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

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

22 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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 5 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)
Indiana Jones y el reino de la calavera de cristal (Argentina) (Bolivia) (Chile) (Colombia) (Costa Rica) (Dominican Republic) (Ecuador) (Guatemala) (Mexico) (Panama) (Paraguay: Spanish title) (Peru) (Puerto Rico) (Spain) (Spain: Castilian title) (Uruguay) (Venezuela) [es]
Indiana Jones e o Reino da Caveira de Cristal (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Indiana Jones et le royaume du crâne de cristal (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Indiana Jones és a kristálykoponya királysága (Hungary) [hu]
Indiana Jones - Regatul craniului de cristal (Romania) [ro]
Indiana Jones Ka Aakhri Karnama (Pakistan: Urdu title) (alternative transliteration) [ur]
Indiana Jones e il regno del teschio di cristallo (Italy) [it]
Indiana Jones i el regne de la calavera de cristall (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Indiana Jones i kraljevstvo kristalne lubanje (Croatia) [hr]
Indiana Jones in kraljestvo kristalne lobanje (Slovenia) [sl]
Indiana Jones ja kristallikallon valtakunta (Finland) [fi]
Indiana Jones ja kristallpealuu kuningriik (Estonia) [et]
Indiana Jones kai to vasileiou tou Krystallinou Kraniou (Greece) [el]
Indiana Jones och Kristalldödskallens rike (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Indiana Jones och kristalldödskallens rike (Sweden) [sv]
Indiana Jones og krystalkraniets kongerige (Denmark) [da]
Indiana Jones og krystallhodeskallens rike (Norway) [no]
Indiana Jones und das Königreich des Kristallschädels (Germany) [de]
Indiana Jones ve Kristal Kafatasi Kralligi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Indijana Dzouns i kraljevstvo kristalne lobanje (Serbia) [sr]

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

The following George Lucas-created characters have "a bad feeling about this": Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)), Anakin (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)), Obi Wan (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)), Luke (Star Wars (1977)), Han (Star Wars (1977)), Leia (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)), C3-PO (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)), and Indiana Jones (like Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford) in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Indiana, Mutt, Ox, Marion and Mac begin to fall of the final waterfall Marion is driving the duck and as they fall they are all shown letting go of the duck and free-falling most of the way. However, when reconvening on the bank of the river Marion is clutching the steering wheel of the car with both hands as if she had not let go.

Quotes:

Col. Dr. Irina Spalko: Don't toy with me, Dr. Jones. What is the point of all this?
Indiana Jones: If it's still magnetic, the metal in this gun powder should point the way.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jonathan Creek: The Grinning Man" (2009)

Soundtrack:

A Solas

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.