Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review - Page 2

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A party of five saw this when it opened and only the grandaughter said is was ok. I found it weak and had no comedic relief that worked. That scene where a guy had a gun on Ford and he just reached out and socked the guy was so bad that I felt embarrased for Ford. Shia Lebouff (spelling) is overated and I hope they don't consider him replacing Ford.

The other movies still made more sense and even though they contained supernatural elements, those things worked. they didn't constantly bombard you with unbelievable crap every 10 minutes. The originals also had much better acting, dialogue, and storytelling. Also, while the originals - especially Temple of Doom and Last Crusade contained "cheese," this movie took it to all new levels to the point where it became insulting. Finally, what in the hell happened to Harrison Ford's acting?

The first 3 all basically dealt with religion based themes.. The 3rd one went off on a tangent with that whole alien thing which to me seemed way out of place and tacked on. That is why people felt it was "unbelievable", I suppose, but I see your point.

The first 3 certainly had unbelievable elements to them as well, you are absolutely right. IMO they were *much* better written, though. To me the difference between Raiders/Last Crusade and The Crystal Skull is the same as the difference between Star Wars/ESB and The Phantom Menace...

Good analogy...although the difference was even larger for me.

I don't get you.....Where am i telling others that they should not like it....Indeed i even say i hope it sells huge on Blu Ray so the original superior trilogy can be released.

You have your opinion and share it....Let me do the same with mine even though i disagree with most of what you write about this film.

It really is one of the worst lame sequels i have ever seen.....A true missed opportunity and they failed to capture the charm of the originals....Everyone's rushing around but no one's actually doing much....The originals travelled the globe but this one does little of that and it's like Lucas and Spielberg wanted to put a snake joke in so they lamely had them escape just to get that scene in....I mean truly thats just one example of forced humor and forced action in this film.....

Ok i get it....You are easily pleased and loved the movie....Fine i am not so easily pleased....Oh and the usually reliable John Williams wasn't on form this time around and the music score just stank.....On past Indy movies he built on the original theme but this time it was just horrible and i truly appreciate a good music score and this wasn't it.

In Temple of Doom they did fall out of a plane but they did it with charm and style and in this latest one they failed to find that charm or style....It made lots of money but it just goes to show you that an iconic brand name sells no matter how bad it is.....Hoping Indy 5 is better than this turkey.

So how long do we have to wait for Indy 5 another 20 years LOL

Yeah I’m done here Ralph, come on Foxy you ole bugger you lets chew some more out of this one over in the movie DVD section.

The original Raiders of the Lost Ark (that'd be the one WITHOUT the "Indiana Jones and the" tag) was the first movie I ever owned on VHS. Yeah, it was that long ago. It's always been my go-to flick for the perfect film experience, as it showcases everything that makes a true classic a classic. The two subsequent sequels (actually, Temple of Doom was a prequel) fell victim to the law of diminishing returns, and then ten years later when we finally catch up with Doctor Jones, we get Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And shockingly (or not), it's a dismal, pitiful and infuriating failure. While it was great (make that GREAT) seeing Marion Ravenwood again, this fourth feature was way too bloated, way too stupid, and way too dependent on crap CGI trickery to have anything less than a negative impact deluxe. Primary blame goes to George "Destroyer of Worlds" Lucas, who after imploding his Star Wars franchise by foisting three agonizing prequels upon his fast receding fan base, proceeded to ixnay script after worthy script (and I've read a few of 'em) in his seemingly unending quest to deliver the next, best, and greatest Indy Jones adventure ever. And after much fanfare and hullaballoo, we get... this. Sadness. And pain. In spades.

I have two hands. Correction: two palms. And they're dying to be utilized upside a certain pair of heads. One is for George Lucas, for reasons anyone who's been paying attention should know. The other is for Spielberg, who either was contractually bound to "go with" such forehead slappingly asinine whims as cute gophers, pompadour-sporting monkeys, shia brando weissmuller lebeouf, amphibious vehicular shenanigans and improbable swordfight action, or he just threw up his hands after one too many sit-down talks with Lucas and simply let the wookie win. Just... wow.

Okay, so what did I actually like? Cate Blanchett makes for an interesting and fetching villianess, even if she channeled a bit too much Natasha Badanov via Emo Phillips. Clever wordplay between the two Henry Jones Juniors. Killer ants. Ray Winstone. Aaaaaand... scene.

