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Official Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Rottenwatch/Reviews

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S

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
When I was a kid I watched the original trilogy whenever I was sick.. (along with Star Wars and Back to the future, back to the future being my favorite set of movies)..

anyway, Its been a while since Ive watched an indie flick... in fact, my copies are on VHS and I havent had a working VHS player in 6 years.. so its been far too long.. went and bought the new adventure pack trilogy on DVD today and made it through the first two movies..

Im sad it took me this long to rewatch them. so much fun. Last crusade was my favorite as a kid, so Im pretty pumped to watch that one now.

Anyway, I cant wait for my midnight showing that I allready have tickets for. The prequal trilogy let me down horribly, but Spielberg is involved and is batting nearly 1000 as far as Im concerned. and Im just glad he is back to making summer blockbusters. When I was a kid a Spielberg summer spectacle was a sure fire fun filled time. Its been so long since he's made one.. (lost world?)

Also, the DVD's look surprisingly good upconverted.. but I need this (and back to the future) on BRD ASAP.
 
C

Cheebs

Member
StoOgE said:
Im just glad he is back to making summer blockbusters. When I was a kid a Spielberg summer spectacle was a sure fire fun filled time. Its been so long since he's made one.. (lost world?)
Click to expand...
3 years. War of the Worlds
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
Sooo from what I have been hearing...

RotLA > ToD > tLC > KotCS

I don't need it to be amazing, just consistent with the rest of the series would make me giddy.
 
C

Cheebs

Member
SanjuroTsubaki said:
Sooo from what I have been hearing...

RotLA > ToD > tLC > KotCS

I don't need it to be amazing, just consistent with the rest of the series would make me giddy.
Click to expand...
Then you must be hearing from the wrong people, no one ranks doom ahead of crusade unless they are crazy
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
Cheebs said:
Then you must be hearing from the wrong people, no one ranks doom ahead of crusade unless they are crazy
Click to expand...
Your crazy. You want to fucking die laughing baby?!

I prefer them that way. None of them are far apart from the rest in quality except Raiders by a bit.
 
S

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
SanjuroTsubaki said:
Sooo from what I have been hearing...

RotLA > ToD > tLC > KotCS

I don't need it to be amazing, just consistent with the rest of the series would make me giddy.
Click to expand...

I think its more like

Raiders >> Crusade >>>>>>>>>>>> temple of doom

not to say temple of doom isnt fun, but its just so random. "Here is some dead guys remains.. oh its a shootout.. and I'll take your singer with me on this plane.. then this plane crashes.. and Im stuck in India with a little kid and a singer."
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
StoOgE said:
I think its more like

Raiders >> Crusade >>>>>>>>>>>> temple of doom

not to say temple of doom isnt fun, but its just so random. "Here is some dead guys remains.. oh its a shootout.. and I'll take your singer with me on this plane.. then this plane crashes.. and Im stuck in India with a little kid and a singer."
Click to expand...
Like I said I have fond memories of both. The soundtrack was the best in Crusade though I give it that. However according to IMDB we are all dead wrong.

8.9
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992) (VG)
8.7
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
8.5
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (2003) (VG)
8.4
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999) (VG)
8.3
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
7.9
"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Transylvania, January 1918 (#2.22)" (1993)
7.7
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989) (V)
7.6
"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Young Indiana Jones and the Scandal of 1920 (#2.8)" (1993)
7.4
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
 
S

SpeedingUptoStop

will totally Facebook friend you! *giggle* *LOL*
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (2003) (VG)

decent game, I give it a 6/10. What happened to that sweet lookin next gen indiana jones game?
 
S

Spotless Mind

Member
I wake up and the thread is being derailed with George Lucas sucks, King Kong is too long, Die Hard sequels suck and a bunch of "my totally subjective opinion is superior to yours" talk. Come on!

At least *some* people noticed how fucking amazing Cate Blanchett looks. More pics pls!

This movie looks like it will easily surpass ToD for me. ToD was a thrillride of random cliffhangers and grossout gags and barely any worthwhile character scenes. From the sound of things, they nailed some of the character dynamics.

Also people complaining of callbacks - if they were really such a bad thing, it's a wonder why there are so many GAF Arrested Development fans.
 
