When Indy grabs the hat from Mutt....

Wilhelm said:

I also like that the empty church is similar to an empty cinema theater with the audience going outside.

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Yeah, great point. Very symbolic.

Man I miss that that warm night I saw this movie...

michael said:

I don't see how there could be a fifth with that ending. Regardless of everything leading up to it, it completed the saga perfectly. I think that's all we can ask for.

In my opinion it's the still the best ending out of the four. Yeah I went there. Mostly because when I saw it, I knew that was it. I'm not going to see another new one ever again. Oh he's got more adventures ahead of him that's for sure, but not for us to see.

It seems most of the reason why we want a fifth one (well besides the fact that it's MORE Indy) is to replace the 2nd half of the movie, because it drops like a rock when they get to Marion---no offense, doll. That is NOT why you should make an Indy five. You make it because it WORKS. Crystal Skull still WORKS, no matter how subpar it is to the rest.

You make a fifth, in this series, after that ending, it better be f***ing PERFECT and it better have an ending to all endings.

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My thoughts exactly. Indy is too tied up for there to be a fifth film set after the events of KOTCS: he's carrying too much baggage. W/ both a wife, a son, and a higher academic position, I would say this is the perfect way to end the series chronologically.

But while KOTCS is still quite a good film and adequately ended the series (in my opinion, its better and nowhere near as ridiculous and over the top as TOD), I still wanna see another. Before, there was almost no connection between other installments save for Indy and a few other characters or references. What happened though is that KOTCS wrapped things up in such a way than to continue on after the wedding day makes no sense. Its not Indiana Jones anymore: its National Treasure (except, it would probably still be better, but anyways...).

The only way I could see them getting around this is by doing (like many of you have suggested before) a film before KOTCS. But based on what we've heard, I think we can all assume that if there is an Indy V, it will be set afterwards, hence why Shia apparently has been talked to (although it could just be he's good friends w/ Spielberg). I don't mind seeing Mutt in another Indy film (he defintly wasn't one of KOTCS's faults), but it just means that all the other baggage associated w/ the ending of that film will most likely carry over as well.

In my opinion, its not the best ending. But its an appropriate one (unlike some others, I prefer the small, intimate wedding over the cameo filled one). ROTLA leaves you w/ some mystery, TOD just concludes the story, and LC gives you a sense of finality (KOTCS is more like an epilogue).

I still see the ending as intentionally open-ended.

When it was filmed Lucas and Spielberg wouldn't know how well KOTCS would be received. Neither would they be 100% sure that all the main players could return for a possible #5.

So, the 'hat ending' can represent:

1. A perfect ending. Indy remains defiant, never relinquishing the fedora.

2. A perfect setup for #5. Indy's defiance confirms that he's ready to take on another adventure.

3. Mutt's claim to the fedora. He wants to step into his father's Aldens and wear the hat. He signalling his future intent. This would be the defining moment for the creation of a Mutt spin-off series.


All three options are made possible in that fedora exchanging scene.

Montana Smith said:

I still see the ending as intentionally open-ended.

When it was filmed Lucas and Spielberg wouldn't know how well KOTCS would be received. Neither would they be 100% sure that all the main players could return for a possible #5.

So, the 'hat ending' can represent:

1. A perfect ending. Indy remains defiant, never relinquishing the fedora.

2. A perfect setup for #5. Indy's defiance confirms that he's ready to take on another adventure.

3. Mutt's claim to the fedora. He wants to step into his father's Aldens and wear the hat. He signalling his future intent. This would be the defining moment for the creation of a Mutt spin-off series.


All three options are made possible in that fedora exchanging scene.

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Correct. The scene can be interpreted as either a perfect wrap-up (seriously, they could have had a title card say "And they all lived happily ever after" and it would have worked), or a new beginning (Indy now has an entire family to accompany him on his journeys). I happen to like the family dynamic of KOTCS, so I support bringing the whole family along next time.

But that being said, Indy SHOULD still be the primary focus in action scenes (the duel with Spalko was great and all, but that chase really should have been a showcase for Indy, not Mutt. Or at the very least, it should have been edited so that we cut back and forth between Mutt fighting Spalko and Indy slugging Russians, and we could see them mirror each others moves, in a nice tribute to the moment in TOD where Shorty is beating up Zalim Singh while Indy punches the crap out of the Thuggee Guard).

kongisking said:

Correct. The scene can be interpreted as either a perfect wrap-up (seriously, they could have had a title card say "And they all lived happily ever after" and it would have worked), or a new beginning (Indy now has an entire family to accompany him on his journeys). I happen to like the family dynamic of KOTCS, so I support bringing the whole family along next time.

