Synopsis:

Indy 4 begins with Dr. Jones in trouble again, this time captured by Russians who want him to help them locate an artifact in Area 51.  Minutes into the film, the villain Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) is introduced.  With all the warmth of an iceberg, Spalko will stop at nothing to obtain every artifact she can get her hands on to further her unusual supernatural interests.  The stuntwork begins rather quickly in Indy 4, and continue steadily throughout the picture as typical to the style of the franchise.  After a colleague (Professor Oxley - played by John Hurt) goes missing, Indy meets his young friend named Mutt (LaBeouf) who is determined to solicit Indy's help to rescue him.  The journey begins to find the article of interest that led Oxley to disappear, the legendary crystal skull, and stay two steps ahead of Spalko.

The Freak's Rating: C+ : It is true that the freaks come out at night.  At 11:30 pm last night I made my way to our local theater for the first screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at midnight.  Amidst scattered Raiders of the Lost Ark T-shirts and fedoras, I could only think "these are my people".  Hundreds turned out for the screening, filling the mega screen auditorium.  As the previews began to roll the anticipation intensified and when the Lucasfilm logo finally appeared on the screen, there was a hush over the crowd as if we were all seeing the promised land for the first time.

When I was six years old, Raiders of the Lost Ark was released.  A couple years later (the theater to tv window was much larger back then) I saw it for the first time on cable.  In the 80s, television content was limited.  During its first couple months on television, it was on at least 3-4 times a week.  My mother's system for controlling her children's movie/tv watching was an interesting one.  My brother and I were given poker chips.  We received white chips (1/2 hour), red chips (1 hour) and blue chips (2 hours).  Each week meant 15 hours of television time.  One day my preteen mind hatched a scam to take advantage of what I considered a loophole in her plan.  After multiple Raiders viewings, I knew the film extremely well.  I saved my allowance and purchased a 120 minute blank audio tape.  During one of my viewings, I held a tape recorder up to the speaker of the television and recorded the audio of the entire movie.  On days when I was out of television time I would sit in my clubhouse and listen to the audio tape of the movie, allowing the movie magic to replay in my mind over and over again.  Yes, I know I am weird.

In 1984, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released.  I can remember sitting on the stairs of my house, listening to my parents discuss the PG-13 rating it would inspire.  Violence in film had never hit a middle ground between PG and R until Temple of Doom and Gremlins.  The two films spawned a rating that would continue to be a hot spot in content debate to this day.  I can remember hearing the decision against me seeing it and running downstairs to beg my parents to change their minds.  It wasn't until a year or two later, when I finally saw the beating heart ripped from a man's chest that I understood why they were so against it.  I had nightmares for a couple days, but I still wish I'd been able to see it earlier.

Five years later in 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released.  Sean Connery was perfect as Indy's father and at this point the franchise could do no wrong in my eyes.  At 13 years old, I remember telling my mother that I had "the right" to see the movie and she couldn't really argue with me there.  We went as a family and it was one of my favorite family moments I can remember.  Riding off into the sunset (quite literally), the franchise finished strongly, solidifying Indiana Jones as a cinematic icon for the ages...for nearly twenty years.

The first mention of another Indiana Jones film was very intriguing.  I believed that the potential of re-teaming everyone for another film in the series could work if done right.  Spielberg and Lucas were on board along with Harrison Ford.  Cate Blanchett signed as well as Shia LaBeouf and it seemed like we were on our way to a blockbuster.

Retreading is popular in Hollywood, especially if it can make studio heads a few bucks.  Film 101 tells you that there are only seven basic plots: man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. the environment, man vs. machines/technology, man vs. the supernatural, man vs. self and man vs. god/religion.  With these limitations, you know that duplication will exist both in theater and film.  In this case, not only is the same story told, but the same camera angles used, the same stunts performed, the same phobias laughed at, the same lines spoken and the same tone induced.  After seeing Indy 4, I felt like I had seen a mediocre remake of material by a director who had nothing to add to the original.  Some will argue that this is what they want out of the picture.  If you are in this group, by all means go see it.  For mindless entertainment, it will do.

As a hardcore fan of the series though, I feel I've been mistreated.  I have devoted many hours of my life and a piece of my heart to the character and essence of Indiana Jones.  As a teenager touring the Smithsonian, the only artifact I really wanted to see was Harrison Ford's fedora from Raiders.  The originality I was given in this film (if you can call it that) is more X Files than Indy and feels out of place.  The entire picture seems forced, especially the writing, with one liners thrown in randomly and humor tossed in to lighten the mood, which it only does correctly once in the film.  Though the camera angles and pacing is solid, its repetitive nature is sickening and sadly stamps Spielberg as anything but original this time around. 

I will surely have to own this, as the money-gorging Lucasfilm marketing machine will no doubt release all four together in a Blu Ray set, but if they are separately wrapped, I'll sell it on Ebay.  Spielberg said in a recent interview that the ending of the third picture was probably the best.  He is dead on and should have left this franchise alone. 

Sebastian's Rating: B- : this movie was ok it was very very unrealistic and i didnt like the storyline too much.

i think this movie was realy fun at first, so that puts it at the B catogory, but otherwise i would make it D? It was the ending i didnt like, and just when it got good when they entered eldorato, it story colapsed.

