I've seen Crystal Skull twice already. I can say for sure that Last Crusade was my favorite. And I guess I can agree that Temple of Doom was worse than the original, Raiders. Right now I have this one rated the same as Temple of Doom. They are all action packed, which is their purpose, so my ratings aren't based on that. It comes down to I didn't like all the cheap rip-offs that were thrown in this one for fans. The movie felt dumbed waaaay down with references to American Graffiti, The Wild One, The Jungle Book, and Close Encounters. And why were cute fuzzy groundhogs and monkeys thrown in? The riddles and little mysteries in the story seemed obvious and yet the characters played dumb over and over. Lucas and Spielberg are again catering to their audiences' and their own childhood!
Before I start my review let me say I am a huge Indy fan and have been waiting for this movie for years.
Bad news first: Number 4 is the weakest of the Indy films. Good news : It is still great entertainment.
Let me explain further :
The Good :
Harrison Ford still IS Indiana Jones. He still has the magic to impersonate this character. You really see his efforts to make this film work. Great camera work and sets. Shia LaBoef is actually quite good and not annoying at all, he has some funny lines and scenes. I never regretted that he was in the movie. Some really good action scenes, esp. in the first half of the movie with believable stunts and not too much CGI, e.g. the motorbike chase or the Warehouse battle. Great! Humor was OK and most jokes worked for me (best : the quicksand scene).
The Bad :
John Hurt as Oxley looked like Dumbledore on Ecstasy. I didn't like his character very much and was glad when he finally became "sane" again. Problem was by then the movie was almost over. Sorry guys, Karen Allen. She was overacting too much, smiling and laughing all the way even during the deadliest action sequences like a soccer mum. We know she is tough and so but it never felt believable. Also he interaction and reunion with Ford seemed a bit forced. The Villains : Blanchet was OK, but not very menacing or intimidating. You never felt she was a threat to Indy. She was always behind him. Russians? Give me Nazis as adversaries any day. Ray Winstones character MAC was confusing and underdeveloped : "I am on your side, no wait I am a traitor, oh wait I am CIA, never mind I am a traitor again". WTF? Ant scene : Stolen straight from "The Mummy". Shame on you, Spielberg.
The Ugly :
Sorry, but the last third of the film was the pits. The jungle chase was far "over the top" action, I thought Indy and Mutt were human beings, not supermen. They pulled off moves and jumps that even Spiderman couldn't do. Nuclear explosion scene. OMG. How embarrassing, who came up with this idea? What was supposed to be funny only got howls of disbelieve and "Yeah right" from the audience. Indy survives a nuclear explosion in a fridge (!) and then is whirled away miles through the air, exits the fridge and walks off? Was Spielberg on drugs when he filmed this? Who on earth could survive such an explosion? I couldn't believe what I was seeing! The story. Not very suspenseful. Aliens? They waited 19 years for this script? I believe almost anything would have been better. At least the Aliens only appear during the last minutes.
All in all a small disappointment but still a watchable Indy movie. I think "less would have been more" in this case. More believable stunts and a better script and the movie would have rocked. I blame Spielberg and Lucas. Kudos to Ford.
Wow, what a spectacle. The characters were thin, the plot was ludicrously contrived, and it used a lot of shorthand (e.g. "you know what this series is about, right? yeah. well, you can fill in the blanks as we go about our cuts and jumps."). the romance shtick was particularly absurd - cringe-inducing at times. nonetheless, the spectacle, as a whole, wasn't unpleasant. harrison ford was more charming than the other flix aside from Last Crusade maybe. the effects were, at times, breathtaking, despite the ridiculous storyline that spawned them. and shia trebouffe was aight. the whole thing was a bit more meta than i expected, and not necessarily in a way that seemed intentional. overall, make sure to set your expectations appropriately before you see this. hey, it's no Temple of Doom. what a travesty that installment was.
Keep in mind, I've never LOVED Indy. I think more than anything I admire the love that Lucas and Spielberg have for Indy and the era, and the genre. No one else ever really tried to make something like this. Like most people, my favorite would be the first in the series. Regarding this particular installment, I continue to like it. I wasn't expect to love it or hate and so my expectations were fulfilled. I didn't think Shia was brought in to just be young blood - he had a purpose. It was a natural follow-up to the third one, making Indy the old man. I enjoyed how time has passed naturally, placing this in the 50's and all that comes with that. It was nice to see a little bit of Lucas's American Graffiti days thrown in the mix. Overall, I appreciate the effort, liked the movie, but never got caught up in it.
