Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

[kl241]

yeah, it was pretty bad, I remember our prof showing up and saying that he was going to give us the best Christmas gift in the world - a screening of a brand new 35mm print of Breakfast at Tiffany's...

 

[IrishJedi]

yeah, it was pretty bad, I remember our prof showing up and saying that he was going to give us the best Christmas gift in the world - a screening of a brand new 35mm print of Breakfast at Tiffany's...

Did you ever get to meet your professor's boyfriend?

 

[kl241]

nope, thank God...

 

[Anzik]

I took my son to see this last night and we had a good time with it.

 

[CelticPredator]

I cant wait for the DVD. And the box set with all 4 movies.....hopefully with decent features....

 

[RoboDad]

I cant wait for the DVD. And the box set with all 4 movies.....hopefully with decent features....

DVDs are sooo last year...

Gimme the Blu-rays, baby!

 

[CelticPredator]

Im not gonna buy that crap! I dont care how nice it looks! Bah!!!!

 

[zoid2323]

Im not gonna buy that crap! I dont care how nice it looks! Bah!!!!

I dont know why but that just cracked me up.

 

[CelticPredator]

Hey, I still watch VHS's. I have way too many DVD's to go out and buy them AGAIN.

 

[Mr ?]

I was struck by how they made Jones a kind of absent minded professor at times, specifically in the sand pit when he tries to define the difference between "dry" and "quick" to Mutt. This isn't the same Jones as the previous three and it shouldn't be, the character has aged and changed and that makes sense. I do wish there were more exotic, historic locals and not just nondescript jungles. Plus Marion played a minor role which was disappointing.

I suppose aliens are no more stranger than magic rocks were; as Crusade was to Raiders I believe Skull is to Doom. This was a fun, movie serial throwback; and I think that's all it was supposed to be.

 

[CelticPredator]

Yeah, I didnt get that either, I laughed sure....but yeah, kinda silly.

 

[Khev]

I suppose aliens are no more stranger than magic rocks were; as Crusade was to Raiders I believe Skull is to Doom. This was a fun, movie serial throwback; and I think that's all it was supposed to be.

I think that's a great way to put it. Raiders and Crusade go together and Doom and Skull also kind of go together.

 

[Mr ?]

I think the funniest part was the rat snake.

"Stop calling it a snake! Call it a rope!"

That got a big laugh.

 

[CelticPredator]

Loved that scene.

 

[Agent0028]

That whole scene is awesome. Maybe the best in the movie.

 

[Estel]

I finally got to see the film today and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I really enjoyed the first half of the film, but the last part of the second act and the third act were a complete mess. Any sign of structure was completely lost and all scenes felt like a set-up for yet another big set-piece.

I simply couldn't believe how they handled certain scenes. The sandpit scene, for example, felt completely unnecessary and downright goofy. To use such a scene as the 'big' father/son revelation was absolutely unbelievable. I had some hope the film would recover after this point, but it just kept getting worse. I literally shook my head as I watched Mutt become 'the prince of apes', not to mention the ridiculous giant ant scene and the car landing on the huge branch on the cliff. The list goes on and on.

I think the main problem with the movie is the fact that it isn't really a movie. It's nothing more than an attempt to recapture the nostalgia of the previous films, by constantly inserting obvious hints and references to Indy's previous adventures. I really wished they'd let the fate of Henry Sr. to our imaginations, but the way they killed him off gave me flashbacks of Boba Fett. The screenwriter obviously doesn't really know where to take the movie either. The involvement of the FBI is completely nullified after the first act and Mutt's emotional connection to Oxley is never further explored than the fact that he sheds a tear everytime he lays eyes on him. Mutt felt like a rather one-dimensional character to begin with.

The reason for stealing the crate containing the alien body is also never fully explained and why Spalko had to bring it with her all the way into the jungle is a big mystery. I was baffled when Indy explained the reason to bring the skull back to the temple to be 'because it told him'. Somehow they felt they had to work towards a grand finale, and that finale never showed up. The big revelation of the skull's power felt predictable and was in no way shocking or exciting.

