I thought it was fun. Some of the CGI was lame, the "Tarzan" scene was lame, and Spoiler the spaceship was lame. But despite those flaws I thought it was a fun movie.
Ok I just got back from watching it and it's...pretty...horrible. Well maybe that's too strong of a word but it fell far short of the bar. There were a few scenes that felt like vintage Indy, mired by scenes full of fake sets, Mummy-esque cgi and action, a luminescent glow (if you're gonna use that type of filter fine, but don't wait till the fourth film in the franchise to go that route) and complete absurdity. Now I know that Indy is a throwback to those old serials and is supposed to have some camp and a level of absurdness to it. That's part of what made Raiders, Temple and Crusade so fun to watch. Even so though, those films still felt grounded in reality. This one didn't. The only good to great scenes that felt similar in style to the other three were: Spoiler the return to the university to the end of the motorcycle chase, parts of the graveyard skull excavation, Marian's return and the sandpit and the first part of the jungle chase (up until Shia went Tarzan). In fact, why didn't they bring in Marian closer to the beginning. Because her and Indy's chemistry was the BEST thing about this movie...and her return to the franchise came about 20 years too late. So I think I'll be quite happy sticking to my original collection of Jones' adventures. And I think this film joins Lethal Weapon 4 and Live Free or Die Hard as sequels that completely missed the mark of their predecessors.
What do you think about the Young Indiana Jones series with Sean Patrick Flannery and cameos by every single celebrity before they were famous?
Raiders of the Lost Arc > Last Crusade > Temple of Doom >>>>> the Crystal Skull Thingies. It kept me entertained, but was not nearly as good as the other three.
not really sure what Indiana Jones you've been watching. It was NOTHING like the last crusade or raiders of the lost arc.......wasnt even anything like Temple of Doom. I think the Temple of Doom is actually a pretty good movie, but it gets compared to the other two films, so it gets a bad rap.
I'd also like to add that Crusade had such an awesome ending...a perfect conclusion to the trilogy...Indy, Dad, Marcus and Sallah riding off into the sunset. And in Crystal skull, what do we get Spoiler people filing out of a church after Indy gets married Not exactly gonna leave a lasting impression, at least in a good way.
Temple of Doom ruled! I wonder if in a small way, it was less compelling for a western film to be based around eastern mythological rocks (Shankara stones?) compared to the more familiar (mythological?) western Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. Also no Nazis in the Temple of Doom. Just British colonial powers. Hm. "Molaram! Prepare to meet Kahlee... in hell!" <chop chop chop rope>
My friend and I were having an argument about that. I said the action was too over-the-top but he said that all Indy movies are over-the-top. Instead of enjoying some of the action I found myself going, "really, steven spielberg? you couldn't have done better than that?". He thought it was just like the old ones, I disagreed and pointed out the old ones weren't THAT silly.
Yeah, show me in the other three anything similar to Spoiler Indy surviving a nuclear blast by jumping into a fridge, Shia swinging on vines, Shia straddling two jeeps while bushes hit him in the groin, Indy and co. surviving three increasingly worse waterfalls, guys getting eaten alive by swarms of ants, a Mayan civilization disappearing into rubble as a flying saucer appears. The jungle chase in Raiders, the mine shaft escape and bridge fight in Doom, I guess the desert battle in Crusade...sure over the top a little bit but still nowhere near as absurd imo as anything in Kingdom.
Saw it yesterday, my friend and I were laughing for the most part since it was just so ridiculous. My little sister who barely speaks English could make better dialogs. If you wanna enjoy the movie, pretend that you've never seen the old Indy series. When I did that, I thought this Movie was a solid B-, but fun nevertheless. Then at the end when I compared it to the old ones, it definitely rates a D- at best. One thing I definitely do not wish for is.. Spoiler a Shia spinoff: Adventures of Henry Jones III or even worse... a prequel.
I thought it was a decent, entertaining flick. The crystal skull exposition was a bit convoluted, but it definitely felt like an Indy adventure to me. Loved the action scenes, too (except for Shia's inexplicable Tarzan moment). Speaking of which, Shia didn't annoy me nearly as much as I thought he was going to, which is a relief. Now, did I like the climax? Not really, but then again, remember that Raiders didn't have much of a climax, either. (Indy standing around with his eyes closed while spirits make Nazis melt is not a climax.)
In the first one: Indy riding a periscope for hundreds of miles to get to the sub tender area. In the 2nd one: The girl suriving lava only inches from her skin, or Indy in the mine shaft, totally over the top groaner type of stuff...which I loved. In the third one.......so many.... How about the plane crashing into the tunnel and sliding along next to Indys car.... DD
Yeah I agree. Indiana Jones requires complete suspension of disbelief. Only then is it fun. I had a blast watching it.
I think with the submarine you have to draw the conclusion that he was able to get inside and stow away somehow. The plane crashing through the tunnel was absurd but hysterical...especially when they trade glances...most of the scenes in Crystal Skull are just absurd and lame. Spoiler like Indy not only surviving a nuclear blast but careening hundreds of yards through the air as a projectile...you know I probably would have actually enjoyed that scene if they didn't show the refrigerator flying through the air and bouncing of the ground. If they had just showed him glance towards the fridge then back to the audience and then cut to the explosion and aftermath and then show him pop out of the fridge, THAT would have more felt like an Indy movie Now the lava pit scene in Doom is something that does irk me a bit...not only because in reality she probably would have died long before she even got that close to the lava, but because that scene doesn't follow the same rules as the previous "sacrifice" scene in the film. And the mine shaft, over the top sure....but it felt a lot more grounded than many of the scenes in IV...yeah I'll admit, some moments, like jumping the rails across a gorge in the mine...probably isn't gonna happen in real life, just like Shia swinging through the jungle. But the mine shaft (or previously mentioned plane through tunnel sequence) is a lot more enjoyable and clever than watching Shia become one with the monkeys and do a Tarzan impersonation (how many times have we seen that)...I might have been tempted to walk out if he pulled a Chewie and did the Tarzan yell as he was swinging from vine to vine. Just my opinion obviously, but no scene in any of the previous films can touch the level of outlandishness (or lack of originality) found in this one. I'm sorry, but this was NOT vintage Indy. I think it resembled The Mummy more at times imo. Something else... the token tough guy fight...I was thinking to myself...feels a lot like the fight on the runway in Raiders...only a much poorer version. Why? Spoiler Well in Raiders the tough guy is killed by a propeller, blood splatters on the windshield. Or in Doom, tough guy gets his robe caught in the rock crusher and gets pancaked. Crusade, the Colonel and tank fly off cliff to the canyon floor...all much, much more believable than hordes of ants consuming the guy and carrying him into their ant hole. I know there are ants that are capable of devouring whole cows...but not in a matter of seconds. Another thing that bugged me is the 'Mack' character....we've seen that type of guy in countless other movies... Spoiler it would have been far better to put him in the Marcus or Sallah role...and what's worse, Indy was surprised by Mack's admission to lying about being a double agent...he really is just a greedy b*stard that sold out his friends...real shocker there. I knew I was in for a long ride before the opening scene even concluded and I already was groaning. It looks like it made a lot money this weekend...second biggest Memorial Day opening ever. Couldn't be happier for Harrison Ford and maybe this will rejuvenate his career. He's too good of an actor to be put by the wayside. However it will be interesting to see how much business the movie generates in it's second weekend and beyond.
See that's where I disagree. I didn't have to throw ALL sense of reality out the window in the previous films. In this one, you pretty much have to. But that's just one of many flaws.
