MovieChat Forums > Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Discussion > This ruined Indiana Jones forever.

This ruined Indiana Jones forever.

posted 6 years ago by Heisenberg (6285)
55 replies | jump to latest

I'm not just talking about any possible future movies.
I'm talking about the previous ones too, the whole thing is ruined by this crap.

Raiders is my favorite film of all time, so imagine how happy I am with this.

I remember posting on imdb before skull came out that it looked like an awful idea, I predicted the ignorance of casting Shia, the awkwardness of shooting with Ford playing an old man, the weariness of setting this in the fifties, the stupidity of the aliens idea (yeah, I cracked the mistery of the skull before it came out, what a genius I must be right? That was such a super twist!).
So it had all the signs for being a bad project, and I posted my dissent.
But I got a barrage of criticism from the board on imdb saying that I was a naysayer and that it could be good, and if it wasn't, how was this gonna diminish the previous ones? Just skip it and pretend it doesn't exist.
Well, it's been 10 years since this disgrace of a piece of crap, and it does exist, and Indiana Jones is deader than Belloq in the movie world, and I blame this miserable piece of crap for that.

Without skull, Indiana Jones would be regarded as THE greatest film trilogy from the '80s, and a classic one, like back to the future, or even the matrix (with all its faults).
With skull, it's just another movie series gone awry with its protagonist and creators, like die hard or lethal weapon. What a shame, what a waste.
HOLLYWOOD LEAVE THE GOOD STUFF ALONE

[–] Galactus03 (4287) 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Galactus03 (4287) 5 years ago

Jesus dude STFU....It wasn't as bad as you make out and an Alien mystery was the next logical step. We didn't need another religious artifact...

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 5 years ago

We didn't need this crap. Nobody does, not even crap lovers. This is bad crap even for their standards.

Alien mystery is the next logical step for anybody that has no clue what an archeologist is.
What's the next logical quest after this for you, Indy investigating the Kennedy assassination?

[–] Galactus03 (4287) 5 years ago

This film was much better than Temple of Doom. Tod had the whiny Kate Capshaw and was the goofiest of the four films.🙄🙄🙄

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 5 years ago

And yet, with all the problems Tod had, it still was a legit Indiana Jones adventure, dealing with archeological research, and based on real history, locations and cultures. Above all, it was made by a team that was, at that time, at their peak, and you can tell, even if some choices are poor or extreme.
This giant turd, on the other hand, shows how disconnected and out of shape the whole project and team was.
Anyway, I'm completely sure and confident that the vast majority of fans and critics agree with me, and this post is not really about debating how awful this is. Its awfulness is out of doubt.
What's worse about this awful movie is that it's a tacked on "chapter" to one exceptional film trilogy of almost 30 years before, and it tainted that jewel with its stink.

[–] Galactus03 (4287) 5 years ago

You are an idiot...lmao....

[–] TandyMan (10338) 5 years ago

I've been thinking about it and even though Crusade is one of my favorite movies ever, it probably did more to damage the Indiana Jones character/movies than Crystal Skull did. That film really divided fans, with it's heavy religious themes, meeting Hitler, all the comedy, the whole flashback kid Indy sequence, unnecessary explanation of where Indy got his name, his clothes, the whip, paling' around with daddy, retconning previous characters. Crusade also strayed pretty far from the pulp roots of the Indiana Jones character. If anything, Crystal Skull was just kind of picking up those threads and running with them. I think Crystal Skull is a movie that would have gotten made if they kept cranking the movies out back in the day. I think maybe we would have been stuck with a film like this in the series no matter what.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 5 years ago

Like you said yourself, Crusade is one of your favorite movies ever. That means that they were doing things right. Is there anybody in the planet who hold crystal turd as one of his favorite movies?
I like Crusade, and I agree with you about all those problems and the damage it did to the frenchise: the worse one, is the young Indy/unnecessary character exposition/Hitler. That was fun to watch in theatres as a kid, it was still new to give these kind of private life info. But it was just a whole setup of the young Indy tv series, which single handedly ended the movie series derailing it from "an unknown adventurer in the past" to "Indy meets everybody important in history and IS A CRUCIAL PART OF THAT HISTORY".
So I also agree, crystal turd could have been a comeback in the 90s, part of a longer movie series like 007, to take Indy back to his world in yet another adventure (and not a "special one" like in Crusade). And maybe, having been made 25 years before, it could have been half decent, even with the alien artifact.
But the sad reality is that it was just a giant turd delivered by a completely out of shape team with the wrong intentions for all the wrong reasons: like the tv series, it DOES affect the trilogy, like a nail in the coffin.

[–] alv790 (87) 3 years ago

Not for me. The previous ones are still great. Seriously, if this one bothers you so much just forget about it and enjoy the others.