Also think of it this way. this is 2008, steven spielburg and george lucas, or course it's going to have CGI animation but they could have used it better

Suzanne's Rating: D- : I can't believe I spent my money and time on this movie!  What on earth were the writers thinking?!
 

Nate's Rating: D+ : I would have given it a D, but that would mean it as bad as Transformers, which it wasn't.  Just to respond to Brian's review about pumping up expectations based on childhood memories: My expectations were really low.  George Lucas' name was attached to this, and he's let me down a lot recently (yes, I do take it personally).  I'm also not a Cate Blanchett fan, and Shia LaBeouf still has a lot to prove.  So I wasn't expecting much; I got even less.  The only thing that was really acceptable in this movie was the acting, but even there none of the actors are given anything interesting to do or say.  The parts that are supposed to be funny aren't, the parts that are supposed to be exciting are boring (and either really predictable or so ridiculous you wouldn't expect to see them outside of an episode of Dora the Explorer), and the parts that are supposed to be wondrous are comical.  The sets are distractingly noticeable (as in, even if you're not trying, you'll notice in parts that it's a sound stage like something from the Evil Dead series -- totally taking you out of the experience), the action sequences and stunt work are sloppy, and the editing is downright incongruous (some serious continuity errors there). 

I know the Last Crusade hasn't aged well, but at least it was self-consistent and the attempt to entertain was honest in that.  Crystal Skull just assumes you'll be too stupid to realize that you're just being robbed of your time and money.

I was considering throwing in a few spoilers, but then got to thinking -- can I really spoil something that's already rotten?  It'd be like saying, "Put that curdled milk back in the fridge before it goes bad."  I can say this:  I wish someone *had* spoiled it for me, so I would've known how stupid it was and could've used my (wife's) money on something that really was trying to entertain me, and not just milking a franchise dry with bland, half-hearted, cash-our-checks-and-go-home film-making.
 

Brian's Rating: B+ : You guys are too hard on the movie.  Scott is right, it is not original,  but how does that make it bad?  There was nothing original in #2 and #3 either.  However, it is still cool because it is imaginative; it has action, adventure, and discovery.  It is pretty much exactly in the same mold as the first 3.  If you wanted something original, then why make it an Indy film?  Like James Bond, the aim is not originality, the aim is entertainment.

Its hard to talk about this one without spoiling it, but even so, here are some observations:

I agree with Angie, I did not like the ending.  It was heading down a path that strongly reminded me of the premier of Ducktales (the 5 part pilot episode), and then took a strong twist towards X-files.  At the same time, the ending was creative, and that is exactly what I look for in an Indy film.  This is all great, but then they throw in a final closure scene that was terrible and is completely anti-Indy.  I realize they did it to clearly setup more films, but still...  I will say no more.  Those that have seen it know what I mean.  The movie is an A- without the final scene.  I frequently change a rating I have in mind based on closing scenes, and this one is no exception.

Like other Indy films, there are many action sequences, all implausible, and all entertaining.  There is a sidekick, and a love interest.  He retains the ability of bullet-dodge, and the fight-the-big-ass-strong-dude scene is thrown in for good measure.

I agree, its the worst of the batch,  but only because of the final 90 seconds.  Otherwise, if you remove the silly rose-colored glasses of childhood god-like memory, thereby causing a film to have zero chance of stacking up to the expectation, then this movie is just as entertaining as the rest.  Any kid 8 years old or so will do the same thing Scott did--buy the DVD and watch it over and over again.  That makes it a good movie in my book.  When I get the box set, I will not be selling it on eBay.
 

Angie's Rating: C : After this movie I felt like I needed a bath... just erase it from my mind and rewatch Raiders and Crusade to make me feel better.  The good things about this film - Steven Spielberg, Harris Ford, Karen Allen, and Cate Blanchet.  The acting is good and the direction is classic spielberg.  However, the story is completely bogged down by the apparent "crowd pleasing" moments and tying up of loose ends.  The ending is terrible and Shia is just as bad as ever!  If you love the franchise, you'll definitely be disappointed by this movie.  

Jim's Rating: D : The last 90 seconds spoilt this film for me. It took it into the realms of science fiction which I hate. Would not recommend.

Alex's Rating: C : I have never been a huge fan of Indiana Jones, but I did enjoy 'Temple Of Doom'. Before seeing this film, I saw 'Last Crusade', which I found somewhat boring, so my expectations were mixed.

And overall, Indy 4 is a good film. Harrison Ford actually looks BETTER in his relatively old age, in my opinion, and he can still act like a twenty year old. With such energy and charisma, his amazing performance is worthy of the nobel prize!

The pervious film was set in 1938. This film is set in 1957. I found the timing very clever, because the films are set 19 years apart, and actually ARE that far apart!

It was thrilling, with just the right balance of humour, gore and action to pass as being faithful to the series.

The ending, however, was NOT faithful to the series. As many other people have said, it passes the boundaries of supernatural western, and verges on science fiction, which is an anticlimax, and spoilt the film for me.

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