Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[marvelman2006]

I enjoy alien flicks, ufo documentaries, ancient alien shows, etc. I also greatly enjoy standard archeological fare. A huge part of archeology has to do with religions, since religion of any kind is a huge part of society, especially from an archeological standpoint.

Remember, Indiana Jones is an archeologist who specializes in religious artifacts and the occult. His first 3 movies were based around either finding incredibly important religious artifacts, or getting them back from the wrong hands.

The flicks have dealt with two religions - Christianity and Hinduism. Both are very mainstream religions. The idea of mayans worshiping an alien's skull is not based on fact. There are no religious undertones or consequences of faith in this movie like in previous flicks. Sure, they tried to bridge the gap between aliens and religion - "maybe they thought THIS was their deity?" but it was a very thin line connecting the two and was never convincingly handled. It seemed more like an excuse to use aliens than anything else. And no one really seemed surprised that alien's existed. Indy saw a freaking alien's corpse, and didn't say a word. What made it harder to take was how at the end, all the skeletons came together to form a living, breathing alien, er, excuse me, "inter-dimensional being".

While I didn't like the angle they chose for the movie, I wouldn't have

minded the ancient alien route if they had gone somewhere different with it. For one, I think showing the alien (dead or alive) was too much. Second, I don't think the "proof' that aliens had a role in the creation of modern man was as an important part of the story as it needed to be. A focus on that - and on the wonder of it - would have been a more enjoyable story.[/QUOTE]


I never though of it like that. I think though they hinted that jones was part of the team that recovered the body because since he knew what they were looking for when they asked him upon arrival at the warehouse. I understand the under tones though but I dont know the story just kinda lacked that punch it needed to really get me involved. I equate kotcs to a rock band from the 80's reuniting in 2008, sure they play all the old songs you loved but the delivery just isnt the same.

 

[블라스]

And I agree with the person who said that people need to stop complaining about the Aliens. Why is it so far off from everything else the movies wanted us to believe in? Furthermore, Indiana Jones was heavily influenced on the pulp heroes of the 30s' and 40s, but if you having him in the 50s, aliens make sense 'cause of the influx of sci-fi comics and novels in those day.

Exactly.
It's like people ignore it or just don't get it.

 

[ALP]

No, just rear-projection, stop-motion, miniatures and matte-paintings.

You are aware that if CGI was available back then they would have used it?

I must admit. I really did miss a few of the old school elements in this film.

My favorite effect in all of the Indy films is when Toht's face melts. It's incredibly cheesy but I just loved it so much. Same for Donovan turning to ash in Last Crusade. Those stop motion effects were incredibly fake looking but I just loved the cheesiness of it.

I really wish Spalko's demise was stop motion and more cheesy, instead it was frightening

 

[Doctor Jones]

I watched some of KOTCS on USA. I still love it and feel it gets too much hate. It's like the other sequels people seem to put on a pedastal, more so with nostalgia and because we've watched them and grew up with them. It's hard for Indy to return to the world after 19 years. It's difficult to grasp, seeing an older Ford and all. The other sequels are just as flawed.

 

[Octoberist]

If I had to break it down, I don't think the story is the problem but it felt like the dialog wasn't as fun (rather polished) as it should have been. But that's just me.

And actually, I HATED Mac, moreso than Mutt who was alright.

Ford DID do a good job.

 

[darkseid26]

I still think KOTCS and Speed Racer get to much flack.

 

[ALP]

Agreed, Mac was sorry. Would have been much better to have had Sallah in his place.

Ford was brilliant, I only wish they had made some Indy films in the 90s. I really do hope to see at least one more though. I also would really like an animated Indy show that takes place in the 40s. Maybe Lucasfilm animation can do it once they complete The Clone Wars. It would even be similar to the Clone Wars in that it fills us in what happened between Last Crusade and Crystal Skulls.

Oh btw, I also think the marriage scene at the end was a massive waste of potential! They should have put cameos in there such as adult Short Round, Willie(wouldn't have been hard to find considering she's married to the Berg), Sallah, and other supporting characters. But that's just a fanboy wish. I love the bit when Ford takes his hat after Mutt grabs it. "Don't even think about it," type way. I remember there was a rumor that Shia would take over the franchise and I'd rather puke than watch him in a fedora taking Indy's place.

 

[Octoberist]

Nobody would embrace the idea of Shia taking over the franchise. NOBODY.

And it's because Shia. It's because we like Indiana Jones because...of Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford's take on it. He's an adventurer, sure, but he's also a damn doctor. Shia would make it a different beast. I wouldn't mind if it was a spin-off, but Mutt's not an enduring character. It's like when Eon wanted to make a spin-off to Halle Berry's Jinx character. Pttf.

