Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - initial impressions and casual discussion

[MolaRam2]

I wish the jungle cutter had been used a bit better... it was destroyed right off the bat when I was convinced it was going to end up being the flying wing/rock grinder/tank sequence of this film. Surely thought Dovchenko was going to bite it in the blades... too bad, really.

Also, what would have been 100% better... Indy and Mutt get separated just as they do in the film, with the vines... (imagining the jungle cutter was NOT destroyed now) and Mutt drops from them onto it instead of SWINGING WITH THE MONKEYS WHO ALSO CONVENIENTLY HATE THE RUSSIANS.

Anyway... so we now have parallel fights... the two jeeps on the side of the cliff like in the finished film, and the Mutt VS (whomever) atop the jungle cutter. *fights ensue, Mutt begins to lose fight but miraculous indyfilm circumstances push (whomever) off the vehicle and into the path of the blades. COOL DEATH SCENE'd!* ... then Mutt takes control of the vehicle (with trial and error, of course... he's not a jungle cutter driver by trade) and bursts through the jungle into the path of Spalko's vehicle ultimately saving Indy and friends before they're pushed over the edge. "Whoa... whoa."

This is proof that fans on the internet can come up with way better ideas for action, than what was used in KOTCS.

 

[EvilDevo]

Great minds, as they say.

Really... I was HUGELY let down by this movie. But the more I think about it, the more I want to see it again... it did have it's moments. There was just so much that seemed so close to being awesome but ended up falling short... it's like the movie was rushed last minute, and with a few changes would have been more widely accepted.

The fridge shouldn't have taken flight.
The gophers shouldn't have been used so many times.
Monkeys shouldn't have been used at all...
The wedding scene shouldn't have existed.

Other than that, this movie was okay and will eventually start to grow on the majority of us. I'm looking forward to seeing it again...

 

[foreignerfred]

The first time I watched it, I guess I was going in with all my expectations---"looking for the Second Coming"---and I came out feeling rather disappointed and depressed. BUT!

I got excited the next day about going to see it again with my wife (she just couldn't make the midnight show with me...SHE'S A TEACHER!) that evening. I started to realize that it took that first viewing to do away with all my preconceived notions...all 19 years of them. Perhaps my second viewing would allow me to accept the movie for what the makers intended and most of all, what it actually IS.

Well, my friends, I went back and I cheered the WHOLE TIME (okay, maybe not during Tarzan Mutt, but everything else)!!! The movie mixes elements of all the films (perhaps mostly TOD and LC) and does it in a way that the whole family can enjoy. I enjoyed it, I mean REALLY enjoyed it.

There are some flaws to be sure, but all of the films have flaws that we've glossed over due to our childish sentimental attachments to every scene of every movie thanks to hundreds of viewings! If the change in me between the first viewing of KOTCS and the second is any indication, I think Indy's fourth adventure will only become nearer and dearer as the years go by!

Thanks Harrison, Steven, George, and John (Williams)! Thanks to everyone involved for coming back!!! Thanks to those who started this thread, as well.

Indy's back, and I, for one, am glad.

 

[Jim Tigernuts]

Using the Jungle Cutter in a Flying Wing-style fight would have been awesome.

Instead they used the fire ants, but they hardly exploited the possibilities at all!!!! At the very least they could have toyed with the audience; I thought that was one of the least suspenseful fist-fights in the whole series.

I was like, YO, BAD GUY, TRY AND PUSH INDY'S HEAD INTO THE SWARM OF ANTS OR SOMETHING! Anything for some tension.

 

[davejames]

Using the Jungle Cutter in a Flying Wing-style fight would have been awesome.

Instead they used the fire ants, but they hardly exploited the possibilities at all!!!! At the very least they could have toyed with the audience; I thought that was one of the least suspenseful fist-fights in the whole series.

I was like, YO, BAD GUY, TRY AND PUSH INDY'S HEAD INTO THE SWARM OF ANTS OR SOMETHING! Anything for some tension.

That's a fight that should have been truly awesome. It certainly LOOKED brutal and violent, but the entire thing was undermined by the silly ants and all the other nonsense taking place around it.

Mostly though, I just didn't care anymore by that point.

 

[DrBeezer]

It was not a volunteer army - people were drafted. Ordinary people. And at the same time, Americans wanted to fight this war. Men felt it was their duty and were proud to contribute to the war effort. You think Indy hated the Nazis simply because they wanted to steal artifacts? No way.

In the full context of the character including all the films and the show, it makes perfect sense why he would be a military leader and spy.

Disregarding the YIJC (even though KotCS didn't) I would hope Indiana Jones wouldn't have turned his back on his country at a time of war. I mean - he loved killing Nazis.

well said. They aren't called "The Greatest Generation" for nothing. You're mixing skepticism and conspiracy of the modern world, with the mentality of the US citizen during WWII. Different time, different mentality.

Oh and if you're going to watch GI Joe, you're not going to see "A Real American Hero"... Hasbro is taking that away from them with the upcoming movie.

