by Laura Cushing
Member since:
August 4, 2006

Is Kingdom of the Crystal Skull worthy of the Indiana Jones legacy?

June 10, 2008 06:26 PM EDT
views: 222 | rating: 10/10 (34 votes) | comments: 36
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is excellent. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise - Indy still has it. It had everything you'd expect from an Indiana Jones movie - excitement, adventure, romance, danger, archeology and the supernatural. They had a few good references to the other movies in there - and I even caught a nod to the Young Indy series. For anyone who doesn't think that the Russians are as good an adversary as the Nazis, well.. remember I grew up in the 80s where we had those great commies are gonna get you movies like Red Dawn, so I'm rather partial to them. The Cold War is a worthy setting for the continuation of Indy's story - he's caught up in the atomic bomb, Roswell, and McCarthyism . There's some great fifties music, a fight between greasers and guys in varsity sweaters - what more can you ask for?

The Crystal Skull is an artifact that is also worthy of Indy legend - it fits right in there with such greats as the ark, the Sankara stones, and the grail. The dynamic between Henry Jones Sr. and his son Indy that made Last Crusade so great is echoed in the relationship between Indy and Mutt in this movie. And of course, there are plenty of bad guys, fights, imperilment, vine swinging, monkeys, traps and treasures to form the fantastic backdrop that makes Indiana Jones movies worthwhile.

The filming is excellent, from some symbolic moments involving Indy's hat to the too-bright-to-be-real colors of the 50's housing project that is slated for bomb testing, to the realistic look of the grand finale and the final scene. I highly recommend this movie to any Indy fan and to those young folks who might not even be more than passingly aware of the earlier films. This is a great time and place to fall in love with Indiana Jones all over again.

What do you think - is the new Indy film worthy of the Indiana Jones legacy?
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Comments: 36

Jennifer G. Jun 10, 2008, 6:28pm EDT
I've never seen any of the Indiana Jones films...
Donna Hammett-Tooker Jun 10, 2008, 6:30pm EDT
I liked it too and did feel it might have been a little of a let-down in some places but the light of Mutt's true nature has yet to shine and he looks more than capable of carrying on the Jones tradition. Read on a site the other day that if they can get another story together soon, that they will do so and cinematically "turn over the keys" to Mutt for some new "Indy-type" adventures coming into our time.
Donald H. Jun 10, 2008, 6:34pm EDT
It is actually the best of the 4 I.J. movies...!
K R. Jun 10, 2008, 6:42pm EDT
Yeah it was just like the other 3. Typical but a good movie for the whole family
Carlie L. Jun 10, 2008, 6:46pm EDT
I've read reviews by some fans who disliked it, but I saw it opening weekend and thought it was fun. I watched the others as a kid, and I think the other reviewers did the same. But, all the other reviewers I've read were guys, and I think they looked at the film in more of a "model my life around this" way, like some folks with Star Trek. Back when I was a kid, I looked at Indy as a cute professor who ran around doing cool research and escaping from scary traps who always got the girl. It was pure entertainment back then, and still is. It was a fun movie with a cute (albeit older) professor who ran around doing cool research and escaping from scary traps who always got the girl.
sheila ~the hapless housewife~ j. Jun 10, 2008, 6:46pm EDT
I can't wait to see it.
Holly G. Jun 10, 2008, 6:46pm EDT
Good to know, I heard all bad things about it, so we haven't gone yet, but I may reconsider.
Ruth MacGill Jun 10, 2008, 6:57pm EDT
I'm am an Indiana Jones fan and I'm looking forward to seeing this latest movie.
A. F. Stewart Jun 10, 2008, 7:21pm EDT
I can't disagree more, it was a big disappointment. See my review Review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
As for the Crystal Skull being an artifact that is worthy of Indy legend, it looked like a plastic replica stuffed with crinkled Saran Wrap.
Linda G. Jun 10, 2008, 7:30pm EDT
Thnaks, my son really liked.
Debra C. Jun 10, 2008, 7:35pm EDT
I don't know if its worthy but I plan to find out!
Ethan . Jun 10, 2008, 8:08pm EDT
I thought of this movies as an infusion of Indiana Jones, National Treasure 2, and Star Wars.