 

[Secret Fawful]

Oh lord, I know I'm going to get a ton of flack for this but I think the real villain should have been Oxley, as a plot twist. The script would have had to have several elements rewritten but it would have been so cool if it turned out Spalko was working for Oxley and Oxley was using them to fulfill his obsession over the skull, kind of like an evil version of Indy's Dad- or kind of like Donovan.

Also I liked Mutt. I liked Mutt a lot. I don't care what anybody says about Shia Lebeouf, he's not that bad. He was good in Even Stevens. He was good in Holes. He was the only thing I liked about Transformers since the battles and robots designs sucked and none of the other actors were interesting. He was great in Indy 4.

 

[Octoberist]

I dont think that would be a problem, actually. I forgot Oxley was in the film actually.

 

[ALP]

It wasn't Oxley I disliked as much as the idea of hiring a brilliant well known actor like John Hurt and give him such a small and irrelevant role that served almost no purpose.

Him being the villain would have been a great plot twist.

I've got to watch this movie again soon!

 

[Carnotaur3]

Mac was a terrible character. Oxley was a waste. Spalko wasn't threatening. Mutt was okay. And Marion wasn't all there. Indy was fine.

 

[steintym]

I watched some of KOTCS on USA. I still love it and feel it gets too much hate. It's like the other sequels people seem to put on a pedastal, more so with nostalgia and because we've watched them and grew up with them. It's hard for Indy to return to the world after 19 years. It's difficult to grasp, seeing an older Ford and all. The other sequels are just as flawed.

I think you probably nailed it, at least for me. I keep trying to figure out why KOCS wasn't quite as enjoyable to me as the others (although I do like it, just not like the others) and, unfortunately, I do think Ford's age played a role in it. He was pretty awesome, but it wasn't the same. As viewers, we also didn't get the benefit of seeing Indy gradually grow older. He just wasn't the same Indy I last saw.

BTW - Watching Temple on USA right now.

 

[ALP]

I really thought Ford was terrific. He proved why we've always loved him...

I thought he was amazing and I totally bought the Dr. Jones he portrayed. I do agree it would have been nicer to have seen his progression(as I said Indy films in the 90s would have been great) But when I think of the things I didn't like about this film, Harrison Ford is nowhere to be found. Like with the first three, he's the best part.

What other actors have been playing the same live action cinema character across the span of 30 years?

 

[8wid]

I think it would have been alright to have had younger Indy films around the modern time period. Otherwise a simple animated series like The Clone Wars could have made up for it.

 

[Webhead2006]

I think there was plans for some past characters to cameo in the film but for what ever reasons it didn't pan out.

 

[ALP]

Imagine an Indy animated series in the style of Patrick Schoenmaker

 

[Webhead2006]

To bad there isn't a toon.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Oxley turning out to be the bad guy is actually a terrific twist! Hot damn.

Mac being a triple agent was a little much. And he shouldn't have died. Indy should have just punched him in the face, knocking him out when everything was all over. I would have used some stuff from the Darabont script. The Thin Man was an interesting character too.

But Spalko was a much more interesting villain than Donovan. I mean seriously. Can somebody tell me why he's so damn special? There was nothing interesting about him. He says more than Mola Ram and he was a much better villain than him.

Mutt was a good character too. I liked seeing Shia in the movie. He gave a cool, fresh thing on the series for me. I liked it since he was cast.

And the first half of the film is my favorite. There's so many charming and really special moments. I still laugh when they ride into the library and almost hit that nerd who does the wilhelm scream. I also love the fight in the cafe. The problem with the second half it feels like a strong of action scenes to just to get to the finale.

I just loved seing Indy in the 50's. Especially all the spy stuff. You just felt the culture and the time period. Ford is still Indy to me. In fact, he looked his best in the film. His introduction was the best since Raiders and that entire opening sequence is second or third to Raiders.

 

[ross2287]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: An animated series in the style of BTAS would be fanfreakingtastic.

 

[Drizzle]

I feel like I would have liked the movie a thousand times more if Short Round and Sallah made a cameo at the wedding at the end.

 

[Secret Fawful]

Man, I would adore an animated series. Someone should start a petition to Lucas and Spielberg to consider it, as long as it's not CGI.

 

[Punisher Rising]

I'm surprised an animated series wasn't done before.

 

[Webhead2006]

It would be fun to watch. Cause we could see more adventures in late 30s and into ww2 stuff.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I would absolutely love to see an animated series. You could do anything, in many different time periods. You could do one in his early years from when he's in college to him in the 50's. You could really bounce around in any time frame. Just imagine an Indy with a different age in some episodes. It doesn't always have to be consistant. You could see how he met Belloq, Sallah, Marion, we could actually see Abner, other adventures with Short Round, Indy serving in WWII for the OSS, etc.