Would you compare it to the SW prequels?

Grizzlor

Well-known member
NOWHERE as bad/vile as the Prequels. Although I've softened a lot on Phantom Menace, the other two are putrid.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
It's interesting to see how your own feelings change over time.

While the prequels are somewhat flawed, I enjoy them as entertainment. They're enjoyable and fun and genius in some areas, where KOTCS was just forgettable. As much as I was in denial for years, my first impression of KOTCS was I guess the true one: I walked out of that theater feeling like I had went to a funeral (and the atmosphere of my theater experience was much the same way - when the film ended, everyone silently and solemnly just proceeded out; no clapping that I can recall). The prequels may not be perfect but I don't find any of them bad or terrible. There's missed opportunities sure. But I enjoy them more as good sci-fi films, separate from the original trilogy. KOTCS is just...meh.

I've come to believe that the worst thing any work of art can be is mediocre and that's what KOTCS is in spades. The SW prequels may not be perfect but I don't think they can be called mediocre. You either love or hate them, it seems, but I don't see too many people with a sense of indifference toward them.
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
I can't make the comparison, because Star Wars never meant a whole lot to me. I liked it as a kid, but I was "over it" by the time Phantom Menace came out. I didn't see the rest of the prequels, and it wasn't because I particularly disliked Phantom Menace, I had just grown apathetic toward the franchise.

From my perspective the best counterpart to Crystal Skull is The Godfather Part III - an unnecessary sequel made by the same creative team after a gigantic hiatus that ultimately felt like a weak imitation. Like Crystal Skull, the third Godfather is an aggressively mediocre movie rather than an outright terrible one, but that somehow makes it worse. You don't disinter a beloved and completed saga fifteen years after the fact unless you've got the goods, or are at least taking a massive swing.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
A mediocre film is always worse than a bad film. A bad film will be enjoyed on its own unique merits (see, The Room) whereas a mediocre film is just forgettable and that makes it somehow all the more contemptible. Especially when the mediocre film is in a family of generally great films, it sticks out like a sore thumb even more. If KOTCS had been an entry in the Mummy franchise, no one would care because those movies are poor man's Indy movies anyway. When the long-awaited, much desired and highly anticipated fourth Indiana Jones film is a poor man's Indy film, you have a problem.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Major West said:
It can't be that forgettable people are still moaning about it ten years after it came out.:hat:

Us, who are Indy diehards. I think it's pretty forgotten by your average moviegoer unless the subject of Indy comes up and most seem to think "Ugh that last one stunk."
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
Major West said:
It can't be that forgettable people are still moaning about it ten years after it came out.:hat:

By posting this in a forum explicitly dedicated to Crystal Skull discussion that has only been materially contributed to by the same handful of people for the last decade, I am not sure how well your point is being made.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I enjoyed KOTCS at release and I still enjoy it now. Sure, it's flawed in many places, but it's a film I can go back to and have fun with. The prequels have their moments but overall I still find them mediocre and dull to sit through. ROTS is probably the best but it still suffers from poor writing, bad acting, and over-indulgence, particularly near the end. Phantom Menace has a few great moments with a lot of nothing in-between, while AOTC is embarrassing, though I do like some of the world building that it introduced.

For me it's no contest. KOTCS still gives me reasons to come back, while the prequels only get viewed when my wife and I are having a Star Wars marathon. I've softened on them a bit over the years but I can't see them ever becoming favorites.
 

avidfilmbuff

New member
I definitely would compare it to the prequels in the sense that they are both unfairly maligned. I didn?t care too much for episodes 1 and 2, but they have their positive qualities they?re not terrible, just mediocre. Episode 3 on the other hand is a masterpiece and my second favorite Star Wars film, but I think the fact that it came right after 1 and 2 ruined its reputation a bit and is more likely to be derided as ?one of the prequels? rather than be appreciated as a stand-alone film.

Both Episode 3 and Crystal Skull assured me that Lucas hadn?t lost his touch and could still create a great film. Unfortunately it seems that most don?t agree with me on that point.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
CS is like a thousand times better than every prequel. I look it as, if Raiders and LC are on par with Empire in quality, and TOD is ANH, CS is ROTJ: It is not, by any means, a bad movie; it's just a weaker entry. Raiders and LC are A+ and A-, TOD is B+, and CS is B-
 

Nerdpants

Well-known member
I think it's got a lot of things going for it that the prequels do not. Specifically, less green screen, better acting, better shot.
 

JediJones

Active member
I was let down by two of these movies, Phantom Menace and Crystal Skull. At the end, I just felt like I didn't care that much about what I just saw. The stories, on a fundamental, structural level, were shoddy in their construction. You could see the seams in them. Each one had genuinely, cheesy forced moments of emotion, because the stories didn't earn those moments. Both of them had good chase scenes, but there was almost nothing going for them when the action slowed down and the characters started talking. And at times, the plots of both hit absolute dead ends that they had to cheat their way out of, which was inexcusable. Ultimately, the tie breaker for the better film goes to Skull, because Irina and Mutt were better than Maul the Mute and Jar Jar the Duck.

I absolutely feel that Lucas course corrected successfully with Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Those are both movies where I got into the story and cared about what happened. The drama of the stories worked. They kept the pace up and didn't have too many slow or bland moments. And they didn't force feed "feel good" moments down the audience's throat. They also had darker, scarier and grittier action than the more family-friendly TPM and Skull. They had spectacular action and effects, which felt more justified by the story than in Phantom Menace in particular. And they feel more focused and purposeful than TPM and Skull, which feel more like random grab bags of moments loosely assembled into movies.
 

Nerdpants

Well-known member
I was let down by two of these movies, Phantom Menace and Crystal Skull. At the end, I just felt like I didn't care that much about what I just saw. The stories, on a fundamental, structural level, were shoddy in their construction. You could see the seams in them. Each one had genuinely, cheesy forced moments of emotion, because the stories didn't earn those moments. Both of them had good chase scenes, but there was almost nothing going for them when the action slowed down and the characters started talking. And at times, the plots of both hit absolute dead ends that they had to cheat their way out of, which was inexcusable. Ultimately, the tie breaker for the better film goes to Skull, because Irina and Mutt were better than Maul the Mute and Jar Jar the Duck.

I absolutely feel that Lucas course corrected successfully with Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Those are both movies where I got into the story and cared about what happened. The drama of the stories worked. They kept the pace up and didn't have too many slow or bland moments. And they didn't force feed "feel good" moments down the audience's throat. They also had darker, scarier and grittier action than the more family-friendly TPM and Skull. They had spectacular action and effects, which felt more justified by the story than in Phantom Menace in particular. And they feel more focused and purposeful than TPM and Skull, which feel more like random grab bags of moments loosely assembled into movies.
I thought that Darth Maul was cool. Part of the appeal was he was a silent killer. Wish he had survived and had a bigger role in episode 2.

I thought KOTCS was better than all the prequels
 

DARTH ZOIDBERG

Well-known member
I'm 40 years old so i was in my late teens when I saw TPM I am a member over at that really big star wars message board I wont bring up my name might be Leoluca Randisi over there. and when TPM Turned 10 years old a lot of people over there said they used to hate TPM but have grown to love the movie over the years. the consensus was with The Practical Effects in abundance in Tunisia and The Pod Race Liam Neeson and Duel Of the Fates that TPM was the best Prequel movie! a lot of people who originally hated Jar Jar now either don't mind him or like/Love him! 20 years after TPM in 2019 even more people loved the movie and 13 years after Crystal Skull I am seeing more and more people love the movie! These are Kids/Family Films Popcorn Flicks escape films people forget that!
 
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