I was waiting for Nicolas Cage and Yoda to walk out at any moment and offer their help.
Adelaide M. Jun 10, 2008, 8:20pm EDT
I'm still astounded by the first poster. The Indy series as a whole is my boyfriends favorite movie collection, so I've seen them each hundreds of times. I think Crystal Skull fits in with the others, but would like them to do a fifth one to tie them all together. Not sure how that would happen, but 5 seems like a good number, worked for Rocky and Rambo.
Ryan M. Jun 10, 2008, 8:57pm EDT
My boys liked it.
Amy H. Jun 10, 2008, 9:38pm EDT
Thank you for submitting your content to:
The group: We Comment Back
hannah w. Jun 10, 2008, 10:55pm EDT
Thank you for posting to Posts, Posts, Posts, Posts, Posts, Baked Beans, and Posts ^_^
Patty H. Jun 10, 2008, 11:07pm EDT
My boys want to see it, but if daddy dont take them, I guess they will have to wait for it to come to DVD.
hannah w. Jun 10, 2008, 11:26pm EDT
Thank you for posting to Post Your Pride! ^_^
jessie voigts Jun 11, 2008, 10:10am EDT
laura - i didn't see it, but ed and lillie did. they liked it! personally, i like the lego indiana jones computer games. we've been immersed! it is so much fun.
Jo C. Jun 11, 2008, 11:49am EDT
I've heard a lot of positive info about this one :)
Bridget ♥ Jun 11, 2008, 12:07pm EDT
CONGRATS for being featured on Gather's main page!
George Corneliussen Jun 11, 2008, 2:01pm EDT
I almost never go to the movies anymore, but I want to see this film in a theater.
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Jun 11, 2008, 2:18pm EDT
It was fine. It was entertaining and interesting like all the others. My one criticism of this film is that the humor often falls flat. One of the great pleasures of the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as well as the original Star Wars films is that Harrison Ford delivered snarky, witty lines with a great cynical attitude. There's some of that here, but many of the lines that ought to be funny or are trying to be funny just aren't. I would describe the humor here as "cute" rather than fresh and original. But Harrison Ford still has a lot of charm anyway.
jeni e. Jun 11, 2008, 3:40pm EDT
It started off real good but when it got to the alien crap...that was it. How ridiculous! The writers must have been on strike when they came up with that ending. I hated it. There may well be other forms of life out in space but please don't put them in a Indy file. I was disappointed. The Raiders of the Lost Ark are now Remnants of the Last Laugh.
Tina Coruth Jun 12, 2008, 11:21pm EDT
Great review, Laura. I have never been interested in the Indiana Jones movies, but my husband loves them. It's nice to know he won't be disappointed in the new one!
Crystal Scordias Jun 13, 2008, 3:14pm EDT
It was indeed a fantastic film. I love how they make the aging Indy take rests and seem a little older; like there are no real surprises left.

Also... I didn't realize until the second time I saw it that the Russian woman is Cate Blanchett (I think that's her name, anyway.) She did a great job!
Esther IS Flesh and Blood S. Jun 13, 2008, 7:01pm EDT
Thanks so much for the review - Can't wait to see it!!
Jerri H. Jun 14, 2008, 1:17am EDT
Thanks Laura...I was wondering if it would live up to the past movies~


Thanks for posting to
I was bored :)
I was REALLY bored ;)
Brian C. Jun 14, 2008, 6:27pm EDT
I didn't like it that much. I thought it was just okay. I really enjoyed the middle part where they were fighting over who had the skull and driving around through the jungle (the funny part with the quicksand and the "rope" was the best part in the whole movie!), but I thought the script was muddled and the science fiction elements they introduced were lame, lame, lame. The first three movies relied on mysticism and theology, and I didn't enjoy the change.
Bebe S. Jun 15, 2008, 12:37pm EDT
Sorry, Laura. I was really disappointed by the movie. I agree Harrison Ford is still great , a little slower but still great!

I completely agree with Brian C. the first three movies were amazing ! But this one with aliens I mean come on!!!

I am just wondering are Lucas and Spielberg Scientolgist ? Because that is what it seemed like to me...
Kevin (''The SiteWizard'') V. Jun 15, 2008, 11:57pm EDT
I haven't seen it yet, unfortunately. Sex & the City won the toss-up a couple of weeks ago, but I hope to catch Indie before he leaves the theaters.
Jerry Kays Jun 16, 2008, 11:29am EDT
I have only seen Ford's very first of the bunch, until now I did not even know he had made any more.

My complaint would be that our media takes so many deeply esoteric subjects in the metaphysical, spiritual, alien-being potentials, which are so possibly real on their own, and trivializes and/or sensationalizes them to the degree that the concepts are so cheapened that no average viewer would ever again consider the possibility of the issues ever being true again ...

Like every television program, such as on the History Channel about Aliens and their Space Craft, or the Roswell incident, are treated with superficiality, including the cheapest of props of "discs" hovering in the sky and other "garbage" that is patently false copies, made to even look so, just so the viewers will dismiss the entire idea as false in the final analysis ...

Believe it or not, but their is an ideology that actually owns all of the media empire that most of use to determine our realities and it is by their design that we think along certain lines so that we stay locked into "their" concept of the perfect society and how it thinks and acts ... so that they can maintain overall control to their benefit ...

And another thing they are so good at, is making people like myself seem to be the kooks of the world, of the fringe to not be believed when we venture to wake you all up to these deeper truths ... so be it, I try anyway.
Austin Cushing Jun 16, 2008, 5:07pm EDT
This comment is to let you know that this content has reached at least five votes and over 8.0 average rating, and as such has been removed from Rating Resurrectionists! Congratulations!
Quinn (aka Entwife) Blackburn Jun 25, 2008, 3:25pm EDT
..
U wishing you laughter

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