Is Indy 4 that bad?

I think JWD, upthread a bit, has the right of it: KotCS is over-crowded. It has some really terrific scenes, and it definitely has that "Indy feel" in places -- most notably in the first half, culminating in the graveyard sequence -- but there's too much going on, minute-to-minute, for the film to really dig in and find its footing. It never seems to focus its themes, its imagery or its characters. In short, it's a scattershot affair.

I like the film better than ToD, but it's not as good or as effective as TLC.

 

I enjoyed "CRYSTAL SKULLS" very much. I don't enjoy it as much as I do "TPM" or "AOTC", but I enjoyed it more than "LAST CRUSADE".

 

Definitely a huge disappointment for me.

1. CGI gone rampant.
2. Marion was trying to be her spunky self again, but just came across as a whining witch.
3. Mutt swinging with the terrible CG monkeys. Truly the "fireplace" scene of this movie.
4. The villain, if you can even call her that, was totally nonthreatening.
5. No new music, just rehashes of past music. Almost sounded copied and pasted at times from other movies.
6. Aliens. Sorry, but this was the biggest flaw of all. Indy is supposed to go after important artifacts, not chasing cheesy aliens whose purpose on earth isn't even really clear.

I could go on. I hope they don't make another. Lucas has been hitting fouls since TPM, IMO.

 

Crystal Skull was on Australian TV last night - was only half-watching it, but my overall impression remains the same. The CGI stuck out like a sore thumb, Mutt was awful, other than that it wasn't too bad. Harrison Ford still has it, John Hurt & Ray Winstone are great actors, even having Marion in there was fine. The wedding scene at the end was just stupid. Cate Blanchett remains one of the most over-rated actors in the world (particularly by the Australian press).

And was it just me, or did the older actors seem to be doing a lot of their own stunts, while Shia LaBeouf relied completely on effects & doubles? Bloody kids...

 

I just finished watching Raiders, Crusade & Skull.

I was surprised how much Skull holds up.
I'd like to clip a few things out, but overall, it's a really cool, fun movie with awesome set pieces and lots of stuff I like to see in a movie: lost cities, ruins, jungles etc. I love all the paranoid UFO mythology, the Meso-American connection, the parallels to 1950's sci-fi movies with the Communist connection, the reference to Soviet E.S.P. testing. Lots of stuff that appeals to me. It's the biggest, most epic if the Indy movies, too. I'd give it 4/5.

 

I thought it was a good movie even though I consider it the weakest of the four.

What could have made it better?

1. Fewer scenes with Mutt, notably the sword fighting and swinging monkeys.
2. One fewer drop of the watercraft over the falls would have been nice.
3. Not a big fan of the Mac character. Imagine getting rid of him completely and replacing him with Sallah (and eliminating that double spy nonsense).
4. The nuked fridge thing was okay to me. It would have been more believable if he sustained broken bones and they did a flash forward so many months.
5. Too much CGI.

Now, if they made a special edition that addressed those issues, you would have a cleaner, more cohesive film.

I actually liked the alien idea. If we can stretch our imaginations with holy relics killing people, 2000 year old knights, a guy who puts his hand through a person's chest, the alien idea is more plausible to me.

 

That's why I don't understand the alien criticism. It only shows some sort of hipocrisy when those same people never criticized the fantasy aspects of the previous movies.

 

TKotCS is a 50's-style sci-fi film, not the 20's and 30's-style serials, something I don't think many fans were expecting.

 

Is Indy 4 that bad? I don't think so. It did a great job of being a take on those 1950s "B" movies, which made more sense than being a take on the serials of the 1930s, while set in 1957. In fact, I like it better than Indy 3.

 

It's an excellent movie! If you enjoyed it, there's no reason for you to ruin that enjoyment by allowing others' complaints to get inside your head. That won't make anyone happier.





Indiana - still going strong
/LM

 

It had some fun moments but overall it was pretty disappointing.

 

It's my least favorite of the four movies, but it still has its moments. An enjoyable popcorn movie.

 

I didn't really enjoy it that much. The aliens part was so mind-blowiningly dumb. You could tell Speilberg and Ford kind of half assed their way through the picture just to appease GL.

 

My thoughts exactly. Not great. Not terrible. Just entertaining enough to be "okay."

