Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[CBright7831 0]

I actually work with a 15 year old kid who had no idea who Indiana Jones was until I said his name.

 

I was in shock to say the least.

[Guest Smues]

I wasn't interested in this at all, then I saw a trailer last night at Iron Man and started to get hyped for it. I got a bad Die Hard 4 vibe from the part where he has the grenade launcher in the truck, but I still had hopes the movie will not suck. HAD hopes because I noticed that Shia LaBeouf is in it. GOD DAMNIT.

[Scroby 0]

I saw the movie last night..it's a good movie. Lots of funny stuff and action, stuff you would normally get from a Indiana Jones movie, I recommand people go out and see it!

[RedJed 0]

Yeah i went to a midnight showing and I thought it was pretty darn good. Definately not as good as Raiders or Temple of Doom, but certainly not a dissapointment. The opening 10 minutes was pretty weird, as the first scene Ford was in, seemed like he was really not acting natural in the role at all (which is weird, because you wouldnt think the first scene he was in was actually filmed in sequence). But as the film progressed, he seemed to get more comfortable back in the Indy role.

 

Also, I read somewhere that this isn't being released anywhere digitally to preserve the vintage intention of the presentation. Seeing the style it was filmed, I can understand that now.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

"Definately not as good as Temple of Doom"

 

Uh-oh

[RedJed 0]

"Definately not as good as Temple of Doom"

 

Uh-oh

 

I know there is alot of universal hate for TOD, but it was just one of those movies I grew up watching over and over. So don't hold my opinion of it not being as good as TOD as an example that this film sucks, because it certainly doesn't. The CGI seems to be about roughly half of all effects, by the way. Surprisingly, there is alot of "real" action and effects, including various shots that you can tell minatures are being used.

 

If you are a fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark, I think this is very similar in execution, with a little mix of sci-fi elements also.

[CanadianChris 0]

I've read a couple of reviews that put it solidly below Raiders, solidly above Temple of Doom, and about on par with or slightly below Last Crusade. That's plenty good enough for me. I had nightmares that this film would be my Rocky V.

[bob_barron 0]

I saw it today, having never seen any of the other movies, and I really liked it

[alfdogg 0]

I saw it today, as well.

 

And...I would still do Karen Allen.

[CanadianChris 0]

I saw it today, having never seen any of the other movies, and I really liked it

You've never seen ANY of them? That boggles the mind. I've seen each of them at least a dozen times (more like three dozen for Raiders).

 

The one thing that I'm dreading about seeing this movie is that there are apparently killer ants. Bugs are my biggest phobia. That's one of the big reasons that Temple of Doom is my least favourite film in the series.

[RedJed 0]

Yeah there is a scene with CGI ants in the film.

[bob_barron 0]

I saw it today, having never seen any of the other movies, and I really liked it

You've never seen ANY of them? That boggles the mind. I've seen each of them at least a dozen times (more like three dozen for Raiders).

 

The one thing that I'm dreading about seeing this movie is that there are apparently killer ants. Bugs are my biggest phobia. That's one of the big reasons that Temple of Doom is my least favourite film in the series.

 

No, I've never seen a minute of the previous Indiana Jones movies. I was 5 when the last one came out, and just never got around to seeing them.

 

Yes, there are ants in the movie.

It's pretty messed up too.

 

Also, can someone tell me why they call him Indiana when his real name is Henry?

[cabbageboy 0]

The use of CGI is going to hurt this film I have a feeling. Temple of Doom is probably the weakest of the initial series, since it has too much in the way of gross out stuff (the dinner scene in particular). Oddly enough it's probably the most suspenseful and thrilling and has by far the best heel in the series. Guys like Belloq and Donovan made deals with Nazis and stuff, but I can't see them ripping a man's heart out.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Also, can someone tell me why they call him Indiana when his real name is Henry?

He didn't like how he was called "Junior" by his dad...and his dog was named Indiana...so he took the name for himself.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I've never seen any of them either. Just about anyone I've revealed this tidbit to has responded with shocked disgust.

[Scroby 0]

The use of CGI is going to hurt this film I have a feeling. Temple of Doom is probably the weakest of the initial series, since it has too much in the way of gross out stuff (the dinner scene in particular). Oddly enough it's probably the most suspenseful and thrilling and has by far the best heel in the series. Guys like Belloq and Donovan made deals with Nazis and stuff, but I can't see them ripping a man's heart out.

Acutally it doesn't.

[RedJed 0]

The CGI is kept to a minimum for the most part, only used when deemed completely necessary. Most of the CGI I noticed came from backgrounds and stuff, well that and the ant scene is definately CGI, but it looks real good (I'm sure you can thank Lucas for that).

