Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Famed archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

David Koepp (screenplay), George Lucas (story),

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Indiana Jones
Cate Blanchett	...	Irina Spalko
Karen Allen	...	Marion Ravenwood
Shia LaBeouf	...	Mutt Williams
Ray Winstone	...	'Mac' George Michale
John Hurt	...	Professor Oxley
Jim Broadbent	...	Dean Charles Stanforth
Igor Jijikine	...	Dovchenko
Dimitri Diatchenko	...	Russian Suit
Ilia Volok	...	Russian Suit
Emmanuel Todorov	...	Russian Soldier
Pasha D. Lychnikoff	...	Russian Soldier
Andrew Divoff	...	Russian Soldier
Venya Manzyuk	...	Russian Soldier (as Veniamin Manzyuk)
Alan Dale	...	General Ross

Storyline

During the Cold War, Soviet agents watch Professor Henry Jones when a young man brings him a coded message from an aged, demented colleague, Harold Oxley. Led by the brilliant Irina Spalko, the Soviets tail Jones and the young man, Mutt, to Peru. With Oxley's code, they find a legendary skull made of a single piece of quartz. If Jones can deliver the skull to its rightful place, all may be well; but if Irina takes it to its origin, she'll gain powers that could endanger the West. Aging professor and young buck join forces with a woman from Jones' past to face the dangers of the jungle, Russia, and the supernatural.

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Plot Keywords:

indiana jones | soviet | skull | professor | power | 

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Taglines:

The adventure continues . . . [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

22 May 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Indiana Jones et le royaume du crâne de cristal

Filming Locations:

Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$185,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£12,227,799 (UK) (23 May 2008)

Gross:

$317,011,114 (USA) (10 October 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At a pre-production press conference at Yale, producer Frank Marshall said that Indy's fictional Marshall College is indeed named after him. He quipped, "If my last name was Yale, it would be Yale College."

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Goofs

Indy pronounces "nuclear" as "nukular," just as people (including Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and George W. Bush) do in real life.

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Quotes

Indiana Jones: [stuck in quicksand] Oxley, don't just sit there. For God's sake, man. Go get help!
Professor 'Ox' Oxley: Help?
Indiana Jones: Help!
Professor 'Ox' Oxley: Help?
[runs into the trees searching for help]
Indiana Jones: [later on, they're surrounded by Russian soldiers after getting pulled out of the quicksand by Mutt] Good work, Ox. Thanks.
Professor 'Ox' Oxley: [points at the Russians] Help.

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Crazy Credits

The movie begins with the Lucasfilm logo, followed by the 1954 Paramount "VistaVision" logo (with the text "PARAMOUNT" instead of "A PARAMOUNT PICTURE" and "A Viacom Company" instead of "A Gulf+Western Company" below "PARAMOUNT"). Gulf+Western became Paramount Communications in 1989, then merged with Viacom in 1994. The Paramount logo then dissolves into a gopher mound. (The static version of the current Paramount logo is seen at the end of the movie.)

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Connections

Referenced in MarzGurl Reviews: The Land Before Time (2011)

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Soundtracks

Shake, Rattle, and Roll
Written by Charles F. Calhoun (as Charles Calhoun)
Performed by Bill Haley and the Comets (as Bill Haley and His Comets)
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Good to see Indy again....but a plot that falls way short of the mark

I reached a movie buff conclusion after the 2nd set of Star wars films. It's simply not possible to top an iconic, legendary film or series. The original can't be beat, and is next to impossible to match. Doesn't matter who directs, stars, the effects, etc - can't be done. Being sure of this in advance made the Crystal Skull easier for me to take - but I still have to be critical - because they let us down on the simple stuff. My other movie buff observation is - its ALWAYS the writing first. The STORY. The other stuff flows from that, making the film better or worse. In Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the writing failed us. The story does not hold together well and the dialog rings intermittently false throughout the film. I wanted to love the movie - but I was disappointed. When I heard they were all waiting for the "right" script to make another Indy film - that sounded good. But it appears that wasn't really true. I have to assume they all just decided the timing was "right" and it would be fun to get the old group together to do a flick - because the script was poor. The movie is more like an attempt at what an Idiana Jones adventure SHOULD look like - but with no real substance. A series of Indiana like dangerous situations and exploits strung together loosely with some attempts at humor thrown in. But no clear beginning to end plot. No disaster to avert, no one to rescue. Nothing in particular to root for... The actors seemed a bit uncomfortable to me - even Harrison Ford himself. Indy's love interest from Raiders (Marian) was underutilized and apparently a bit rusty in the acting department. She seemed to be just "thrown in" to add a nostalgic romantic element. The young Mutt character was well cast and did a good job with what he had to work with. The story arc regarding Indys age, his old love and young Mutt is dealt with - but could have been a better, more solid part of a more well written story. I'm glad I saw the film. I enjoyed seeing Indy again, but my hope that I'd be wanting to go again didn't pan out. It's worth only one visit - and that just to see some Indiana JonesLIKE adventures - in a story that doesn't make much sense. Sorry to break bad news to anyone who reads fan reviews - but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. George - you should have fussed over the writing a bit more and Harrison - I'd have waited longer for the right script. This was a weak effort and it didn't need to be. Mr Lucas and Mr Spielberg -you surprised me on this one - and let us all down on the story. Just my opinion :) Scott (an Indy Fan).