B

bill0527

Member
RBelong2Us said:
Everyone at CHUD hates it

http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...-OF-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-RUSS039-TAKE/Page1.html
http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-JEREMY039S-TAKE/Page1.html
http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...F-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-DEVIN039S-TAKE/Page1.html
Click to expand...

I read all of them. Pretty harsh stuff all the way around.

One of the guys said it was Spielberg's worst movie. Another hated the McGuffin, called it silly and stupid, and of course, they all got their obligatory shots in at Lucas.
 
N

NotWii

Banned
Who the fuck cares what the reviews are saying.
I just want to watch it and make my own mind about it.

340x.jpg

Wow.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
You guys read so many of these reviews in advance, your experience will inevitably be filtered through the lens of hasty 'critical' opinions designed to be blurbed on the film's Rotten Tomatoes page.
 
G

Green Shinobi

Banned
RBelong2Us said:
Everyone at CHUD hates it

http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...-OF-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-RUSS039-TAKE/Page1.html
http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-JEREMY039S-TAKE/Page1.html
http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...F-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-DEVIN039S-TAKE/Page1.html
Click to expand...
No one at CHUD will ever get laid, so at least subsequent generations will be free of their complete suckitude.

And Temple of Doom is awesome. It's like the greatest B-movie of all time.
 
F

FoneBone

Member
CHUD sometimes has worthwhile news and such, but their coverage is just pervaded with this bitter self-superiority. I'll take AICN and their excessive fanboy enthusiasm over that any day.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Kobun Heat said:
Saw it today with xsarien. He says he needs to chew it over some more, I say thumbs up. Loved the action sequences, laughed a lot. There will likely be endless hand-wringing over whether this film "fits" with the previous trilogy or feels like an unnecessary appendix, but I thought it felt just like an Indy movie.
Click to expand...
Saw it at the Lucas employee screening today. I pretty much agree with Kobun - a few of the cheesy scenes may rankle some people, but in the end it just feels like an Indy movie. They had some of the props, sets, and costumes up on display at the luncheon afterward, it was neat seeing it up close.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
You know what. Fuck the haters of AICN. The site gets so much shit for being run by 'fanboy enthusiasts', but to hell with that. The guys love film. Yeah they're fanboys; they're fanboys of film. I read their reviews because unlike most critics they're not looking to shit on a film from the get-go to say 'I told you so' first. They let you get inside the mindset they had when watching any film and then give the review.
 
X

xsarien

daedsiluap
My verdict:

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark
2) Last Crusade
3) Temple of Doom
4) Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Almost in order of release, but I've always, always felt that ToD was just missing something. I got that same vibe from KCS. As Kobun implied, I'm really torn. I *love* the franchise, and this one just takes enough of a departure that I'm a little uncomfortable with it. It's still Indy, but there are elements in it that I just don't think belong in the universe.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
RBelong2Us said:
Everyone at CHUD hates it

http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...-OF-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-RUSS039-TAKE/Page1.html
http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-JEREMY039S-TAKE/Page1.html
http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...F-THE-CRYSTAL-SKULL-DEVIN039S-TAKE/Page1.html
Click to expand...

The problem with CHUD is that they usually hate everything. They have a real fanboy slant to all of their articles and reviews. I know the movie is getting mixed reaction, and that is fair, but I already know what to expect from CHUD.
 
C

Cheebs

Member
Scullibundo said:
Maybe after this film Spielberg will realise he out-grew Lucas a long time ago.
Click to expand...
How can he outgrow Lucas with Indiana Jones when Indiana Jones is a Lucas creation? He cant steal it from him.
 
B

bill0527

Member
Scullibundo said:
You know what. Fuck the haters of AICN. The site gets so much shit for being run by 'fanboy enthusiasts', but to hell with that. The guys love film. Yeah they're fanboys; they're fanboys of film. I read their reviews because unlike most critics they're not looking to shit on a film from the get-go to say 'I told you so' first. They let you get inside the mindset they had when watching any film and then give the review.
Click to expand...


Harry and the site were getting ripped in the talkback and Harry gave a response (which he rarely does).

