Crystal Skull Appreciation Thread!

[connect42]

Originally Posted by badchannels

Well, before all everyone attacks this thread...I'll put my 2 cents in worth.

Being a huge fan of the first 3 Indy films, I've been anxiously awaiting a 4th installment for years and years. I remember playing the Fate of Atlantis game and wishing that the 4th film would be a take on Atlantis.

So finding out that the 4th film was even being made was huge for me. When it did come out and I went to go see it...unlike most, I must admit that I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I was quite pleased.

I enjoyed the entire film from start to finish. Sure, there were a few scenes that raised an eyebrow...the fridge and the prairie dog scene was the main one.

I loved the Area 51 scenes ( including the car race during the opening credits ) I thought it set the tone for the whole film and brought Indy into the next age and away from the whole Nazi Germany theme quite nicely.

I enjoyed the jungle scenes and aside from technicalities with the CGI, I still found it fun. I loved the ants btw...

As for the pyramid and aliens...I have to admit, I have always been fascinated by aliens and their connection to ancient civilizations. And while there are tons of sceptics, you have to be pretty naive not to give the theory some consideration....there is just too much evidence ( many of which are very obvious ) that it should spark the curiosity.

Some may find aliens and those kinds of theories silly....I've always taken them with an open mind. We are just a tiny planet in an immense universe and you have to be pretty damned naive to believe we are the only ones out here.

I loved how they put it all together and I enjoy watching the film every time.

Why?

Because I'm not going to tear movies down with technicalities....its supposed to be a fun adventure film with history, myth and radical theories combined. All of the Indy films have done the same thing, I don't see how the aliens influence on ancient civilization can be any different than evil Indian gods and ripping beating hearts out of a live person's chest, or the Ark of the Covenant and its magical bibilical powers or even the Holy Grail which supposedly gives you immortality.

Immortality, evil Gods, magical Arks....Aliens.....all of the Indy films have been based on radical theories and history....and based in some truth....so where is the problem again?

Loved it....

It's as if I wrote this myself! I could not agree more!

[faceman31]

Look, it is what it is. I was just happy to see another Indy film and enjoyed it for what it was. I didn't expect it to be as good as the others, If they said "we arn't going to make it" people would have complained about that. Just like the Star Wars prequals I didn't expect them to be as good but still like them all for the continuation of the story. It was just great to see Indy back on the big screen and I look forward to #5.

[Cplhicks]

Originally Posted by Hi-Def Steve

I really like this movie and has only gotten better for me with repeated viewings on Blu-ray. I still grimace over the fridge and Tarzan scenes though.

I pretty much agree with this. I enjoyed the movie and don't get all the hate. These two scenes were a bit much, though. But I can stomach the fridge scene-- it was mainly the Tarzan thing that bugged me the most.

[uziel5000]

The film most certainly gets a bad rap and it is mostly undesereved. In terms of pacing, story ans even stunts, the movie is no different from the other three. The only real difference is that the other three were about finding religous objects wereas this one was about aliens which put some people off (including myself a bit).

However one could argue that this film is also about a religous object. After all the whole argument of the film is that South American natives built a whole religion around these "interdimensional visitors", therfore the skull is indeed a religious artifact. So in theory this film keeps up the Indy tradition quite well.

I think the bad reputation of this film comes from what I cal "Episode I" syndrome. There is simply no way the film was gonna live up to the hype it created. The Indy films are classics (especially the first one), much like Star Wars and people's expectations are simply too high. When the film comes out and it turns out not to be the second coming of Christ people are dissapointed. Kind of silly imo.

[CHERRYGARCIA]

I did enjoy the film, although its still the 4th best Indy film!

[uziel5000]

Originally Posted by Hi-Def Steve

I really like this movie and has only gotten better for me with repeated viewings on Blu-ray. I still grimace over the fridge and Tarzan scenes though.

As opposed to what? Indy jumping off an airplane in a liferaft and surviving? Or Indy escaping a giant rolling rock? How about Indy talking to a thousand-year-old knight? Those scenes are exactly in the spirit of the other three films.