Really, as much as I wanted to believe in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (and brother, did I ever) all I got was a depressing reminder that sometimes you can't go home again.

And that while all heroes must die in order to truly live, there's a world of difference between dying a noble death and checking out at the uncaring hands of mediocrity.

Thank you, Mssrs. Lucas and Spielberg. I'll never look at a fedora in the same way again.

I will check out the Blu ray version since I already seen the film when it first came out.. Disappointing Indy film as posted above.. That's the product you get when there is 18 yrs between films.. I didn't like the "out of this world" story line at the end..Hope the rest of the movies come out soon on BR

Exactly, the first three were more mystical/spiritual/religious, not 'out of this world' X-Files.

I agree with a lot of posters here...this isn't a very good movie. Ford did a great job with the substandard script and there were WAY too many extraneous characters that offered little or nothing to the story. We had five people over to watch it last night and two of them fell asleep...never a good sign when 40% of the audience is sleeping. (granted, it's a small sample)

Indiana Jones and the search for his memories.

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I became dizzy after the second sentence, and just could not read any further

It has been reported that they (Lucas & Spielberg) are committed to start shooting before the end of 2009 for 2010 release. Read some where that Lucas will have to pay/loose big$$ if the movie does not meet the release date..??

His "partner" from WWII was a complete throw away character and his behaviors were just silly IMO.

Mutt wasn't that good either, although we know why he was added and I don't want to have any spoilers involved.

Lastly, what happened to the natives with the blow darts? They attacked and then just gave up???? Who were they, why were they there? Why did they stop attacking? Was it five minutes of filler to show Mutt that Indy was a bada$$?

The screenplay just wasn't very good...I didn't expect The Lost Arc, but I expected something better. Just for the record, five people watched the movie with me and two of them fell asleep! The rest of us who stayed awake felt the movie had no magic what-so-ever, but that's just our opinion and I don't begrudge anyone liking the film.

Ralph...a word comes to mind on the screenplay...hodgepodge.

BTW...my review is posted now as well.

LOL

Question is well they go back a few years or forwards I just feel Indy doesn't have future in the 21st century. I'd sooner relive by re-watching the first three the 1980's was cool for Dolby stereo six-track and the low end was amble enough ample.

from everything I've heard the original Frank Darabont script is infinitely better. Apparantly Lucas shot it down... after all he knows what a good script is.

Frank Darabonts script was not so much different and had problems of its own.

I blame CGI. CGI is not all bad and can really benefit a film, Lord of the Rings is the perfect example, but it can be horrible if used incorrectly or used as a crutch. Two old guys, Lucas and Spielburg, are too old and too stuck in their ways to be creative anymore. In the past, they had to find a way to make it work and be creative and this led to REAL moments. CGI is a shortcut, and they took that shortcut way too often. The swinging Mutt and Monkee scene is the ULTIMATE example of this. If they didn't have the use of CGI, this would not have happened, plain and simple. Also Kate Blanchett's character was awful.

I still enjoyed the movie though!! Harrison Ford is and always will be Indiana Jones.

Wow, I kinda enjoyed this film in the cinema, I guess I must have really low standards. Or a high tolerance for the batsh*t-insane. This film is packed with daft moments, but I always found that part of the Indiana Jones series charm (khali-ma!) If you stop and analyse it at any point it really does fall apart under the weight of its own absurdity, both in terms of screenplay and directorial execution (do we really need all those CG animals?). I thought it scraped through on the strength of its pacing and the character interaction, which saves what would otherwise be a very saggy middle of the film. Not bad if you can leave your brain at the door, and I'll definately be looking to pick it up at some point as the BRD release sounds tasty.

I agree with everything FoxyMulder said about this film and have to add that the CGI ruined the film for me as well.

Having said that, however, I will still buy this Blu-ray for the visuals and sound, it sounds like a great disc. Thanks for the review, Ralph.

Who knows, I may learn to like the film like I did Spiderman 3.

Tonight's episode of South Park had a funny take on this movie. I can't say that I disagree with it.

I, like most others, was very disappointed with this in the theaters. Just finished watching it on BD and for some reason, now enjoyed it. Maybe it was the impossible expectations I had for a new Indy movie or just the fact that I saw it in a theater (which I hate). The CGI looked a lot better on BD too IMO.

Looks, feels, and runs like a made for TV movie. Sadly I might add.