Udvarnoky said:
Crystal Skull had way, way more opportunity to get dark and violent than TLC did, and it very consciously chose not to take them. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to the individual viewer, but I know where I sit.
Yes, and as much as I do enjoy KOTCS (looking forward for my DVD arriving) , the only thing that bothers me is despite the dark and eerie angle thate aliens/psychic powers can have, they never really gave them a creepy factor. Staring in to the skull was creepy, but they never followed it up really, which I thought was a shame. I understand why they didn't do this path, but I wish they had, and had they made it a bit darker (it wouldn't need to dominate the movie). As it stands, the crystal skull kind of loses it's meaning in the movie, and becomes more of an item to knock people out during the jungle chase, and getting tossed around like a ball. But I think the reveal at the end, or at least Spalko's death could have been more menacing/violent, kind of along the lines of the ark's opening/donovan's aging. Though I do love the scene when the streams of knowledge are being shot in to Irina's eyes as the camera rotates around the room - it really seemed like a good set up, but then the finale of her death ended too quick.
And to remain on topic, I just don't think the prarie dogs, as little as they bother me, which is none, really broke us away from any tense feeling. Seeing Indy and Dovenchiko on the sleigh with their mouths wide open from the force of the speed was amusing enough.