[P@t_Mtl]

Having like Indy 4 from the start and having heard people destroy me for it for a better part of 14 months, here is what I don't quite understand

Some of the main reasons I heard over the past year as to why Indy 4 sucks (these are in no particular order)

the nuke & fridge scene, ok it's over the top and it's pushing it a bit but it's really not that bad compare of some of the other scenes in the 3 previous movies, heart ripping still alive due, metal cage completetly cold only a few minutes after being in lava, jumping out of airplane with raft, over the clif with raft....

The Tarzan scene, it's there for what, 15 secondes. So a young guy swing from a vine in the middle of some jungle and he does the Tarzan scream. Now be honest with yourself, if you were in the same situation, would you not to the Tarzan scream

The gophers, never seen some many people go nuts over a bunch of CGI gophers that are on screens for less then 30 secondes.

The alien story, it make's perfect sense, it's the 50's and that was all the thing back then, aliens, UFO's. Perfect settings.

What about the acting, directing, scenario. Ok so maybe it wasn't as ultra well made as Raiders but neither was Temple Of Doom, which is the worst Indy movie I think.

So why all this hate of Indy 4? Is it all because of Lucas and we have to hate Lucas now a days?

[ViralIncubator]

My hunch is that the dissatisfaction with the story comes from the mixing of two different kinds of mythologies: Theistic vs ETs

Interdimensional beings are not part of the theistic mythologies. It would have been better IMHO if Crystal Skull had delved into Mesoamerican mythology with the Feathered Serpent God, Quetzalcoatl, maybe with an appearance by the big guy himself taking back the crystal skulls or something (not a film writer; I'm sure somebody has a better imagination for this). Or maybe the ETs should have been angels or something in keeping with the Christian angle ...

I enjoyed the movie, in spite of the fridge scene. YMMV.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Having like Indy 4 from the start and having heard people destroy me for it for a better part of 14 months, here is what I don't quite understand

Some of the main reasons I heard over the past year as to why Indy 4 sucks (these are in no particular order)

the nuke & fridge scene, ok it's over the top and it's pushing it a bit but it's really not that bad compare of some of the other scenes in the 3 previous movies, heart ripping still alive due, metal cage completetly cold only a few minutes after being in lava, jumping out of airplane with raft, over the clif with raft....

The Tarzan scene, it's there for what, 15 secondes. So a young guy swing from a vine in the middle of some jungle and he does the Tarzan scream. Now be honest with yourself, if you were in the same situation, would you not to the Tarzan scream

The gophers, never seen some many people go nuts over a bunch of CGI gophers that are on screens for less then 30 secondes.

The alien story, it make's perfect sense, it's the 50's and that was all the thing back then, aliens, UFO's. Perfect settings.

What about the acting, directing, scenario. Ok so maybe it wasn't as ultra well made as Raiders but neither was Temple Of Doom, which is the worst Indy movie I think.

So why all this hate of Indy 4? Is it all because of Lucas and we have to hate Lucas now a days?

Ok, I'll address these, I'm not the biggest hater or fan of the film.

Fridge - thought it was funny, Indy should be glowing green in the next movie

Tarzan - I probably would scream, but that doesn't mean it makes for good cinema

Gophers - don't even remember them

Aliens - doesn't bother me a bit, I don't care what story they pick, it better be damn well acted

I'm currently watching my Indy films again (just to get a good frame of reference for the series since it's been too long since I've seen all 3), just finished the first one.

[Arvin Clone]

I really liked Indy 4. Maybe not as much as the other three, but still liked it. I have no problem with the Alien storyline. Indiana Jones has always been about what's going on in the world at the time it was set. In the 1950's there was a great histeria about an Alien invasion. Just look at all the Sci-Fi movies made in the 50's. Half of them was about Alien invasion. As far as the stunts go. We have always had to suspend disbelief when it came to Indy movies. Yeah, the coal mine chase scene in "The Temple of Doom" was really believable.

[SellmeyourDVD]

The first time I saw Indy 4 I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was that great. Maybe it was because I had to much to drink that night, becuase just last week I rewatched the movie completely sober and was GLUED to the TV the whole time. After the movie was finally over I said to myself " DAMN, that was a pretty decent movie!" I think it deserves to be called almost as good, if not as good, as the other movies.