 

Much like the SW Prequels, most of the hate is from old fans who can't accept an upgrade. Indy 4 was just fine and significantly better then Temple of Doom.

 

I liked parts of it and can pretty much take it up to the giant ants and monkey swing-a-long...then like it again for a bit but then hate that church ending. I think the only way to make that ending work is to actually have those annoying CGI gophers having a little wedding ceremony of their own off in the corner simultaneously!

Oh and I'm cool too with the nuked fridge...other than the gopher appearing again.

The opening had me thinking, holy crap! We're about to get a really great old-school Speilberg/Lucas collaboration where they create mood and atmosphere with visuals that don't feel contrived or overwrought...but then it went all new-school on us. And that's a version of their amusement park I'm not that into. But that opening with the cruising/army guys that melds into the main through line of the film was fantastic, even the quality of the image and light felt appropriately retro to me.

I don't mind the aliens at all, as others have said, power of God artifacts and witch doctor's with magical powers aren't exactly any more believable. Not like each Indy film Scoobie-dooed by the end to show us that it was all smoke and mirrors or something! I would, however, liked to have known more about what the aliens were up to, that part felt like a missed opportunity. And for the record I'm not a huge fan of Temple of Doom either.

 

I found it awesome

 

I liked the whole sci-fi theme to it, with aliens. It wasn't a bad movie. People always love the originals, and those have a special place in their hearts, but no need to choose. I enjoy the old Indiana jones movies, and indy4.

 

It's a pretty good film

 

Here's my review of the film as I view it today,

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (REVIEW):​

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It's funny that this one ironically was the first one I watched in the series, regret not watching the first three before hand back in Early-Mid 2008. Otherwise, here's my ways of describing the film: ​

1. This one wasn't the best one of all Indiana Jones films.
2. The Russians (Soviets at the time) in reality during this period, never sent terrorists to America.
3. Mac was nothing more than a rip-off of both Elsa and Belloq.
4. The only spectacular part, I guess of the film was seeing Harrison back as Indy.
5. Better off with 3 films than four since CGI works better in Star Wars.
6. I didn't mind Shia Labeouf only because I enjoyed watching him on Disney Channel.

Overall I give the film 2 out of 5 stars.

​

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I didn't hate the film because I got very much what I expected. That is, an action adventure which didn't take itself too seriously that the whole family could enjoy. This is very much how the trailer to the film sold itself and even before seeing the trailer, I just knew to expect a more polished and refined film as compared to the grittiness of the first three, even Last Crusade had more grittier moments that Kingdom. That said, I enjoyed Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull but it ranks fourth for me. The wedding is what killed it for me more than the UFO taking off.

 

It's an okay movie, but for me it ranks pretty near ToD. Some of the scenes stretched my ability to suspend disbelief to breaking point and beyond. I found the motorbike fight a bit too derivative of the fights on Endor in RotJ.

 

To be honest I felt the motorcycle (and bar brawl that preceded it) was one of the movie's highlights because it felt the most natural and old school in terms of not relying on green screen. Whereas, the prolonged and uninspired truck chase in the forest just looked and felt like the actors jumping across two set pieces in front of a green screen...which is pretty much what it was. But the motorcycle chase was well paced, in good length and probably where the chemistry between Indy and Mutt seemed the most genuine.

 

Ya know, I'm a huge Indy fan. When I was younger, Temple of Doom was so important to me I would record the movie on analog tapes (remember those?) just to listen to them in my room. I would visualize the movie as I listened. I hesitated for a long time before watching KotCS. When I did see it finally, I thought it was great. Minus douchbag Lebouf or whatever his name is. These movies aren't meant to be oscar winners. They're campy, serial movie from the 50's like, right? But even some of douchbag Lebouf I thought was funny. The sword duel? That fits perfectly with the theme I just described. Of course, I love Art Bell/Norry type things as well and I was shocked, but not unhappy with that angle. The quicksand scene? Come on thats classic Indy humor. I think it's clear that it was a silly, needless cash grab for Hollywood, and that IS annoying, but when all was said and done, i liked it. Anyone remember when Ford "hung up his hat" at the Smithsonian back in the late 80's? That was supposed to be the end. Lets hope they stop now.

 

well -- to answer honestly -- it's the only one i will never watch again