IMDB Ranking

[Wilhelm]

That's correct. This is an episodic series like the old serials with cliffhangers in the end of each chapter.
They re-used set pieces from previous drafts in all the sequels (Life raft, mine chase, tank, boat chase) and put them in a new script. The tank scene was even storyboarded before the writting of the script, so they put more emphasis in the set pieces than in the characters in the first place.
In the other movies we also find a lot of homages: musicals from the 30s (Anything Goes in TOD), western movies (Beginning of LC), exotic colonial adventures (TOD is like Gunga Din), biblical epics (Power of the ark like the Red Sea partition in The Ten Commandments), gangsters movies (Lao Che and Willie Scott and the pursuit in Shanghai)...

The problem is that we have seen the trilogy during 20 years so all the scenes seem to belong to the saga. But the circus train sequence in LC is also surreal in the same style of the atomic bomb scene and didn't belong to any kind of archaeological or adventure theme.

[AndyLGR]

Originally Posted by Darth Vile

So with KOTCS, what we ultimately get is a watered down version of the Raiders premise… and with no significant underlying story arc/emotional journey to evolve, the movie makers simply try to make it “bigger”, more elaborate and further push/mix the high concept to incorporate fathers, sons, aliens etc. It’s then really about how much one is bothered by the inexorable inching away from the original concept/movie.

Fantastic analysis........... Which is what happens with a lot of sequels, its the law of dimished returns, people will keep coming back to sequels based on the success of the original movie. And in the main the sequel fail to live up to the original, there are exceptions I guess, arguably Empire Strikes Back, Godfather 2, Aliens......... but the list is small.

And there is no way of getting away from the fact that a sequel will always be judged against its original.

But KOTCS for me too has no decent story, nothing to keep me interested and very poor dialogue. Even TOD which was my least favourite Indy movie, until KOTCS, has a dark undertone that kept me hooked. Having watched it a couple of times recently for the first time in a number of years actually, if I'm honest with myself its a better movie than I have given it credit for. TLC is carried by the relationship between Indy and his dad and TLC is probably, (for me anyway), the best homage to the the original movie in terms of its action and setpieces.

Having said all that, I would still love to see an Indy 5.

[indyfan85]

I myself feel that KOTCS is way, WAY underrated. I feel like I'm watching a completely different movie when I read some of the complaints on here.

First off, the action scenes being touted as unrealistic or slapsticky, go back and watch the Last Crusade and you'll find they're just as over the top. It's a roller coaster of events often times they are silly and unrealistic events but it's always a thrill ride.

Nuked fridge... implausible, idiotic, over the top and absolutely amazing. I thought this scene was a great followup to the fight underneath the warehouse. The cinematography used throughout the scene, (and the entire opening sequence I might add) was well done as well and it's quite original. Would a human have survived that? Does it matter? To an fan of the original films I don't think it should.

Poor dialog, Re-watch the scenes with actor Jim Broadbent and Ford, I thought that the dialog used in his scenes in particular were some of the best in the movie. I found the discussions between Mutt & Indy in the Diner and also in Peru were fantastic. Mutt being a character I initially was against turned out to be pretty well acted by Shia. The scene where Indy reflects on Marcus and his father was really touching as well.

I think what really resonates with me about the negative reactions I've read for this movie is that the other underrated Indy movie, ToD has always been my favorite in the series and underwent similar treatment from critics when it was first released. In general, it's always been hard for me to rate Indy movies in terms of best to worst and a few months ago. I might have decided it was the weakest of the series but I think KOTCS is a worthy Indy adventure.