Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) (1 Viewer)

[Douglas Monce]

 

[Douglas Monce]

I'm not sure if the crystal scull, and the bodies, were the actual aliens or if they were some kind of machines or robots. The alien body on the table in the camp surely didn't have a crystal body.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

I disagree again. The point of the jungle chase was to get the skull and keep it out of the hands of the commies.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

No I really didn't notice that now after having seen it 3 times.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

Frankly my least favorite Star Wars film is Return of the Jedi. I find it almost completely unwatchable.

Doug

 

[Brandon Conway]

I think this will be my final say in regards to the Indiana Jones films:

Raiders is perfection. From the screenplay structure, to the dialog; the acting and characterizations are meticulous, and the action sequences are second-to-none. To top it off, the action beats are perfectly spaced apart, with enough "down time" - and meaningful inbetween scenes at that - to give you the sense of anticipation. I love this film.

Temple of Doom's weakness is also its strength - in trying to be different enough from Raiders it feels too off the beaten path. Willie is a great example of this; she's a great idea in that she's the total opposite personality of Marion, but it's so far in that direction that she grates on you. I respect the film more than I enjoy it, per se, because it's so easy to see Spielberg's energy as a director, even when the material is sub par. The last 45 minutes are sensational. The humor is too corny as compared to Raiders, and the improbability of survival factor goes up a notch too far with the plane escape.

Last Crusade is a mixed bag that ends up somehow working in the end despite it. You have a great rapport between Ford and Connery; some of the best humor of the series, even if it is a bit self-referential; and I simply love the set of challenges at the end. Where it comes off as problematic is in the often uninspired direction, less interesting villains (Donovan is dull), and choppy action sequences (plane battle). Despite this, it has enough spirit in the performances and charm to be a success.

Crystal Skull is just "blah". I've stated my reasons with more detail previously, but suffice it to say that I really feel it has the flaws of Temple of Doom and Last Crusade combined - it's too different in tone yet it has familiar surface-level trappings without the depth of the previous films, it has uninspired direction, the humor is too corny, the villains are dull, and the action scenes are choppy at best.

One of my favorite moments in Raiders is right after Indy and Marion have successfully destroyed the plane the Nazis had planned to fly the Ark out on. There's a scene establishing that our heroes are okay, if extremely tired, and they meet up again with Sallah. At this point Sallah mentions that the Ark is now being loaded on to a truck instead, to which Indy gives a look of exhausted determination and blithely responds, "Truck? What truck?" It's the perfect tease. Just as we feel our hero has done everything we'll need to ask of him and can rest, not only does he need to get right back to action, but he doesn't even question it. He just knows that despite his fatigue he needs to get to action, right now. It's also a perfect beat for an action screenplay: give the audience a false sense of an extended breather, and then go on to completely top the great action scene we've just witnessed with another one.

By comparison, KotCS doesn't let you be deceived into a rest. The action just goes on and on and on, and blends into each other. And when it does actually slow down, you get a joke about falling over three waterfalls instead of an actual character building, driving action bit of dialog.

Anyway, I've talked about these films way too much the last few days. What I really need to do is watch Raiders of the Lost Ark again and leave KotCS in the rearviewmirror.

 

[Douglas Monce]

I had no problem whatever with the CG elements of the chase scene. BTW why do you keep referring to it as a "desert" chase, shouldn't that be "jungle" chase?

Doug

 

[Pete-D]

Jedi's still more than watchable for me.

If the Ewoks were Wookies instead, but behaved exactly the same way otherwise I don't think as many people would have issues with it. It's not like the Ewoks were even that bad ... they're very clearly a nomadic, warrior race that know when to shut up and kick ass (teddy bears don't try and roast you for dinner either). The Jabba scenes do get a little "Muppet-ey" sure, but then you got the whole metal bikini thing going on to balance that out, lol.

Otherwise it's a fairly solid picture, Ian McDiarmid actually manages to outshine the iconic Darth Vader (no small feat), and the action set pieces are probably the best of any Lucasfilm picture (yes Indy films and prequels included). The space battle and forest bike chase are spectacular. The Luke-Emperor-Vader scenes are very dramatic and some of the best in the OT for drama.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Also frequently when people think they are seeing CG, they are actually looking at a miniature. There are LOTS of miniatures in this film.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

Why would you assume that? Has Spielberg never put anything silly into a film?

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

I have to agree with this. And the fact that Crystal Skull is not simply a rehash of the other films I think is one of the reasons that I really like it.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

I disagree with this. While Crusade is pretty tight, the script for Doom is a mess.

Doug

 

[Joe Wong]

As I previously mentioned, the plane fight / desert chase in Raiders is one of the great 1-2 punches (with regards to action sequences) in film history, with a marvelous segue...so I totally agree...

 

[oscar_merkx]

I still think that Jedi is light years ahead even by today's standards partly due that GL had all the necessary resources - money and ILM @ his disposal.

For me Indy IV simply works

 

[Douglas Monce]

For me the tone of the films changes so radically in Jedi, its like a completely different universe. The acting in the "hes my father" scene between Luke and Leia is SOOOOOO bad and so out of character for both of them that its painful, until Ford walks into the scene and suddenly feels like Star Wars again.

Boba Fett was totally wasted. I wanted to see him stick around till the end and have a western style shoot out with Han Solo.

I did like Darth's sacrifice, but the bits leading up to it, again Mark Hamill seemed to think he was in a Shakespeare play.

The speeder bike chase was great though.

Doug

 

[Chuck Mayer]

1) I addressed the nostalgia issue for Mike already. No need to rehash for you, Doug.

2) ToD's script isn't great, but it's good enough. The story is different, but Indy is very much the same. It also has a real spark of energy that fed into the direction.

3) SS really does seem on auto-pilot for KotCS, and that's my biggest complaint. I don't mind that the film is a bit different. I don't mind that Indy is a bit older and wiser and less physical. That all makes sense. I do mind that he is so reactive. Because he isn't as vicious in this one, it didn't feel like the stakes were so high. He was pretty ruthless in the first three films. It lent his character some edge and some energy. This film had lots of action, but little energy. I don't blame Ford...I blame a script that makes him more passive and a director without a ton of focus.

4) All of the pieces are there, but it never really gels. And I never got the laughs from it (most Indy being wry) I got from the other three. There are some laughs, but it venerates Indy more than it challenges him. He's better when he is the underdog. One of the differences between Indy and Bond.

 

[MikeRS]

I really like "Crystal Skull" and "Temple Of Doom". I'm okay with "Last Crusade" after almost 20 years of viewings.

I wouldn't be mean and compare any of them to "Raiders".

 

[Brent M]

I agree with you 100%.

 

[Douglas Monce]

My problem with the TOD script is that its all over the place. It doesn't know if it wants to be a musical, an adventure film, a screwball comedy, or a horror movie. I don't have a problem with all of these elements being in the same film, they are just not blended well. The transition from one to the other is not very successful.

I will say however that while TOD is my least favorite Indy film, its head and shoulders above any other modern adventure film I've ever seen.

Doug

 

[TheBat]

I have a quick question.. when I saw indy 4 for the second time..

there were some people swarming like they had antz on them..during the scene..
anyone else have that reaction.
never seen that before in a movie.
Jacob