I'll tell you what the negative reviews are. They're people that watch movies with notepads - making notes during movies about their fave moments and the points that they disengaged... besides the points where they're writing notes and not actually WITH the movie. I can't really speak for everyone - but there's people that will see a sequence like
the Shia/Monkey sequence.... or the Prairie Dogs.... or even the Ants
... and they'll disengage - say that's not realistic, that's just plain silly - and then they'll listen to the dialogue and think... that's corny, people don't talk like that - and while they're looking and disengaging from all those moments - they're missing the entire fucking point. INDIANA JONES isn't real - he's a concoction - he's a creation of cinema magic. He says the perfect thing, does the perfect thing - gets banged up, knocked around but at the end of it all.... He's the most amazing man the world never gave birth to. He could survive an atomic blast through ingenuity. He knew EVERYONE in the history in which he lived. And he's like a bad penny, he'll always turn up. It's about a dream of an adventurer, not the reality. The fx and sets are never quite real - because none of it is real. It's a fanciful painting of our dreams - after being drunk on the movies of the 30's, 40's & 50's... but doing that now... with all the fun and joy of the toys we have today. It's about Harryhausen and Demille... about Hawks and Ford... it's about every genre and the very celebration of movie making, watching and fandom. It's about being taken away - and there's some people that just refuse to get on board. They can't shake the cynicism of their own self-importance - and they go home... disappointed - because ultimately they've no room for being a kid anymore... even briefly.
Click to expand...
 
K

Kung Fu Jedi

Member
Scullibundo said:
Maybe after this film Spielberg will realise he out-grew Lucas a long time ago.
Click to expand...

In what sense? He's always been a better director. There is no denying that. But he has also said in numerous occasions that he loves working with Lucas and that creatively they have a lot of great ideas that form when they are together. He even has stated that George is an excellent editor and that his (uncredited) edits of the previous films has helped them a lot.

The Lucas hate is really getting out of hand. The guy did what he wanted with the Star Wars prequels and told a story the way that he wanted to tell it. We don't agree with the way he wanted to tell HIS STORY, so now everything he does is shit. Yes, I know that he had a lot of input on the story for the new Indy film, but their was another writer that was also brought in, and Spielberg was the director who brings the story to life. If the film is not to your liking, just remember that Lucas isn't the only person working on the movie.

Personally, while I think Spielberg is still a very good director, it's been awhile since any of his films really wowed me at all. War of the Worlds was just terrible and I'd rather watch any of the Star Wars prequels again over that piece of crap.
 
C

Cheebs

Member
Kung Fu Jedi said:
In what sense? He's always been a better director. There is no denying that. But he has also said in numerous occasions that he loves working with Lucas and that creatively they have a lot of great ideas that form when they are together. He even has stated that George is an excellent editor and that his (uncredited) edits of the previous films has helped them a lot.

The Lucas hate is really getting out of hand. The guy did what he wanted with the Star Wars prequels and told a story the way that he wanted to tell it. We don't agree with the way he wanted to tell HIS STORY, so now everything he does is shit. Yes, I know that he had a lot of input on the story for the new Indy film, but their was another writer that was also brought in, and Spielberg was the director who brings the story to life. If the film is not to your liking, just remember that Lucas isn't the only person working on the movie.

Personally, while I think Spielberg is still a very good director, it's been awhile since any of his films really wowed me at all. War of the Worlds was just terrible and I'd rather watch any of the Star Wars prequels again over that piece of crap.
Click to expand...
All the more silly because the chances of Spielberg and Lucas having a falling of out are so nill its hilarious. They are literally best friends and have been for decades. They go on vacations together and celebrate Thanksgiving every year together and so on.

The mere idea of Spielberg kicking Lucas to the side is laughable.
 
R

radioheadrule83

Banned
After reading Harry Knowles' review, I think thats probably how I'll feel. It sounds like he's as enthusiastic about the series as I am. Eberts was good as well. The BBC review is good, albeit short. I'm really looking forward to this now :D
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
radioheadrule83 said:
After reading Harry Knowles' review, I think thats probably how I'll feel. It sounds like he's as enthusiastic about the series as I am. Eberts was good as well. The BBC review is good, albeit short. I'm really looking forward to this now :D
Click to expand...

Moriarty's review is well-balanced and is comparable to how I feel about the series.
 
C

Cheebs

Member
Basically from all the reviews I notice a split.

If you go in wanting to see a Indiana Jones movie. A silly old-school over the top adventure with one liners then you'll LOVE it like Ebert and so forth did. If you go in to pick apart the details and the plot line then you'll be disappointed.


I have noticed a trend in all the negative reviews to pick apart the plot progression. I mean come on, its skulls with magical powers. I mean really, come on the exposition is going to be absurd, and it should be.

