I just saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"! Ask me anything!

[JTG of the PRB]

...Though I might not answer right away, seeing as it was a 12:01am showing, and it's almost 3:00am now... I'm exhausted.

I promise I'll answer your questions in the morning! :P

[Lasher]

1. Does it rule or suck? n/t

[JTG of the PRB]

6. In one word, it rules.

In two words, it FREAKING RULES!!!!

[stuntcat]

23. YAY

I don't even know WHY I'm so happy about this, I just am! Thanks fo the revue!
I'm gonna see it this weekend I think!! :bounce:

[JTG of the PRB]

25. Trust me, it's worth the money!

I'm planning on seeing it in theatres at LEAST once more.

It was interesting to see the crowd last night. Most people were my age (25) or younger. It's probably because this is the generation of Indiana Jones fans who have never had the opportunity to see an Indiana Jones movie in the theatres - The Last Crusade came out when I was 6 years old. For most of us at the movie last night, it was our first chance ever to experience Indiana Jones in the setting it was meant to be seen.

[TZ]

2. Did you like it?

Does Harrison Ford still look good at sixtiesh?

[Lasher]

3. Musta gone sleepytown. n/t

[JTG of the PRB]

7. I loved it. It was a great movie. They did a great job.

Was it as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark? Probably not, but I think it was on par with Last Crusade.

Harrison Ford is definitely older, and he certainly looks it from Last Crusade, but you know what? It didn't matter one bit. He is once again Indiana Jones!

[ceile]

4. Wake up!!!!! n/t

[JTG of the PRB]

8. I'm up, I'm up!

:P

[onehandle]

5. My wife and I saw it at Midnight too. No spoilers --->

Not exactly the flavor as the old ones, BUT much of the same magic and fun was there which honestly surprised me.

Ford looked great! He did not seem out of place doing the action and performed many of his own stunts.

His kid sidekick was not annoying (which is what I expected) and blended in nicely.

A certain character from one of the old films was wonderful and lit up the screen!

[JTG of the PRB]

9. I agree on every point!

It was a different flavor, that's for sure, but Roger Ebert made a good point during his review of the movie (which he gave three and a half stars). He said that it's not exactly possible to compare all the Indiana Jones movies to one another because they're all different sorts of creatures. He said it'd be like eating four pounds of sausage and trying to decide whether the second pound was better than the fourth pound, or vice-versa. It's not exactly easy to day,l and I think he's absolutely right.

Harrison Ford did indeed look great. He was fully in Indiana Jones form again, and I was impressed. Doing a lot of his own stunts, kicking a lot of ass... He was great.

Mutt turned out to be a good addition to the team. There were some people complaining that he wasn't a fully-realized character, but I disagree. Sure, it starts out looking like he's just some greaser kid, but he goes on to reveal that he takes risks, and he can be very impulsive, especially when he's trying to protect those he cares about. He came a long way in the movie, and think they did a good job with his character.

And, once again, I agree. Their chemistry with Harrison Ford was pitch-perfect once again!

[onehandle]

12. Ebert's review was why we went and saw it last night.

We were having sushi last night and was talking about our nervousness about the film. We weren't sure we wanted to brave the theater for it. My wife looked up Ebert's review on her iPhone and after she read his intro to me, I was ordering tickets on my iPhone.

Pretty tired today, but it was worth it.

[JTG of the PRB]

14. Same here. I already knew I was going to see it, but I was worried nonetheless.

I read Ebert's review and I was 100% sold on the film. I have agreed with him on almost every single movie he's reviewed and I have later seen. Once I saw the rating he gave it, I knew it would be well worth my money. And it was!

[xchrom]

10. kick

[hiaasenrocks]

11. Is the Indy legacy ruined by all the full-frontal nudity in this film?

[JTG of the PRB]

13. Well, I don't recall seeing any...

...so I'd have to say no.

[hiaasenrocks]

17. Hmm. Maybe it's only in the 3-D version.

[backscatter712]

15. Is there a Pat Roach fight in it?

Pat Roach, FYI, is the actor who played bad guys in all three previous Indiana Jones movies. He was the burly German mechanic who got chopped up by the airplane propeller in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he was the Thuggee overseer who got mashed in the rock crusher in Temple of Doom, and I think he was one of the Nazis in the WWI tank in Last Crusade.

It's not a proper Indiana Jones movie unless there's sufficient blood and gore - faces melting & hearts being ripped out of chests and such.

[JTG of the PRB]

19. No, unfortunately there's not.

According to IMDB, he died in 2004, well before the latest installment began filming. He had some truly amazing fight scenes in those previous movies. However, there was a great one with a Russian bad guy who reminded be of Roach a lot - a big, bald, mean Russian.

[LucyParsons]

16. I'm 28, and I liked Last Crusade best, and I am seeing this one at 7pm TONIGHT

Was Cate Blanchett awesome? Tell me she was awesome. I adore her.

[JTG of the PRB]

20. She was pretty awesome, I'll admit.

She was a little two-dimensional at times, but then again, what Indiana Jones villain HASN'T been two-dimensional at one time or another?

I liked her. I thought she did very well.

[LucyParsons]

21. Yay!

Thanks!

I need a pick-me-up after that dreadful, plodding Elizabeth sequel.

