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

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

22 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

In May, the adventure continues.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Soviet | Skull | Professor | Power | Crystal

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 24 nominations

Cast

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
Pavel Lychnikoff	...	Russian Soldier (as Pasha D. Lychnikoff)
Andrew Divoff	...	Russian Soldier
Venya Manzyuk	...	Russian Soldier (as Veniamin Manzyuk)
Alan Dale	...	General Ross

Also Known As:

Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures (USA) (working title)
Indiana Jones 4 (USA) (working title)
Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods (USA) (working title)
Raiders of the Lost Ark Sequel (USA) (working title)
The Untitled Genre Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Sweden:11 | Singapore:PG | Denmark:11 | Norway:11 | Finland:K-13 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Hong Kong:IIA | Spain:T | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44295) | Malaysia:U | Taiwan:PG-12 | Peru:PT | Germany:12 | Austria:10 | New Zealand:M | South Africa:13V | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

As of June 2008, this film holds the record for the largest Paramount Pictures prints distributed (about 12,000).

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the transition scenes showing Indy and Mutt flying from the United States to Peru, we see a single-engine biplane in Pan American colors. That plane is a Soviet-built Antonov An-2, which never would've flown in PAA colors, particularly in the politically charged climate of the 1950s.

Quotes:

Marion Ravenwood: [Indy cuts Marion loose, and removes gag] I'm sure I wasn't the only person to go on with my life. There must have been plenty of women for you over the years.
Indiana Jones: Yeah. There were a few, but they all had the same problem.
Marion Ravenwood: Yeah? What's that?
Indiana Jones: [Indy cuts through roof] They weren't you, honey.
[Throws Mutt knife, and climbs out of truck]
Indiana Jones: [Mutt smiles and laughs]
[Mutt and Marion get thrown around truck!]
Indiana Jones: [Indy throws Russian out of truck, and big action scene starts]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Warrior Make-up (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Hound Dog

Implausible action scenes kill this movie

All I can really conclude about this movie is that it was just okay. I can forgive the ludicrous plot, the cheesy "family" dynamic of the film, the fact that Harrison Ford is old (which is really nowhere near the worst part of this). I don't even really mind Shia LaBeouf's presence. But many of the stunts and the action scenes are so implausible that it renders all of the action scenes implausible. For example, Shia LaBoeuf sword-fighting (!) spread-eagled on two moving vehicles; a boat going over not one, not two, but three waterfalls with absolutely no one getting a scratch (I mean, what are we watching here, The A-Team?); and the "if the film hasn't jumped the shark yet it certainly has now" moment--Shia LaBoeuf swinging through the jungle a la Tarzan. It was ridiculous. And because these parts are (forgive my overuse of the word) implausible, it highlights the fact that the rest of it doesn't work, either. After seeing a number of old series trying to come back for another run (Rocky Balboa, Rambo, the Star Wars Prequels) I have concluded that when filmmakers attempt to cash in on a once-popular series, artistically the best they can hope for is to break even. Sometimes there really is nowhere to go but down. I wanted to love this, but the most charitable thing I can say is that it was just okay. Very disappointing.