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, Karen Allen

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 25 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, Henry 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's past to face the dangers of the jungle, Russia, and the supernatural.

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Plot Keywords:

soviet | skull | professor | power | artifact | 

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Taglines:

The adventure continues . . . [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

22 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures

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

Steven Spielberg originally wanted the film to be released exclusively in 35mm, but changed his mind and allowed a small digital release after being shown how this version would look. It was shown digitally at a theater if all of its projectors were digital, or if its 35mm projectors were only in smaller auditoriums.

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Goofs

In the atomic test town, one front yard shows dummy children playing on a Slip 'n Slide. Wham-O introduced this product in 1961 but at the checkpoint it says they are in "Nevada 1957".

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Quotes

Indiana Jones: What exactly am I being accused of other than surviving a nuclear explosion?

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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

It's fun for some, disappointing for others.

After a long nineteen year wait, Indiana Jones is back on the big screen hamming it up and continuing his search for rare and wild artifacts that could seriously take someone's life away. This film has Jones in the late 1950s fighting against the Soviets in order to obtain a crystal skull found in Peru which they believe will give them absolute knowledge over all other countries. Without telling the spoilers, it is important to state right here and now that this is definitely the weakest written of the four films. It simply doesn't give the magic and suspense that Raiders was able to throughout the entire running time. Of course the acting is good with Harrison Ford looking as good as ever and Karen Allen and Shia Labeouf supporting him well. The directing by Steven Spielberg is solid as we get some nice chase scenes and the pace is just fine. Still, it's that script that is giving me winces of pain as I watch this film. Of course, you shouldn't go into this thinking it was going to be as good or better than Raiders or the Last Crusade. I didn't expect too much and that is exactly what I got; not too much but enough to recommend for all fans of the original three to see. Are the first three the best? Of course. Should they have made this fourth one? Probably not. Still, if you are a fan, it doesn't hurt too much to see Indy crack the whip one more time.