Comments on: Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

By: Ennuipundit

Ennuipundit — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:29:03 +0000

More than anything else, what diminished my appreciation for Indy 4, The Quest for Cash, was the serious plot holes. For example: The crystal skeletons are highly magnetic, except when they aren’t. I aspire to write and frankly a failure of a story that large, that we spend valuable early exposition time on a prop that conveniently vanished from time to time is frustrating. Yes it is a popcorn movie. But so is Iron Man. And I got the enlightenment and a layered story in that one. Is it asking to much for both fun and enlightenment. Indy 4 could have been an oasis amidst less than stellar dreck (Zohan, the Love Guru, even Kung Fu Panda, whose story seems sadly lacking) but settles instead to be merely a mirage.

By: Jim Treacher

Jim Treacher — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:03:10 +0000

“Semi-plausible”? How do you figure that?

By: Mibrilane

Mibrilane — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:20:50 +0000

Come on Jim. There’s semi-plausible (the raft scene qualifies as this) and there is the physically completely impossible (surviving a nuke in a lead-lined refrigerator with nary a scratch). Also, CRYSTAL SKULL makes the mistake of having Indy never get hurt, which is part of the character in the first three – he gets hurt, but keeps on going. Harrison Ford is one of the best actors ever at really selling getting injured during a fight. In CRYSTAL SKULL he is approaching Steven Seagal territory – “I’ve just been pummeled by a large Russian soldier? Really? Says who?” Stretching the laws of physics and ignoring them are two different things, and CRYSTAL SKULL does the latter. Often.

By: Jim Treacher

Jim Treacher — Mon, 26 May 2008 15:44:18 +0000

Far… far worse.

Why?

Of course, no one could survive a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator – except Indy. That’s part of the fun.

B-b-but it could never really happen! How can it be fun if it could never really happen? Apparently.

By: inmypajamas

inmypajamas — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:44:30 +0000

We had a crew of kids to entertain when we saw the movie this weekend, including teenagers, and everyone enjoyed the movie. It is just plain fun (with the added bonus of the Commies actually being the bad guys). Of course, no one could survive a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator – except Indy. That’s part of the fun. Anyone picky about over-the-top, unbelieveable stunts wouldn’t enjoy any of the “Die Hard” movies (especially the last one when Willis walks away from a collapsing concrete mix-master) or any of the “Pirate” movies.

I have to say, though, that throughout the movie I kept thinking, “Well, that will probably be on the ride.” We even had a discussion afterward about which part we would most like to see on the next Indiana ride attraction. Lots of fun stuff to work with.

By: pilamaye

pilamaye — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:25:56 +0000

I have pretty much put this one on my Wait-For-The DVD list. I just feel they should have left the series rest after The Last Crusade. It just seems like Spielberg and Lucas are trying to squeeze every last drop they can out of this series, which seems to be just plain ridiculous considering the first three films made them wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice. If these two film legends (in their own minds) are going to give us anything on film, give us something new. But enough of this trying to breath life into an old series stuff. It may work great on paper, but it loses something when it is transfered to film, and Spielberg and Lucas should know better.

By: Jockolantern

Jockolantern — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:11:07 +0000

Was it really any worse than 3 people surviving a fall from a plane on an inflatable raft?

Far… far worse.

By: Jim Treacher

Jim Treacher — Mon, 26 May 2008 03:32:14 +0000

At least the “gritty realism” was consistent within the bounds of the quasi-reality of the settings in, oh, Raiders.

Sounds kinda arbitrary to me. Was it really any worse than 3 people surviving a fall from a plane on an inflatable raft?

By: austinnelly

austinnelly — Mon, 26 May 2008 02:51:03 +0000

Kevin M on May 24, 2008 at 5:39 PM

See? This is my problem. First, I don’t even know how to say it..is it leboof, or lowbeef? Why not change it? Brick Johnson is good. Clay Timbers. Anything. I’m just waiting for the awards ceremony headline…’Shia knocks em dead!’ He’s asking for trouble..I’m telling ya.
Seriously, I’m looking forward to seeing it. Karen Allen was my favorite Indy love interest…as to Loubeef…well, I guess I’ll keep an open mind.

By: Amy Proctor

Amy Proctor — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:42:54 +0000

So you didn’t like Expelled but you do like this version of Indiana Jones?

By: Limpet6

Limpet6 — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:27:29 +0000

Do you realize how few movies involve us prevailing over the Russkis compared to the Nazis? That mere fact is enough to justify the movie to me. Evil is identified as evil and good prevails.

