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 3 wins & 25 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 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:

Before ‘The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ was chosen as the title, several other titles were considered and even registered with the MPAA in August 2007, including ‘The City of Gods’, ‘The Destroyer of Worlds’, ‘The Fourth Corner of the Earth’, ‘The Lost City of Gold’, and finally, ‘The Quest for the Covenant’.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Jones refers to the amphibious vehicles in the South American jungle as "ducks" (DUKWs) when they are actually Ford GPAs, or "Seeps," for "sea-going Jeeps."

Quotes:

Indiana Jones: Nazca Indians used to bind their infants' head with rope to elongate the skull like that.
Mutt Williams: Why?
Indiana Jones: Honor the gods.
Mutt Williams: No, no. God's head is not like that, man.
Indiana Jones: Depends on who your god is.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-02-21)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Howdy Doody Theme

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).