RyoHazuki

Saw it this morning. I was entertained throughout most of it but its easily the 4th best entry in the series. Too many eye roll moments, most have been mentioned already. That monkey scene was dreadful. It was weird to see Indy jump around like a ninja at the beginning and then in non-action scenes we get stiff ol' Harrison. The amount of abuse he takes in this is insane. It was Passion of the Indy. Shia didn't really grate on me as much as I anticipated but he really didn't have that many lines. I was bracing myself for a "buddy film" type scenario but Speilberg wisely kept the focus on Indy. He directs the hell out of it but the script (and the cgi) were not up to par or even close. Overall I just walked away feeling underwhelmed.

Jackskeleton

As much as Shia is annoying in general, the film made me like him and thought he had amazing chemistry with Indy.

Kate Capshaw on the other hand...

yeah, no way Temple is better than Crystal.



Not to mention Lucas didn't write or direct this. So really, while he may have suggested things, you don't think Spielberg or Ford didn't contribute their own pieces to what others think was a "lucas" story/ending?

Seriously, the lucas bashing is really not warranted in this situation.

mdc3000

I LOVED IT. Yes, it has problems - the Tarzan scene and the lengthy exposition of the Indy looking into the eyes of the skull scene, but those are the only two things that REALLY stand out. The fridge scene? I can buy it...this isn't just some guy, this is fucking INDIANA JONES.

I thought all the scenes with Mutt and Indy were great, including one of the best uses of the Wilhelm scream in recent memory...and the Indy/Marion stuff felt like old times. The finale is a bit muddled and we don't get a big face melting payoff, but I didn't mind it. This is the 50's sci-fi serial edition of Indiana Jones and the end works perfectly within that.

If you go in expecting a fun two hours, you'll get what you're after. I can't place it in the rankings just yet, but it was an Indy movie through and through for me. Each one is a different kind of serial and I thought it worked like gangbusters for what it was trying to do...and I thought Kaminski did a decent job capturing the Slocombe look. Some of the effects are just alright, but for a matinee serial, it works and it keeps in line with the previous 3 flicks... I do think they held back on but that lack of 'scary' aside, I had a hell of a time and am going back tonight to see it again. It's not perfect, it's not the best of the series, but it's a new Indiana Jones movie that I thought was true to the spirit of the movies and I loved every minute of it!

bunkaroo

My feelings on this:

3 out of 4 stars, but barely. Not better than any of the others, including ToD.

This one felt like Phantom Menace did. Something is "off". I also think CG hurts this series a lot more than the SW prequels, mostly because CG is a little easier to take when it's space, creatures, etc. But for this film, the CG takes away some of the authenticity.

Ford was fine as Indy as usual. I liked Shia in this. Winstone, Hurt, Broadbent are all wasted IMO. Blanchett is given a cardboard character to play but at least has fun with it.

It's something I want to see again, but not in the theater.

Would have liked to see what Frank Darabont had done for this before it was denied by Lucas. Would it have still been the same basic story?

Iron Man is still the most enjoyable film I've seen in the "summer" movie season. I don't expect that will change until Dark Knight comes out, or possibly Wall-E.

CloverClover

I agree, Revenge of the Sith was good, this new Indiana Jones though feels like a cartoon. The others may have too but had a much more gritty, cinematic tone. This is easily one of Spielberg's very worst movies. A much better way to have paid homage to the 50's culture, would have been to toss aside all CGI and create a hand crafted movie, though that's a general nit pick suited beyond this new Indy, whose problems are beyond the sci fi. The stuff like, showing pictures of Sean Connery who passed away is just lazy, everyone would have loved at least a cameo. Then there is that whole George Lucas device of making up references to an imaginary past as a way of saying 'see how much Indy has done since the last movie? He was even there for Roswell' and characters that supposedly Indy went on adventures with in other unfilmed adventures. There are just a lot of bad, lazy ideas in the movie, even Marion and her son belong in a sitcom, not Indy... it's a shame. Harrison Ford's performance was bad, stilted delivery that a younger Ford could own, and they used too much make-up to hide his age, making it very clunky... But what could he do with a script which had not even an ounce of character, there wasn't even an opportunity to deliver a performance or show his range. By the end, instead of gearing up for another adventure, ending on an exciting note or making a statement about his character, there is a what kind of crap is that for Indy? No one wants to see that, this ain't sex and the city. And not only that, but the only people in attendance were characters from earlier in this movie. I was half expecting the two FBI guys to be applauding in the back. Barf. It is a movie that the filmmakers knew, no matter what they did, would be successful, so they phoned it in, maybe everyone knew it would suck, so simultaneously cheered on the underdog when all along the underdog thing is just a mask to hide its mediocrity

mdc3000

My sister is terrified of and that finale had her nearly crying...so you are not alone

mdc3000

Dude, Connery has RETIRED FROM ACTING. They wanted him, he said 'NO WAY'...so unless you wanted them to CG a cameo from Connery, I think this was the best they could do... and a LOT of time has passed since Last Crusade when this movie starts, of course they'll talk a bit about what he's been doing - otherwise everyone would bitch about 'What did Indy do all those years?' - you can't have it both ways, so they picked one - I thought they made the right choice.

RichC2

I haven't seen KotCS yet, and I know RotS has it's fans, but honestly - that is the funniest thing I've read all day.

notkevinbacon

I understand that a Connery cameo would be tough (didn't he "retire") to wrestle in, though if there was ever a movie series to bring him back it'd be Indy or Bond right?