It was a pretty good movie although it is not nearly as good as the other Indie movies. This movie had some descent action scenes and humor like the others in the series but it definately was a let down. I think that the crystal skull idea was kind of strange a better artifact could have made the movie better. probably the second worst Indie movie.
Over-the-top pulp fiction action sequences and of course the obvious tie-in to the original movie. This movie was long overdue and welcome now that it's here. What I love most about the Jones movies is the way they take you back to the impossible but heroic heroes of pulp days. In an age w/o real heroes on fiction, Indianna Jones is MOST welcome in this sequel. Nice way to intorduce thenew Jr. too. ALMOST time to hand over the hat ... but not quite yet. ;)
Yep, he's back and he still got the touch with that whip...he's still affraid of snakes...great action adventure and Cate Blanchett is a perfect russian bad guy! :)
I still enjoyed it despite the fact it was a little "out there" for an Indy story. Quite a few nods and winks for the fans. Although some fans maybe underwhelmed or disappointed with this movie,
It was a good film and Harrison Ford is still able to act Indiana Jones. The bad thing was the plot, I didn't like the whole alien thing. I am waiting for the next I.J.
meni se svidija film. ima nekih pretjeranih scena, al ajd.. inace su misljenja podijeljena. neki kazu da je smece jer je unisteno remek djelo iz 80ih a neki kazu da je super jer je u njegovom stilu. meni je drag <3
We all love Indy, I can't think of a person who does not treasure the first three films as a gem of their childhood. This one is good, but far from great. One of the bad aspects is that Indy has a crew of like 5 people and what we really want to see is only him in action. At first Mutt is a good addition, but later he feels expandable (maybe they are trying to create a franchise on his figure.) Also, the "REDS" are not as good enemies as the NAZIS, the germans really crept me out, while I could concentrate in seeing Cate Blanchett as a villian, she is damn hot with that hair cut. I hope they make another so they have a chance to right the wrongs of this one, but anyway it is quite good, or maybe I just can't think of it as a bad movie.
ive seen it and i like it bcoz it has shia and i was always in love with indiana jones but its not like the old jones ive seen this is a bit boring for me
It was tres cool to have the opportunity to actually see Indiana back in action at the cinema, as I was too young to do so the first 3 times round, Most of the movie was flawlessly executed, apart from the heavy over useage of CGI, and sadly I was a little disappointed that it was essentially at the heart an alien flick somewhat like X.Files episode... But Harrison was awesome and I was pleasantly surprised with the performance from Shia La Beouf (spelling?) of Transformers fame, as Indie's Son! Plenty of the usual action and comedy C/O Indie's one liners.
I've always loved the indy movies. The last crusade will always be my favourite...but this one was really good as well. Of course its no where near as good as the original thriology...but close.
And Shia LaBeuf was in it! Yaaay!
Not a bad movie but not great either. After Lucas and co waiting all that time for a good script. I actually walked out thinking I wish they had waited longer. Was great to see Karen Allen back and the line about all the other girls not being her was great. Alot of Indy moments to make it worth while but def not as good as the previous 3. Indy 4 lacked that certain somehting the previous films had, Dissapointing
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you disappoint me. What can I say, you started off so well then you went down the path that has the giant stone sphere and die a slow painful death. I died a little on the inside after watching this movie. The first half of the movie gets 5 stars. But then the rest is sub par. That is why I say this movie is just good for wasting time on a boring afternoon/night.
comparada con las otras indiana jones como que esta no es tan WOW... pero me gusto Shia y ojala el se quede como el nuevo indiana jones estaria divertido!
I was surprised by this one. I thought the sight of Indy getting his diapers changed in a retirement community was going to ruin the Indiana Jones films. Not so. Indy still delivered on this one.
MCT:October 26, 2008
MCT:June 2, 2008
MCT:May 23, 2008
MCT:December 1, 2008
MCT:December 1, 2008
MCT:December 1, 2008
MCT:November 29, 2008
MCT:November 29, 2008