DoctorWho said:
Moriarty's review is well-balanced and is comparable to how I feel about the series.
Click to expand...
And he called it better than Last Crusade.
 
A

AniHawk

Member
Most of the positive reviews state:

-first half is better than second half
-too many characters
-too much exposition
-ending's kinda dull
-action scenes are totally fuck awesome
-have no fear, Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones
 
C

Cheebs

Member
AniHawk said:
Most of the positive reviews state:

-first half is better than second half
-too many characters
-too much exposition
-ending's kinda dull
-action scenes are totally fuck awesome
-have no fear, Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones
Click to expand...
From reading the comic adaption I don't see why anyone would have a problem with the end. The end is really touching. It is VERY warm and fuzzy Spielberg stuff though I gotta admit. More so than the first 3.
 
R

radioheadrule83

Banned
DoctorWho said:
Moriarty's review is well-balanced and is comparable to how I feel about the series.
Click to expand...

Yeah I just read that one too... he seemed fair, doling out criticism where necessary (what critics do!) and he's still looking forward to a second viewing with his kid. I'll be interested to see how my friends react to some of the issues he discussed actually... I can see some of my friends not liking it, and others loving it without question (like I probably will :lol)
 
K

Kung Fu Jedi

Member
Cheebs said:
All the more silly because the chances of Spielberg and Lucas having a falling of out are so nill its hilarious. They are literally best friends and have been for decades. They go on vacations together and celebrate Thanksgiving every year together and so on.

The mere idea of Spielberg kicking Lucas to the side is laughable.
Click to expand...

Exactly. These two have been friends for 30+ years. The love working together, but their very busy schedules don't allow it to happen very often. A fourth Indiana Jones movie was an excuse for them to work together again. No way they have a falling out.
 
B

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
anyone posted any choice quotes from the chud review?

If you want to get prepared for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, don't go back and watch the other Indy movies. Pull out The Lost World instead. Both films are directed by the same Steven Spielberg - bored, only mildly engaged and seemingly going through the motions. In both cases the result is superior to your average dumbass summer blockbuster, but when weighed against Spielberg's filmography and the previous films in the franchise comes up sorely lacking.
. . .
The movie has lots of problems, is sloppy and deeply flawed, but it's fast paced and amiable enough. The problem is that Indiana Jones films shouldn't be amiable enough. They should be transporting. They should be transcendent action adventure experiences. They should be where our master populist filmmaker lets go and flexes his muscles a little bit, having fun and bringing us far beyond the normal movie that's good enough for a Friday night. The Indiana Jones films are indelible and, even at their worst (Last Crusade or Temple of Doom, depending on what kind of a person you are) they tower above all other adventure films. Crystal Skull is right down with other adventure films; with Brendan Fraser in the lead this would have been the very best Mummy movie yet... but not so much better than the others to make you reevaluate that franchise as a whole. It would be just a really, really good Mummy movie. And from Spielberg, and from this franchise, that's just not acceptable.
. . .
In some ways Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brings up the Live Free or Die Hard dilemma, but times ten - unlike that series, the Indy films have always had a guiding vision, and most of the original creators are back. When reviewing Live Free, I had to wonder whether to treat it as a Die Hard movie or like a summer action movie; as it was sold as a Die Hard movie, I felt that it was fair to critique it as one. That fairness applies even more here, where it's not just the franchise but everybody else back for a belated fourth round. It isn't just that I expect more from an Indiana Jones movie, it's that I expect more from a Steven Spielberg movie. As much as I cringed at the things that felt all too Lucas in the film, I have to lay the blame at Spielberg's feet. He's the one who kept coming back to those CGI prairie dogs.
. . .
I will say that Crystal Skull does answer one question: Can Steven Spielberg direct a modestly decent action film in his sleep? Yes.

6.5
Click to expand...


and that's the higher of the two reviews they've done for the movie thus far :/
 
T

Tyrone Slothrop

Banned
after reading ebert's review (whom i rarely disagree with) i'm pretty sure it'll be great. i usually don't go to the movies seeing as to how the dvd comes out a week later these days, but i may even make this on day one.

really, the only four star indy movie was raiders. so i don't see how things could be "tarnished." i could understand why the new star wars upset manchildren because it was a prequel, and some of their childhood speculations of how the clone wars &ect played out were retconned.

temple of doom or last crusade werent exactly masterpieces to begin with (though fun), so even if things are lacking it's in good company.