I can't help but feel that if Spielberg and his team would have actually focused on taking Indy into the 21th century by creating a well written original story, instead of harking back to the glory days of Indy, we could have had a great film. The story had potential, but the weak execution of the characters, dialogue and storyline make it a subpar movie. An Indiana Jones film that to me will probably never fit in with the others. I loved seeing Harrison back in the role, but unless they come up with something ingenious, I've had enough. I really felt like leaving the theater the moment Indy's fedora was picked up by Mutt, but fortunately the makers weren't crazy enough to actually allow him to put it on. That little moment confirmed for me the greatness of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, and that there is no way anyone will ever replace him as the character.

Indiana Jones, I salute you.

5.5/10

 

[IrishJedi]

They never explain HOW Henry, Sr. died but because Connery refused to do the cameo they were basically forced to "kill off" the character for one simple reason: He would have been completely missed during the Wedding scene.

 

[jungle jom]

I finally got to see the film today and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I really enjoyed the first half of the film, but the last part of the second act and the third act were a complete mess. Any sign of structure was completely lost and all scenes felt like a set-up for yet another big set-piece.

I simply couldn't believe how they handled certain scenes. The sandpit scene, for example, felt completely unnecessary and downright goofy. To use such a scene as the 'big' father/son revelation was absolutely unbelievable. I had some hope the film would recover after this point, but it just kept getting worse. I literally shook my head as I watched Mutt become 'the prince of apes', not to mention the ridiculous giant ant scene and the car landing on the huge branch on the cliff. The list goes on and on.

I think the main problem with the movie is the fact that it isn't really a movie. It's nothing more than an attempt to recapture the nostalgia of the previous films, by constantly inserting obvious hints and references to Indy's previous adventures. I really wished they'd let the fate of Henry Sr. to our imaginations, but the way they killed him off gave me flashbacks of Boba Fett. The screenwriter obviously doesn't really know where to take the movie either. The involvement of the FBI is completely nullified after the first act and Mutt's emotional connection to Oxley is never further explored than the fact that he sheds a tear everytime he lays eyes on him. Mutt felt like a rather one-dimensional character to begin with.

The reason for stealing the crate containing the alien body is also never fully explained and why Spalko had to bring it with her all the way into the jungle is a big mystery. I was baffled when Indy explained the reason to bring the skull back to the temple to be 'because it told him'. Somehow they felt they had to work towards a grand finale, and that finale never showed up. The big revelation of the skull's power felt predictable and was in no way shocking or exciting.

I can't help but feel that if Spielberg and his team would have actually focused on taking Indy into the 21th century by creating a well written original story, instead of harking back to the glory days of Indy, we could have had a great film. The story had potential, but the weak execution of the characters, dialogue and storyline make it a subpar movie. An Indiana Jones film that to me will probably never fit in with the others. I loved seeing Harrison back in the role, but unless they come up with something ingenious, I've had enough. I really felt like leaving the theater the moment Indy's fedora was picked up by Mutt, but fortunately the makers weren't crazy enough to actually allow him to put it on. That little moment confirmed for me the greatness of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, and that there is no way anyone will ever replace him as the character.

Indiana Jones, I salute you.

5.5/10

No one on this board has explained some of the problems with this film better than you. I totally agree with your point of view. A very poorly thought out excuse for a film. As you said... it really isn't a film at all.

 

[IrishJedi]

As you said... it really isn't a film at all.

Estel, what have you done?!?!?!?

 

[jedibear]

Estel, your review is well-written and thought out, but I respectfully disagree with most of it. Many of the points you raise could be applied to any of the other Indy movies if you wanted to.

I've seen this movie multiple times and it gets better with each viewing for me. It definitely fits in with the rest of the films just fine...

We'll just agree to disagree...