10 Things George Lucas Did Right with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I'll be seeing it this weekend, but you have eased my mind a great deal. I was terrified, as you were, that Lucas would ruin it. So thanks for that sigh of relief.

Exactly,

I'm more excited than ever and I will find the time.

Forest

I went to a midnight showing last night and you are right on. It was fun and built on all three movies brilliantly. I did think that Cate Blanchett did have a trouble or two with the Russian accent but she was otherwise a great "bad," uh, individual. I thought that Spielberg's treatment of the Russian pursuit of things psychic was accurate and is still applicable today. The nuclear blast scene was disturbingly real, as it should be.
Overall, it was entertaining, eye-opening and enlightening through what I viewed as spiritual messages that can be found in the entire series. I also think that the movie made a statement about how important it is for educators to bridge between the classroom and the hands-on practice of whatever it is they are teaching.
With the other movies, I think the overall point is that sacred objects, their associated spiritual practices and the associated power should not be used for political or military advantage. I think that this is what Indy "crusades" against.
I particularly enjoyed the historical dialog provided by Indy about his past and thoroughly enjoyed the last scene. Like a cherry on a sundae.
The movie was deliciously satisfying and well worth the wait.
Sandy

I saw it at midnight aswell and as a long time fan of the series I have to say I enjoyed it. I agree there were some parts of the film that felt a lil hollow but overall I was impressed with the film and if you take into account that the first two were done to be a modern version of the movie serials of the 30's and 40's, then it was only logical to bring in the styling of the serials of the 50's for this one as was stated above. You can't expect the world to stay the same in the film after 19 years of time given that it is based in our own history. The film really caught the climate even though subtle very well in that in that time everyone was scared that anyone could have been a "red" as it were. So I highly agree with the writer of this colum go see the film and enjoy it is a true gem.

Great flick, and holds up against Raiders, even better on a more aged level, like fine wine. We all loved Raiders because everything was so fresh. Here we "return the to fridge and take out that last saved slice of pizza with triple everything on it and we enjoy it better than the first slice" (& with that aforementioned aged glass of vino).
Glad that it was written the way it was. Only part that was glossed over was the McCarthism (the Red Menace)... for the over 55 crowd we knew exactly what was being said here.
Only part that got to me was the ant scene because it could have happened -- glad that it was as carefully done as it was (& no nightmares tonight, thank-you). Thanks for the characters growth -- good to see them come full circle. Would see this movie at least a couple more times.
Thank you George, Steven, and Harrison -- job well done!

I really liked the movie, particularly because they imitated that genre of movies perfectly. It was completely different from the previous Indy movies in the whole feel of it. This came closer to a sci-fi film than anything which is odd. You think of Indiana Jones you don't think of Sci-fi, but it was. You can definitely tell they were no longer imitating the 30s serials and went to the 50s B-movie genre. The fears of the age are also hit upon amazingly well (a-bomb).

I had been paying attention to the possible plot ideas for the film ever since filming began. I was very leery of how they were going to handle it. But Spielberg did a great job. Yes over the top, but come on you had faces melting in the first one. They did not try to make this look like the other ones or make a half assed try to recreate them. This is the pitfall most sequels fall into; National Treasure 2, and the Rush Hours. They took a major risk in almost changing the genre.

The other cool thing about this movie is that it probably will save us from another American Graffiti. :-)

I just saw it today and I enjoyed it. Not the same way I enjoyed There Will Be Blood or No Country for Old Men, but I thought it was fun.

And no, it is not the best Indiana Jones ever. I'm not sure why people expect that, especially after how 19 years in between (remember Phantom Menace?). I have fond memories of the original Indy films (especially Holy Grail: "We named the dog Indiana") and frankly there's no way anything can live up to said fond memories.

Still, I thought it was fun, which is what these films have always been. Something like National Treasure: Book of Secrets, on the other hand . . . in this life or the next I'm going to get those 2 hours back and use it for something more productive and entertaining, like developing a crack habit.

The Good:

The chemistry between the three main characters is pretty good. Where has Karen Allen been? I thought she really held her own, and her strong performance makes the back story hold together. I still got that same feeling of optimism I remember feeling when I saw the first films.

The Bad:

This movie was much more 'fantasy' than the others--to the point of being farcical. The monkeys were silly, and only the fact that it was John Hurt kept me from giving up on the Oxley character. I get the sense that Lucas (or some poor soul on his production staff) must fight a hard battle to keep the 'Jar-Jar' part of his personality at bay.

The Awesome:

6. He let us travel with the Big Red Travel Line.

One of the great tropes of the old Indy Movies is the big Casablanca-style marker-line-over-a-world-map to represent travel. This is a simple point, but I'm glad it was there - it helps set the tone and create an atmosphere of adventure.

My son (age 8) leaned over and told me he "knew they were going to end up in South America as soon as they headed south from Mexico". I always thought those scenes were cool when I was a kid, and they spurred my interest in geography. Seems like every time I look at a map, I spend a quick second visualizing my route as a bold red line just like in the Indiana Jones movies of my youth.

Maybe the coolest movie cliche ever.

I can't wait to see it but haven't yet.

By the way, Mykola, I just read Breakfast of Champions last week. Just finished For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway and the next book on my list is Slaughterhouse Five. Aren't you proud of me?

Outstanding review..er.....comentary. Finally a review written by a true fan for true fans. not the overstuffed pompus reviews by those still looking, or those hoping not to find that perfect motion picture. heaven forbid they should be truthful and deeply honest in their review.
As I suspected waiting and wondering and hopingis finally at an end. I can look forward to a wonderfully entrancing thrill ride with my family.