But that being said, Indy SHOULD still be the primary focus in action scenes (the duel with Spalko was great and all, but that chase really should have been a showcase for Indy, not Mutt. Or at the very least, it should have been edited so that we cut back and forth between Mutt fighting Spalko and Indy slugging Russians, and we could see them mirror each others moves, in a nice tribute to the moment in TOD where Shorty is beating up Zalim Singh while Indy punches the crap out of the Thuggee Guard).

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This. All of this.

kongisking said:

I happen to like the family dynamic of KOTCS, so I support bringing the whole family along next time..

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It can work, but can only be the 3 of them.

A big part of why KOTCS sagged was there was so many people along!

Nobody cared for Ox, and Mac's part became a joke unto itself.

But you are right, it seems like it's the ONLY way to go about it for a fifth. I can't picture Marion just staying home while the boys are out on an adventure. It could be done right.

The margin for error just seems so slim to me though.

michael said:

It can work, but can only be the 3 of them.

A big part of why KOTCS sagged was there was so many people along!

Nobody cared for Ox, and Mac's part became a joke unto itself.

But you are right, it seems like it's the ONLY way to go about it for a fifth. I can't picture Marion just staying home while the boys are out on an adventure. It could be done right.

The margin for error just seems so slim to me though.

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The final scene was very nice, big smile from my seat. While Mutt will surely be along it's not necessary. There are creative and talented writers out there, despite what Skull finally is. Marion and Mutt had lives BEFORE the events of Crystal Skull and it's unlikely that they'll all move into one house and have that half hour sitcom relationship loaded with hijinks.

If anything Marion should be a sort of trump card or unexpected cameo to rescue then need rescuing...they never struck me as the clingy constant companion types.

Rocket Surgeon said:

While Mutt will surely be along it's not necessary. There are creative and talented writers out there, despite what Skull finally is. Marion and Mutt had lives BEFORE the events of Crystal Skull and it's unlikely that they'll all move into one house and have that half hour sitcom relationship loaded with hijinks.

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Mutt can be in college. Like Shia was in Transformers 2.

Montana Smith said:

Mutt can be in college. Like Shia was in Transformers 2.

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The way I see it, based on the dialog and tradition, yes Mutt's SUPPOSED to be in college when he and Indy cross paths...


...blah blah blah and Mutt is shot dead because he was mistaken for Indy.

That'll teach you to steal dad's things!

Would you give the fedora over to Shia LaBeouf in the next Indiana Jones movie?

Hannah Rowton

DEL CITY, OKLA.

HF: What are you talking about? It's mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat.



Part of 10 Questions for Harrison Ford on Time.com sometime last year.

JuniorJones said:

Would you give the fedora over to Shia LaBeouf in the next Indiana Jones movie?

Hannah Rowton

DEL CITY, OKLA.

HF: What are you talking about? It's mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat.



Part of 10 Questions for Harrison Ford on Time.com sometime last year.

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He does have his own hat. Remember the one he wore in his introduction at the train station? Shame he didn't wear it the rest of the movie...

kongisking said:

He does have his own hat. Remember the one he wore in his introduction at the train station? Shame he didn't wear it the rest of the movie...

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I think it looked a bit camp, even on Marlon Brando:





So I can see why Mutt wanted to exchange it for Indy's fedora.

kongisking said:

Shame he didn't wear it the rest of the movie...

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That hat was to pooftery... it looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's hat on top of another hat!

Thank goodness they ditched it!

Rocket Surgeon said:

That hat was to pooftery... it looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's hat on top of another hat!

Thank goodness they ditched it!

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I ran your comments through Alta-Vista to get the English translation.

It came up with "poofy".

As in, "Mutt's hat was too poofy."

I know what poofy means, but I ran it through a dictionary for the official definition:

"One with homosexual tendencies".

Therefore, after much consideration, I am inclined to agree with your statement. Even Marlon Brando couldn't pull off a hat like that. If this was Carry on Up the Crystal Skull, Mutt would be played by the very camp Kenneth Williams.

michael said:

Was a magical moment, for me at least. Even haters loved this moment.

When he grabs the hat and walks out with Marion, ALL 3 of them are smiling, but that's not their characters smiling, that's Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf and Karen Allen smiling.

They ALL knew this was it. They ALL knew the importance of the moment. That's how the story ends, Indiana Jones lives on and nobody can replace him.