 

[RocketSledFight]

Am I the only one who liked the cinematography in this thing? I've heard people say on this board that the digital gloss of it detracts from the movie, but I couldn't really find many complaints with it. The new look seems to amplify the 1950s look they were going for.

 

[ResidentAlien]

Am I the only one who liked the cinematography in this thing? I've heard people say on this board that the digital gloss of it detracts from the movie, but I couldn't really find many complaints with it. The new look seems to amplify the 1950s look they were going for.

Hated.


Seemed like a Kaminski film through and through; everything bleeding and glowing. Is this heaven? No, it's a really poorly lit film. Shame.

 

[RocketSledFight]

Hated.


Seemed like a Kaminski film through and through; everything bleeding and glowing. Is this heaven? No, it's a really poorly lit film. Shame.

The only time I really remember things bleeding and glowing is during the opening scenes - and this specifically is what i mean when it reminds me of the look it is mimicking in style. What other scenes do you mean?

A lot of scenes seem much more like the older movies. Most of the scenes on campus, in indy's home, the (majority of) the jungle chase, and the tent scenes in the jungle fit with the old movies, to me, as far as look goes.

 

[UltimateManGod]

I just came back from seeing it, and I really enjoyed it. It's yet to really sink in for me. It'll proably take some time and repeat viewing for me to really get a good grasp for the film. I will say it still felt like Indy, but there was still something different. I think the 19 year gap is a big part of that. I'd anticipated that, but it still caught me offguard a bit. That's a lot of time, and will take some time to gey used to. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it again. Sorry if this post seems a little repetative. It's time to go to sleep.

 

[Mortis]

To me it seemed there was alot of bad acting in this film too. An at teh begining of the movie it didn't even sound like Harrison Ford talking. Almost sounded like a voice over. And don't get me started on the snake/rope scene. Just like the Superman movies, they should have stopped at 3.

 

[Young Indy]

I couldn't agree with the last statement more. It was better the second and 3rd time for me. THANK YOU GEORGE, STEVEN, HARRISON!

 

[EvilDevo]

This is proof that fans on the internet can come up with way better ideas for action, than what was used in KOTCS.

I don't know whether to take this as a mighty fine compliment or... a terribly depressing commentary on the film in question. But thank you anyway.

And don't get me started on the snake/rope scene.

I thought this was one of the better scenes in the movie. It seemed the most real to me. As in, this was the Indy we know and love... just how it was acted by Harrison Ford. And how it was shot to show the fear on his face before anything else...

I also thought it was a smart, creative moment to have Indy choose between his greatest fear or death.

 

[Crack that whip]

One thing I personally found gratifying, even though it turned out not to be a huge story point, was the idea of Indy under suspicion in the Red Scare of the '50s. As it happens, when I used to imagine my own Indy tales and contemplate writing them out into fan fiction some years ago, one of the ideas I thought about was Indy under investigation by HUAC types. I don't remember why this notion grabbed me, but it did, and so to see it turn up in an actual, honest-to-goodness Indy movie felt a tiny little bit as though it had been inserted just for me. It's too bad there wasn't more done with this, but I liked seeing it come up at all.

 

[IAdventurer01]

I'm going to give it my second viewing this weekend, but as for the first viewing I can say - Thanks for doing it, and doing a commendable job of it. The more time that has passed since my initial viewing the more I want to see it again.

I remember watching ToD with some friends a few weeks back and we ripped that movie to shreds, but it's still one of my favorite movies - behind Raiders and LC. With that in mind, even if it is the worst of the three, er ... four, it's still a wonderful wonderful movie that's a lot of fun!

 

[Crusade>Raiders]

Thank you Spielburg/Lucas for bringing a worthwhile addition to the Indy saga.

Thank you Ford for still being the Indiana Jones we know and love

Thank you John Williams for still making amazing music. Those new tracks like Jungle Chase, Mutt's Theme, and Finale are classics.

and thank you Shia, for not sucking in this one. But don't get any ideas; you're no Indy

 

[Nurhachi1991]

I don't think these guys are here for the milkshakes

That was the greatest line I have ever heard in a movie..........



and I thought it deserved its own thread

 

[Fish1941]

This is proof that fans on the internet can come up with way better ideas for action, than what was used in KOTCS.

I'm beginning to wish there was no such thing as Internet fans. Everytime I come across fans who think they can do better than the filmakers, they end up proving that they can't.

That's all Georgie and Stevie could come up with? A shot to the foot?

This is the best you can do in regard to criticism? You're complaining that Indy didn't shoot someone in cold blood? Are you kidding me? You can't relive the past. And that scene from RAIDERS might be something that one should not relive.

 

[Crusade>Raiders]

^Thats something Indy didn't do in Kingdom.

 

[RocketSledFight]

When Mutt exclaims something to the effect of "What about all that talk of doing what you want to do if that's what you love" in the truck, does Indy respond "That's before I was your father!" or "That's before you were my son!" My friend and I were arguing about this. I think it's the former, and prefer it greatly, actually one of my favorite lines. He thinks the opposite, but he's making me doubt myself.