 

With that said, its definately not an overpowering CGI heavy blockbuster, in fact probably will be the film this summer that has less CGI than any around.

[bob_barron 0]

I've never seen any of them either. Just about anyone I've revealed this tidbit to has responded with shocked disgust.

 

That's what has happened to me as well

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

You both deserve the shamed looks. How you can grow up and not see the Indy flicks is preposterous. Don't give me the "I was too little," because I was 3 when Last Crusade came out. Home video is amazing, people.

 

Kinda hyped for the movie. More hyped for a few movies later this year (all of which I forget the names of right now, too early in the AM), but wanting to see it.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

I liked it but didn't love it. It's not up there with Raiders or Crusade but it's not an embarassment to the series either. I'd probably put it a bit above Temple of Doom. Both are similar in that there's some really gtood stuff but also some stuff I really don't like. The good definetely outweighs the bad though (in both cases).

 

Particular things I want to note:

 

- Cate Blanchett was a great villain while Ray Winstone got annoying and made Indy look really dumb by turning on him twice in the same movie.

- The CGI was mostly well done although it slipped at times during the big jeep chase in the jungle.

- Shia LaBeouf was very good. I'm not big on the character in general but he played his role well.

- Karen Allen has still got it and Indy's "They weren't you baby" line and her subsequent reaction is one of my favorite parts of the whole movie.

- I thought the nuclear explosion stuff was very weird and kinda out of place and I didn't like the whole "Indy is a decorated war veteran" angle.

- The ending with Shia picking up the hat and Indy taking it back was awesome.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

Crappy ending, too much CGI, but decent.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I don't get why people hate The Temple of Doom so much. It's by far Spielberg's most visually dynamic, daring and politically incorrect film. Sure, Willy whined a lot and Short Round is your typical child sidekick, but the movie is just great: Mola Ram is the best villian in the trilogy (as mentioned by other posters), the Temple itself is a great looking set (its even kinda scary in places), the action sequences are very good (the mine cart chase especially) and for God's Sake, A GUY LITERALLY GETS HIS HEART RIPPED OUT OF HIS CHEST! So even the "worst" Indiana Jones is still a good movie.

[Canadian Brandon 0]

Made 25 million Thursday. It should fare well this weekend. I also have never seen any Indiana Jones movies. I have all 3 of them Tivo'd though. I'm hoping to catch this pretty soon.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

AndrewTS pointed out something to me....

 

As most of us here know, Henry Jones Jr. took the name Indiana from his dog because he prefered that name.

 

Indy's son, Henry III, took the name Mutt...a term for a dog.

 

...just something interesting he pointed out I didn't realize before.

 

And for those of us who don't want spoilers to this new one, here's a scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

 

[Smartly Pretty 0]

I think you miss out on a lot if you haven't seen the first three, because there are so many shots that are deliberately identical to shots from the original trilogy.

 

EDIT: And for the record, the "I was too young to have seen them" excuse is retarded. Raiders was the first movie that wasn't a cartoon that I could actually sit through and watch, and it came out 11 years before I was born.

[RedJed 0]

Yeah, the film is shot VERY "Indy-esque", meaning lots of homages to shots and perspectives from the other films, just the general feel of it as a whole seems to make it stand out as the unique franchise that it is.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Pretty lame. Having watched all three of the originals last weekend, this doesn't come close to comparing. A little too much "look, this is like an Indiana Jones movie!" than legit Indiana Jones movie. I would also totally still hammer Karen Allen to any stationary surface, though.

[RepoMan 0]

I just got back from seeing it. I was very entertained, but still not quite good enough to justify making another sequel 19 years latter. LaBeouf was great in his role, but I really hope the franchise is dead after this. It would never be the same w/o Harrison Ford. Cate Blanchette was super hot in her role and probably became my favriot Indiana Jones villian. I really enjoyed the whole early Cold War motif, probably b/c I find it the most interesting era in history. The CGI wasn't too bad, espcially based on most recent summer blockbusters, it was refreshing to see a lot of real stunts. I sort of liked that this flim had a bigger Sci-Fi element, just b/c that's my personal tast in movies.

 

Overall, 8/10.

[NYU 0]

Made $31 million on Friday.

 

The unbelievably strong opening weekend is a little surprising to me -- I thought it would be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer, sure, but not have one of the highest opening weekend grosses ever. Seems like 19 years would be too long a gap between the movies of a franchise. Oh well, shows what I know.

[bob_barron 0]

It was pretty obvious Indy was going to have a huge weekend. Iron Man's going into week 4, Speed Racer's dead and Narnia disappointed in week one. This is the one summer film that everyone wants to see