I don't see how there could be a fifth with that ending. Regardless of everything leading up to it, it completed the saga perfectly. I think that's all we can ask for.

In my opinion it's the still the best ending out of the four. Yeah I went there. Mostly because when I saw it, I knew that was it. I'm not going to see another new one ever again. Oh he's got more adventures ahead of him that's for sure, but not for us to see.

It seems most of the reason why we want a fifth one (well besides the fact that it's MORE Indy) is to replace the 2nd half of the movie, because it drops like a rock when they get to Marion---no offense, doll. That is NOT why you should make an Indy five. You make it because it WORKS. Crystal Skull still WORKS, no matter how subpar it is to the rest.

You make a fifth, in this series, after that ending, it better be f***ing PERFECT and it better have an ending to all endings.


ok, I only brought all this up because I watched it recently, and the ending just kills me everytime!

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I don't know how you can beat the ending to LC. Riding off into the sunset was the perfect ending to the series.

I don't think Mutt attempting to try on the fedora was him thinking he deserved it, but moreso he was starting to respect Indy and wanted to try on his hat out of curiosity. Even though he ditched his Marlon Brando hat early on in CS, here he is being a little bit audacious, a bit presumptious but here he truly ditches his own hat (his former identity) and it works on two levels, the act for the movie story and as someone pointed out, the actors were being themselves. Harrison and Indy are both present at the point he takes his hat back, as were Shia and Mutt and Karen and Marion.

michael said:

It can work, but can only be the 3 of them.

A big part of why KOTCS sagged was there was so many people along!

Nobody cared for Ox, and Mac's part became a joke unto itself.

But you are right, it seems like it's the ONLY way to go about it for a fifth. I can't picture Marion just staying home while the boys are out on an adventure. It could be done right.

The margin for error just seems so slim to me though.

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I couldn't agree more. Ox and Mac brought nothing of value to the film.

Montana Smith said:

I still see the ending as intentionally open-ended.

When it was filmed Lucas and Spielberg wouldn't know how well KOTCS would be received. Neither would they be 100% sure that all the main players could return for a possible #5.

So, the 'hat ending' can represent:

1. A perfect ending. Indy remains defiant, never relinquishing the fedora.

2. A perfect setup for #5. Indy's defiance confirms that he's ready to take on another adventure.

3. Mutt's claim to the fedora. He wants to step into his father's Aldens and wear the hat. He's signalling his future intent. This would be the defining moment for the creation of a Mutt spin-off series.


All three options are made possible in that fedora exchanging scene

Click to expand...

As time has moved on with no real indication of an Indy 5 on the horizon, I no longer take option 2 seriously. It could have been possible if Lucas had planned to follow up quickly with #5, but the age of the actors now makes it unlikely.

Unless #5 was imminent the point of the hat gag is lost. Indy would have to do it all over again, which undermines the scene the first time round.

Option 1 is, in my mind, the most apt. It signifies the end of the series with Harrison while at the same time allowing his character to remain dominant at the last moment on screen. It's best that we don't know what happens from that moment on. As such, removing Old Indy from the bookends was also a smart move.

KOTCS saw Indy older, kicked around and forced down a path he didn't want to go. He survived, and then seemingly settled back down into a more relaxed way of life. He began the film as a field archaeologist, rather than a tomb-robbing adventurer, and he ended it married with a kid and a college promotion.

The signs point to the end, but the hat gag also signals the possibility of future exploits, but ones confined to audience imagination rather then to film.

Montana Smith said:

KOTCS saw Indy older, kicked around and forced down a path he didn't want to go. He survived, and then seemingly settled back down into a more relaxed way of life. He began the film as a field archaeologist, rather than a tomb-robbing adventurer, and he ended it married with a kid and a college promotion.

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I'm beginning to see why we have such different takes on the last movie, as well as what we'd like to see happen with the character from here. I actually appreciated the reference to some sort of "actual" archaeological work, as opposed to the tomb-raiding treasure quests we think of when we think of the character. While we all see him and know him for the latter, I've also always thought that he did spend a healthy chunk of his time doing real, meticulous, careful archaeology; it just doesn't wash that he'd have his collegiate associations and teaching position and all without it. So help me, I really want to see an Indy movie that actually gives us a little more of that - perhaps a prologue beginning with one of his "routine" field excavations that we've never really gotten to see, before getting to the peril-filled quest.

I realize full well that may be just me, but it's something I'd truly enjoy...