Reds in academia? Perish the thought.

Heck, what do I know? I applied to Columbia because I thought Yale was too leftwing.

By: jjcarrillo

jjcarrillo — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:51:34 +0000

Shia Labeouf will not only be Hollywood’s biggest action star, but he will also be Hollywood’s highest paid actor. What an amazing career he has had and he is only 21 yrs old.

By: dalejrfanfreak

dalejrfanfreak — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:22:46 +0000

Sorry but this movie was a big failure when compared to the past three movies. The past three movies have stories that are truly unique to this day, but Indy 4 is a movie that doesn’t know if it wants to be a sci fi flick or an action movie. Futhermore, even though the past movies featured some oddball plots like the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant they didn’t seem farfetched like it does in Indy 4. I mean come on a huge flying saucer? Plus, you forgot to mention the idiotic moments like the part where Mutt starts swinging through the jungle like tarzan. That part was so idiotic and out of place it was disgusting. This movie was fairly unimaginative, especially when you consider how good Lucas and Speilberg used to be. I want a story that is very focused and unique, I feel like Indy 4 took a ton of pages from National Treasure and from past sci fi movies. This movie is a huge failure when compared to the greatness of the past three. The funny thing is all those negative reviews you linked to were spot on but yours isn’t.

By: Capitana

Capitana — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:22:32 +0000

Indiana Jones saved once again by the bad guys’ sucky aim!

By: Jockolantern

Jockolantern — Sun, 25 May 2008 09:23:16 +0000

Saw it. Hated it.

A complete disgrace to the wonderful legacy of the first three films.

Considering how much I wanted to love this movie, I’m quite depressed about how badly David Koepp and Steven Spielberg managed to screw things up.

By: MikeZero

MikeZero — Sun, 25 May 2008 06:23:02 +0000

Didn’t care for it. Had its moments and I’m just a huge fan of the character but I swear I thought Indy was, at any moment, going to look right into the lens and wink.

He’s old. We got the joke, early and often, but then they didn’t follow through. Ford looked a little silly doing some of the stuntwork. Just let him do the stuff he looks good doing.

The prairie dogs? Please.

Easily the worst Indiana Jones movie.

By: daesleeper

daesleeper — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:38:44 +0000

Might be the best Indiana Jones movies yet! I mean it. It is at least as good as teh first(never saw it in the theater). The sets and casting are incredible. I wanted it to never end. Perfect.

By: Mojave Mark

Mojave Mark — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:10:41 +0000

can’t wait to see it.

Iron Man was wonderful. More eye candy please.

By: knat

knat — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:52:44 +0000

****Spoiler Alert****

Just returned form seeing it and I wasn’t impressed. The whole spaceship/alien thing was just a little to far out there for me. I would rate this as the fourth best in the series or in other words, last. I did enjoy the some of the action scenes, particularly when they are in the dinner and start a fight between the greasers and jocks. Oh the good ole’ days. If I was giving advice I would say “Wait for the DVD.”

By: JohnTant

JohnTant — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:41:16 +0000

Jim Treacher on May 24, 2008 at 3:05 PM

At least the “gritty realism” was consistent within the bounds of the quasi-reality of the settings in, oh, Raiders. The refrigerator was so over the top that it yanked me right out of the story, never to return.

By: Steve Z

Steve Z — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:34:00 +0000

Is that the same Shia LeBoeuf who was the lead character Stanley Yelnats, hanging around with a kid named Zero in “Holes”?

That was a good kid’s movie, but is the same kid now doing adult adventures?

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:39:37 +0000

“Shia LeBeouf”

Quit lyin’. No one is named Shia LeBeouf. That would be silly.

By: techno_barbarian

techno_barbarian — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:25:33 +0000

OOOPS! :(

What can I say….I go out to the vegie garden and lose all track of time.

……readjusting my internal clock now…. :)

Limerick on May 24, 2008 at 2:07 PM

N problem, pard’na. If not for you I’d have missed the landing completely. And in HD no less.

Thanks again.

By: juanito

juanito — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:13:21 +0000

Ed,

Mostly I am affraid of Anticipointment. If you feel that’s the same buble gum as the first three, I’ll keep an open mind.

By: Jim Treacher

Jim Treacher — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:05:06 +0000

The movie lost me after the refrigerator bit.

Yeah, that took me right out of the story, after the gritty realism of the first 3 flicks.