A few people chuckled at the photos on the desk (they looked like production photos from the last movie or something! Come on, Indy wouldn't have a better picture of his Dad? This isn't glamor shots! WTF are you looking at Mr. Connery???) I can live with the bad photos, but I agree this was lazy. Certainly, because later in the movie a car crashes into a giant statue of Brody... would this not have been enough to honor/remember the character? There are better ways to convey Indy's relationship with Marcus and honor Denholm Elliot.

OldBoy

they actually intentional made a reference to "Scrubs" ?? wish i hadn't seen this, but that is so asweome, can't wait.

Victor Nettoyeur

I'm in total agreement. That one really made me laugh.

Cardiff Giant11

as long as it's better than Temple of Doom I'll be happy. I tried re-watching that recently and shut it off. I forgot how bad it is compared to Raiders and Last Crusade.

Brack

I had a fun time watching this. I want to see it again before I truly rank it among the other films, but as of now I simply don't think it's as good. maybe it's because the look of the film isn't like the other movies. I don't know, it's a bit off, and stuff like sexual tension was missing, for obvious reasons. I can't hold that against the film, but it definitely was a different Indy. I thought the action was well done, and couldn't help but smile and laugh during the "swinging" scene. The comedy was pretty good, but the audience I watched it with didn't make much noise, but that's typical for a matinee audience of anything these days.

Shannon Nutt

Things I didn't like:
- The opening sequence (doesn't match up to any of the previous three films).
- The "Fridge" (Sorry, no way a human survives that - not even Indy)
- The John Hurt and Ray Winstone characters (Hurt was given nothing to do, Winstone was one-note character...plus I couldn't understand half his lines!)
- OBVIOUS stuntmen in place of Ford - particulary during the motorcycle sequence.

Things I did like:
- The 50's references - especially over the opening credits and in the malt shop
- Shia. I've never liked this kid in anything until now - but he made a great sidekick for Indy. Worlds better than Willie Scott, Short Round or Elsa, but obviously not on par with Marion, Sallah or Henry Sr.

Things I loved:

- Karen Allen! The first 45 minutes or so of the movie are uneven, but when she hits the screen, BOOM! It's like old times again. She and Ford have wonderful chemistry together...virtually every scene they're in together is great.

- The ending. Call me sappy and sentimental, but it made me tear up. Made me want more, too - regardless of this film's faults.

Overall, I think it's a B- It's closer in content and style to Temple of Doom than it is to either Raiders or Last Crusade. It's not the best possible Indy movie that could have been made, but it's far from a disappointment. I'll need to see it a few more times to decide exactly where I'd put it in terms of the other films, but my initial reaction is:

Last Crusade
Raiders
Crystal Skull
Temple of Doom

chris_sc77

Well... I was ultimately disappointed. Maybe a B- or a weak B. Without question the weakest in the series. All the action worked very well. The plot sucked. Dialogue was mostly weak. Supporting characters not well developed. Absolutely horrendous embarrassing ending that rivaled my most fears of how this series would end.

Rankings:
Last Crusade (A+)
Raiders (A-)
Temple of Doom (B+)
Crystal Skull (B-)

Lara Means

Karen Allen? Her character was pointless in the movie. Her acting is so terrible and akward when Marion is introduced. Chemistry? You mean that cringe worthy bickering during the really bad quicksand bit? Marion character is so not important that she disappears during the car chase action sequence only to return at the very end. She also doesnt have any goddamn lines in the final half hour. Give me a break.

No question.

Raiders
Doom
Crusade
Krystal Shit

Dr Mabuse

cheesy... clunky... painfully obvious... lame and tired...

and how about those George Lucas 'action' sequences that quickly got boring...

Blanchett was a caricature... just too awful to believe...

a trainwreck...

Allen was cardboard...

why was John hurt in this? i mean John Hurt? THAT'S what they gave him in this, that has Lucas all over it... a waste of Winstone too...

the worst of the 4 by a long measure... and just another example of why Lucas is the biggest hack in the business...

i kept thinking how good that Darabont script might have been the whole time...

"Of all the words by tongue or pen, the saddest are "It might have been""...

NIMH Rat

I have a feeling there's going to be a strong disliking of this movie for anyone under 30.

I enjoyed it a lot, probably because I'm over 30.

Supermallet

Once again, people, George Lucas didn't make this movie. Steven Spielberg did. Lucas wrote the basic story, but I'm sure if Spielberg had objected to something, he would have had his way. Stop acting like Lucas is the only reason this film has any faults. If you didn't like it, Spielberg is equally to blame.

Luckily, I loved it, so I don't have to bother spreading blame around.

chris_sc77

Same here.
decree David Koepp is not allowed to work with Spielberg ever again. This and War of the worlds have horrible endings.

Daytripper

Agree.

And to NIMH Rat. Yeah, you can also gauge someone's age when they cleverly rename a movie to something like "The Golden Suck Ass" or "Krystal Shit".

FRwL

No wonder Connery never got involved in this, i bet he saw the script and laughed his ass off and sent it back to Lucas.

Temple of Doom
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Last Crusade
Kingdom of the Looney Tunes Skull

Kal Varnsen

Is the Frank Darabont script on the internet?

chris_sc77

Anyone else kinda pissed this Indy felt a lot more family friendly- compared to the previous Indy films. It felt more along the lines of National Treasure than what I like about the other films.

Terrell

I see there are still some people so butt-hurt over the prequels that they feel the need to blame Lucas for a screenplay he didn't write and a film he didn't direct. It's absolutely hilarious.