Crystal Skull is right down with other adventure films; with Brendan Fraser in the lead this would have been the very best Mummy movie yet... but not so much better than the others to make you reevaluate that franchise as a whole
Click to expand...

ugh... god i hate the internet
 
K

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
I liked Ebert's 4 pounds of sausage metaphor. I'm not expecting this movie to be as transcendental as the original so I'm not going to be disappointed as such that it doesn't match or surpass it. Raiders re-established on film a concept that hadn't been done justice in decades and gave it a modern moviemaking makeover. After that, doing followups couldn't be anything more than going through the motions if you will, but that would still give it room to be better than a lot of other adventure movies out there.

And Moriarty puts to words almost verbatim the thoughts I've had about Ford's career, so it's good to hear that it steps right back into the IJ role effortlessly after all this time.
 
C

Cheebs

Member
I am just glad even the negative reviews agree that Harrison Ford is the Harrison Ford of the 80's again in this, that he has that magic and is actually putting effort into a role. Seeing Ford on the big screen being the Harrison Ford that I have missed for many many many years is something I am very glad to see this week.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
Cheebs said:
I am just glad even the negative reviews agree that Harrison Ford is the Harrison Ford of the 80's again in this, that he has that magic and is actually putting effort into a role. Seeing Ford on the big screen being the Harrison Ford that I have missed for many many many years is something I am very glad to see this week.
Click to expand...

Wait, you mean you didn't feel the magic in Firewall?
 
R

RetroMG

Member
I hate Harry Knowles, but for this:
I'll tell you what the negative reviews are. They're people that watch movies with notepads - making notes during movies about their fave moments and the points that they disengaged... besides the points where they're writing notes and not actually WITH the movie. I can't really speak for everyone - but there's people that will see a sequence like
the Shia/Monkey sequence.... or the Prairie Dogs.... or even the Ants...
and they'll disengage - say that's not realistic, that's just plain silly - and then they'll listen to the dialogue and think... that's corny, people don't talk like that - and while they're looking and disengaging from all those moments - they're missing the entire fucking point. INDIANA JONES isn't real - he's a concoction - he's a creation of cinema magic. He says the perfect thing, does the perfect thing - gets banged up, knocked around but at the end of it all.... He's the most amazing man the world never gave birth to. He could survive an atomic blast through ingenuity. He knew EVERYONE in the history in which he lived. And he's like a bad penny, he'll always turn up. It's about a dream of an adventurer, not the reality. The fx and sets are never quite real - because none of it is real. It's a fanciful painting of our dreams - after being drunk on the movies of the 30's, 40's & 50's... but doing that now... with all the fun and joy of the toys we have today. It's about Harryhausen and Demille... about Hawks and Ford... it's about every genre and the very celebration of movie making, watching and fandom. It's about being taken away - and there's some people that just refuse to get on board. They can't shake the cynicism of their own self-importance - and they go home... disappointed - because ultimately they've no room for being a kid anymore... even briefly.
Click to expand...

This I completely agree with. I'm going to see Indy 4, with my wife, on opening night. And I am supremely confident that I will walk out of there, grinning like an idiot, singing the Indy theme, and wanting a fedora and a whip. Because that's what Indiana Jones does to me. It takes me out of my 2008-trying-to-get-a-house-and-keep-my-job-life, and drops me into 1930s-or-I-guess-1950s-trying-to-keep-the-nazis-or-russians-or-whatever-from-using-the-macguffin-to-conquer-the-world-life.

And he's very good at what he does.
 
J

jestro

Banned
RetroGamer42 said:
I hate Harry Knowles, but for this:


This I completely agree with. I'm going to see Indy 4, with my wife, on opening night. And I am supremely confident that I will walk out of there, grinning like an idiot, singing the Indy theme, and wanting a fedora and a whip. Because that's what Indiana Jones does to me. It takes me out of my 2008-trying-to-get-a-house-and-keep-my-job-life, and drops me into 1930s-or-I-guess-1950s-trying-to-keep-the-nazis-or-russians-or-whatever-from-using-the-macguffin-to-conquer-the-world-life.

And he's very good at what he does.
Click to expand...


If it was someone else I'd go along with this but didn't he like Phantom Menace? PM is seriously one of the worst movies ever made.
 
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