In the Terminator franchise, everything that came after Terminator 2 is worse than this film, to be honest, and that does not change how great Terminator 2 is.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 3 years ago

I agree about T2, but this one was different: they were a trilogy and had a nice end for it.
They moved on to the tv series already. And it's been decades since the last one.
So it was really an irrespectful operation that tarnished the originals more than a reboot or a remake could have. It's like writing a sequel to the gospels: you cannot say "ok pretend we didn't tell you Jesus had a son", could you? How do you watch Raiders and don't think of the "future" for Marion and Indy?

Terminator instead is just a series that evolved into shit gradually, the third one is not that bad afterall considering what came after it, but it never felt like the series was wrapped up nicely.

[–] davodikum (5968) 3 years ago

I like the newest Terminator. But I have to agree this movie is garbage. They should have made a fourth Indy movie in the nineties.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 3 years ago

Yes, that's my point precisely!
This crapfest is as stale and forced as trying to win back some broad you dated 20 years ago, only because you realized it was a mistake to dump her and you just got divorced: the magic is gone now, she has moved on, it's too little too late. You should own your mistake like a man and just be sorry for yourself and for how stupid your past self was for leaving her.
But you still have the good memories: don't ruin those too!

[–] alv790 (87) 3 years ago

We'll agree to disagree then. I have to say that I find it a quaint concept. If they make a bad movie in a franchise, then the previous good ones are ruined? You must like few franchises, then. I mean, it's your opinion, and that's fine, whatever works for you, but this movie sure isn't going to ruin the other three for me. They are wonderful.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 2 years ago

It surelly has smeared shit all over the Indiana Jones name and given Raiders a follow up that completely hampers its ending.
What do you call that? A glorification of the previous trilogy?

[–] janelsenor (2042) 3 years ago

I'm talking about the previous ones too

Lol

[–] pjl69 (2425) 3 years ago

Didn't affect me. I have all four movies on blu-ray box set, but I'm not forced to watch the last movie. If I was, I could just throw it away if it bothered me so much. Or use it as a pizza slicer. Same goes to Alien franchise. I consider Alien movies a trilogy (Alien, Aliens and Alien 3). The last movie is just an extra. Or Die Hards. I have only the first and third movie in my collection. You aren't forced to watch all the movies in a franchise. Just edit them to your likeing...

[–] davodikum (5968) 3 years ago

I agree with die hard, the first and third are the only true die hard movies. Love the idea also, of using unwanted DVDs as pizza slicers.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 3 years ago

As you can see, you even paid money for this solid shit. So it is there, it exists, you cannot pretend it doesn't. How do you edit them to your likeing?

I'm the greatest tennis player ever. I just have to pretend that Federer, Nadal, Borg and about another 1.000.000 other tennis players in history have never existed and there I go! I'm the GOAT!
I just gotta edit reality to my likeing...

[–] alv790 (87) 3 years ago

So it is there, it exists, you cannot pretend it doesn't.

But Indiana Jones is not reality, it's fiction. No one is denying that this movie was made, but we can certainly choose to disregard it and not be interested in it, while still loving the movies we like.

Not that I really hate this movie, though. For me it's just disappointing, far from the level of the others, and out of place because of that.

[–] Minirogerebert (74) 3 years ago

I sort of agree and disagree. On one hand, I can see how it’s an unnecessary blemish on an otherwise almost perfect set of films. Raiders was revolutionary and Crusade capped off the decade nicely with them riding off into the sunset. The end. Except now Indy is a geriatric old fart with a douchey son, and that will never go away.

However, I do not think it completely ruined the series, much like how The Godfather Part III didn’t diminish the achievements of the first two. In my mind the only series that has been utterly ruined by its sequels was Star Wars. A close number 2 would have to be the Alien series.

[–] alv790 (87) 3 years ago

I'd say Star Wars is a better example of a series that has been "ruined" by the most recent entries, because the new trilogy actively denied all that had been accomplished in the original trilogy and turned all its heroes into failures, just so that they could retell a similar story with new characters. However, it still doesn't ruin the experience of the previous movies for me. I simply don't include the new stuff in my headcanon. I just hope they jump to a different period in the new movies they are making, because if they continue the story of Rey & company it will be similarly tainted.

[–] Minirogerebert (74) 3 years ago

What ruined the original S-W trilogy for most were the special editions and the needless attempts to shoehorn everything in the prequels into the originals. Now unless you have the despecialized additions downloaded from the internet it’s like watching some weird Frankenstein monster’s hybrid of what Star Wars is supposed to be. The Disney trilogy pissing all over the original characters didn’t help.

[–] kuatorises (7467) 3 years ago

Weird, I've watched the originals several times since this came out and they were still good.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 3 years ago

Were they?
Don't you think a still good meal would taste better if you didn't have to eat it in the stench of a giant horse shit just dropped next to your seat?
I'm sure the meal is still the same excellent quality as before. Why would you feel differently then?

[–] kuatorises (7467) 3 years ago

Eating food next to a pile of poop next to you is totally the same as watching a movie. Great comparison.

[–] Heisenberg (6285) 3 years ago

What part is too difficult for you?