Thank You.

I enjoyed this movie a great deal. They only made one or two GLARING errors.

**DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN"T SEEN THIS MOVIE YET!!!**

Error #1: The fridge/nuke sequence. TOO over-the-top for me. If the military police had found Indy unconscious, it might have made it okay, but for a 60-year-old Indy to walk away unscathed from being hurled such a distance by such a force in a heavy kitchen appliance was crossing the line a bit.

Error #2: The monkey-and-vine sequence made me squirm a bit, too.

I don't want to nit-pick too much; it's supposed to be a fun action film that doesn't take itself too seriously. However, I think that if Lucas and Spielberg had made a pact not to utilize CGI for any of the stunt sequences and had done them the old fashioned way, this film would be just as good as any other in the series.

Cutting the nuke/fridge bit and using the time to develop additional interaction and dialouge between Indy and Marion (who was sadly under-utilized in this film) would have been a little bit that would have gone a LONG way towards making this a truly memorable film. Sometimes it's only a couple of little things that make all the difference.

For me, the CGI got a wee bit out of hand. It was terrific to use for creating the alien effects and supernatural plot elements, etc, but one trademark of the Indy films has been the grunts-and-hard-knocks stunt work. The fights and chase sequences never went too far into the unbelievable realm, because the laws of physics still applied wthout the aid of computer. Compare the acrobatic, fluid sword fight sequence in CRYSTAL SKULLS with the rocky, off-balance brawl on top of the tank in LAST CRUSADE and you can see what I'm trying to say. Leave the computer-manipulated visual effcts to the supernatural elements of the film, but don't "monkey" with the stunts.

I wouldn't put this one ahead of LAST CRUSADE, and I'm not sure where to put it in relation to TEMPLE OF DOOM. However, it isn't a disaster by any means, and you hit it right on the money when you said that the best part of this film is that they let Indy grow up. Amen. Ford nailed his character at this stage of life just perfectly. A treat to watch. If they had used Marion a bit more to develop the story and if they had used a bit more restraint in some of the action sequences, it would have earned that next-to-RAIDERS berth. As it is, it makes a fun addition to the series and only makes everyone's favorite archaeologist that much more endearing.

I agree with your comments. However this is another significant one that I think you over looked. To me this is the first time that Indy really feels like a teacher, as well as an explorer. Previously it just seemed like a neat throw away bit to make his character a bit different. This time when he is lecturing on the difference between a sand pit and quicksand it feels like an integral part of his character.

Yeah, it was an incredibly fun movie. I think I still put it at third favorite, but it's a close third. Not a distant third like Temple was (it's now just a distant fourth.)

Also, is anyone else really amused that Shia Labeuof's character picked the name "Mutt"?

Late to the party, but agreed. I'll also add that Harrison Ford is still a stunner, and I'm glad they didn't shy him away from stunts. It was pretty great to watch him scale a wall of crates and wonder if, at 22, I could pull that off.

I agree with you Myk. I thought it was a great movie. There were a few moments of silliness, but over all it was an excellent experience.

My crowd was not impressed. On the whole I wish I had listened to that little voice in the back of my head that kept chanting 'this man made episode 1'.

After reading your article though, you are right on some spots. He did get the 30's to 50's conversion spot on. Shia LeBouf was a good call, as were the rest of the supporting cast.

Overall though I wouldn't recommend paying full price for it to anyone. Video will be fine for this one, as will the 2 dollar discount bin in a couple years.

I really liked it. At first the sci-fi angle bugged me, but after I put it into perspective, I kind of gave it a pass. Even the cheesy monkey scene gets a pass when you think about the cartoons of the time period and such. I still hated the scene and somewhat ruined Shia's battle before it, which was all kinds of great. Hands down one of my favorite scenes had to do with the snake. Talk about mixing the old with the new.

There are a few great bits of dialog - talking about their divergent paths, Marion says that there "must have been a lot of women" since they were together. Indy's answer is classic.

Missed that in the first read.

That was probably one of my favorite parts of the movie.

You sound very forgiving of this movie. A lot of the things you mentioned being right about it I found wrong. All in all a subpar effort on Spielberg's and Lucas' part. But judging by the worldwide box office many people felt the same as you.

I agree with it definately being a movie worth seeing, however, during the first 20 minutes I was waiting for the "breathless" beginning. All three of the previous movies had me holding my breath during the beginning sequence that was always so well choreographed and got you into the mood of the show, however, the first 20 minutes of this 4th installment seemed to lack that for me. When Indy first came on screen, however, everyone in the theater clapped and cheered...that is always awesome!

I have to completely disagree with Dustin. The Indy movies aren't meant to have deep moral messages, or social political statements, they're just simple and fun. They take us back to a time and genre that was simple (albeit campy) and just purely entertaining. It seems that nowadays too many people want all movies to be realistic and intrinsically deep in meaning. We get enough of that through the news and the overload of reality tv shows. Sometimes stories just give us a moment in time to forget the world around us and laugh a little, cheer a little and say "hoorah" for the hero/heroine. I was thoroughly entertained by this movie as much as I have been by much more serious subjects in film. Two thumbs wwaaayyy up to Lucas and Spielberg. Keep bringing us back to the inner child of our youths.

I think the script hit the nail on the head with Cold War anxieties in Cate Blanchett's character's lines about the "psychic research." -- "You vill become us, and you von't even know it." Something to that effect. I loved that aspect of the movie, the retrospective look at the Cold War. And it is relevant to today's fears of Islamic insurgency, too.