mudd. Am I the only one that thinks Shia LaBouf did a good job in the movie? And for the record, I doubt they have even announced on making any of the movies past #5.

[gamedudex2]

I saw it at midnight with a lot of friends and I have to say, I wasn't sure what to expect. I did enjoy it though. Somehow the style/camering in the beginning stood out from a lot of other movies. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed that. story was indeed a little weak, but I think it was made up for in the action and dealing with Indy and Mudd. Am I the only one that thinks Shia LaBouf did a good job in the movie? And for the record, I doubt they have even announced on making any of the movies past #5.

they both signed on for sequels, with ford up to 6 and labuf up to 7

[S. Thompson]

The last 15 minutes annoyed me.

- Fuzmeister

[mrandyk]

The last 15 minutes annoyed me.

- Fuzmeister

I agree. The way the main villain was taken out, the whole scene where they run out of the ruins, and the part where their whole adventure was for nearly nothing were all quite annoying.

[S. Thompson]

The last 15 minutes annoyed me.

- Fuzmeister

I agree. The way the main villain was taken out, the whole scene where they run out of the ruins, and the part where their whole adventure was for nearly nothing were all quite annoying.

I loved the whole first half of the film and it felt like a worthy addition to the franchise, but it seemed like the ending was rushed.

Did anyone else think the "treasure" at the end was a rip-off of National Treasure?

- Fuzmeister

[Lartrak]

they both signed on for sequels, with ford up to 6 and labuf up to 7

Link?

Its Indiana Jones so I'm not expecting high quality cinema here.

I would say the first three are high quality - why wouldn't you expect more?

I haven't seen it yet, but is it really necessary to have the Disturbia kid in the movie? He can't act for shit.

He's about as good in this film as the script allows. I can't find any real fault with him in this film. And on a side note, I think a lot of people hate Shia for irrational reasons.

the part where their whole adventure was for nearly nothing were all quite annoying.

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Since you haven't seen the first three, it's worth noting that this actually keeps it in line with the other films. Well, except for Temple of Doom. I would say it is the MOST extreme in Raiders. Essentially, the only worthwhile thing he does in Raiders and Last Crusade is kill Nazis and save a couple people he cares about (which, in the end, is his main goal, and rightly so). The main quests in the film are essentially doomed from the start.

But yeah, I thought the ending was a bit meh for other reasons.

On the whole, the film is entertaining. Ford is as good in it as in every other film. Karen Allen is also quite good, though her dialogue varies a lot in quality. My main problem with the film is probably a lack of tension in most of the scenes. Some of it is just too comfortable, untense and even silly for its own good (the snake scene for instance). The whole quest with the crystal skull is definitely the least interesting of the three.

One thing I did quite like is how old school the film is in a lot of ways. The way it is filmed, composed and edited is basically the same as the other films. I'm surprised many people don't find it too slow for this reason, in the age of hyper editing.

Still, I was entertained. I'd give it a 7/10. The other films are in the 8 to 9 area.

[lackofsense]

The last 15 minutes annoyed me.

- Fuzmeister

I agree. The way the main villain was taken out, the whole scene where they run out of the ruins, and the part where their whole adventure was for nearly nothing were all quite annoying.

I loved the whole first half of the film and it felt like a worthy addition to the franchise, but it seemed like the ending was rushed.

Did anyone else think the "treasure" at the end was a rip-off of National Treasure?

- Fuzmeister

they started the second to last roll backwards and upside down in the theater I was in.

[MulletMan13]

I was totally satisfied with the movie. I see it as better than Temple of Doom (which I hated). I really don't see what the fuss was about, and how people hated it so much. What were they expecting?

Oh, and the monkey seen was just plain stupid.

[JuddWack]

There are a lot of mixed feelings about this movie. The first 3 are some of my favorite movies ever. For me, this movie fell short BIG TIME. There were so many unbelievable stunts that would never have made it into the first movies. And the way they tied in Indy's fear of snakes... terrable. I did feel it was entertaining as a Hollywood action movie but I'm sorry to see it as the forth movie in what was my favorite trilogy.

[DuffMan]

Personally, I think the story totally sucked. The first half of the film was cool, and the part I enjoyed the most was when Indy and Mutt went in search of skull. That first hour was very creepy to me when they went to the graveyard following (Ox's)? trail. It all went downhill after they found the skull and wanted to return it. The stunts they did were ridiculously stupid: Monkey Scene? Wtf Giant ant scene? Wtf. And when I found out exactly where the skull came from, I wanted to leave the theater. Stupidest. Plot. Ever.

I don't like Mutt, stupid character.

To be less harsh, the movie was entertaining, but it was a huge let down for me. George Lucas should never write another movie again.