[galledgoblin]

18. I thought it was good... not great, but good

better than Temple of Doom, not quite as good as Last Crusade, and of course no where near as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark, and like the other three films, better than most of what else Hollywood has been putting out.

[pokerfan]

24. Since you ranked the first three correctly, I trust you

I really didn't care for ToD.

[Auggie]

22. Just saw it. I think George Lucas should be banned from ever writing another movie.

C+

Some good moments, but a little trite and expected, IMO. Maybe I was expecting too much.

[JTG of the PRB]

26. I think he should actually be banned from DIRECTING another movie.

He used to be a GREAT writer. Now, he only does okay as long as he's got somebody looking over his shoulder and writing with him.

[Auggie]

27. That too.

I thought the way the story played out was really predictable and corny. I was laughing at spots where there were no jokes.

[FVZA_Colonel]

30. I think he was always like that.

Back with the original trilogy he had clearly brilliant ideas, but he also had people who still had the power to keep him in check and reign in his worst ideas (something that started to slip away with ROTJ, to be honest). By the time of the prequal trilogy, it was gone completely.

[Auggie]

33. That has to be it. Though I would expect better from Spielberg as well (SPOILERS).

One of the great things about the Indiana Jones character in previous movies was his vulnerability. He gets hurt, gets tried, and shows emotions. I was missing this -- the character seemed flat.

The skull looked like cheap lucite. And it didn't have the heft it should. And it could have been photographed/lit better so as to have a mystical aura around it.

Does every alien have to look the same in every movie?

Story continuity and pacing seemed off too.

Story nitpicks:

After Indy and the kid are pursued on the motorcycle by Russian agents they're next showed calmly back at Indy's study. Wouldn't the agents know to look for him there? I think it would have been an edgier scene had they still been on the run, perhaps in some spooky college library cellar.

They needed a set-up to explain why that kid could fence so well. Or at least have the characters show some sort of surprise at discovering this skill. His ability with a switch blade wasn't enough to convince me he was world-class fencer.

Unbelievable:

Swinging through the jungle like Tarzan? The three drops? Surviving the nuclear explosion? Too over-the-top.

[LucyParsons]

28. I thought it was really fun, but

that was the worst ending EVER. Totally disappointed.

[DS1]

29. I'm watching it now. So far it's unbelievably bad. *spoilers*

They should have gone out on a high note with Crusade. This is a disaster. What's with surviving a fridge flying a few miles through the air? Why did the fridge get blown out the house like that, and nothing else in the town? The mushroom cloud effect was neat.

Everything is so cheesy and predictable. Lucas, hang up your hat. You're done.

[Nickster]

32. I saw it last night, gotta agree. It started out promising and ended so flat.

[DS1]

34. The description I used earlier at work was "They Ewokked Indiana Jones"

and I'm sticking to it.

[Connonym]

31. Why'd it have to be snakes?

you said to ask you anything

[Cant trust em]

35. I liked it. Only one scene induced an eyeroll.

I had a fun time watching it, but did feel a little flat with the ending. Raiders is my favorite movie of all time, so Indiana Jones always has a special place for me. Even if it were a totally terrible movie, just the fact that Indy is on screen again is worth the price of admission. Good for a summer blockbuster type.

[LanternWaste]

36. Not as good as I had hoped, but better than I expected...

I liked it. It was (to me) no more, nor no less believable than any of the other Indy movies, and seemed to hearken back (in mood and camera style) to the first one. The homage in the opening sequence to the last scene of the first movie was... unexpected to say the least, and that entire sequence was thrilling, fun and exciting.

Ford/Spielberg/Lucas handle the age of Indy's character well-- alternating deftly between pathos and camp. Ford allowed me to believe that Indy could take the punches he took, and I didn't think that would be the case walking into the theater.

The jungle/jeep fight sequence was so much better than I ever would have thought. And even Mutt's "unique" form of transportation was both a surprise and a rousing foot stomper.

I assumed that his new sidekick was just some eye-candy for the younger crowd, but I ended up liking the character of Mutt against my will (although in the final act of the movie, he did seem to know quite a bit more than a greaser would know-- even an educated greaser).

The bad guys were almost up to par with movie one (although Belloq will forever remain one of my favorite screen villains, hands down).

I keep hearing the tired refrain about the cheesiness of the ending. I suppose that's one reason I'm glad I've never bought into the whole "I am a Cynic-- hear me roar" routine as I can much more easily stay innocent enough to be surprised. And I loved the (hate using the same word twice in the same post, and it's not even the word I'm looking for, but it's the only one I can think of...) homage to one of Spielberg's earlier films which also happens to be my favorite film of his.

I certainly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys popcorn movies and/or the Indiana Jones movies. If you're a cynic who likes to poke holes in the movies you go see (and it's a damn good thing we don't go to movies together or you'd get a punch in the jaw after the credit); or if you think that men in tights who can fly and cars that turn into robots are believable, yet sneer at the thought of a human being surviving an explosion is just too exasperating for you-- don;t see it.

But if you like old-fashioned character action with many punches but only a little blood, if you like the smell of popcorn and stale hot-dogs, and the sudden gasps, cheers, and "OMG! Did you see that??!!" coming from fellow movie patrons, this one's a must see.

Geek Alert-- If you're a fan of the Young Indy series-- out on DVD, you'll notice Indy's reference to one of the better episodes involving Pancho Villa