Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I’m reading other reviews and what the not very satisfied viewers are complaining about the most is that the new Indie is science fiction. Personally, that doesn’t bother me it all, on the contrary, I welcome and praise this shift in Jones’s adventures. What I can’t praise, however, is that it has lost all the humour, or at least the humour that I liked – I don’t consider childish jokes like a ground squirrel (curious monkey) turning around behind me to be good enough for a legend like Indie. Indiana Jones was never about realism, so I don’t mind the innumerable WTF moments in the plot, but the triple slide on huge waterfalls in a Jeep and covering from an atomic explosion in a fridge were almost too much, even for me. 65% (10/01/2008)

In my opinion, Indy works perfectly well in the 1950s. However, the situation is much worse with the 21st century. Visually, the film seemed sterile, ironed-out and sometimes pandering. Harrison Ford still has huge balls, but unfortunately the same cannot be said about Cate Blanchett (and unfortunately not only for understandable reasons). Shia LaBeouf also played his Legolas role with honor, but this winking to a younger audience, for which an old man with a whip is no longer enough, bothers me. And so does Lucas’ infantility... So what did I like about it? Some spots have the atmosphere of the old films. Spielberg's conservatism, which is not boring and does not feel anachronistic. Nevertheless, the word I would use for this film is “disconcerted". I get the feeling that where the original trilogy didn’t require a lot of extra stuff, part four had go too far into megalomania and exaggeration... It's a well-crafted product and a clear hit in my opinion, but not a cult hit. (05/26/2008)

The trio of Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford reminds me of a bunch of pensioners who will jokingly rebuke you if you want to let them take your seat on a tram. You will rarely meet them, but you will not forget them for a long time. Or... The original plan of having a worthy ending to the series that turned into a comedy-action hit that could be envied by folks generations younger than me, made me laugh like a little kid. This film features a full-blown two hours of stylish catchphrases, a great atmosphere, and a polished feeling that perfectly reflects two things: The mindfulness of aging gentlemen and the fame of Shia LaBeouf - the kid is incredible! (05/24/2008)

My god, so much hype! The discussion forum had several thousand posts before the premiere, half of the FilmBooster users experienced many sleepless nights playing the same trailer over and over again, and impatiently crossed off the days on the calendar until the midnight premiere, for which tickets had been lying on the table for quite a few days, of course. And all of this was totally shit, because as usual, the most anticipated blockbuster of the year, if not the decade, is utter crap, and nobody can believe what actually happened and what went wrong. Indy is the past. The feeling of the 1980s will never return, just like the time when these films were made. Spielberg tries to stick to the old ways (titles, references to age, sound of fights, filter-free camera), but brutally knocks himself down with a ton of visual effects and accumulating nonsense, which are a bit too much even for the playful Indy. Ford surprised me with his strength and vitality – he can still handle his fists and whip well – but otherwise it's just a plain and boring setup mashed up with today's trend of “action - plot, action - plot, action - plot...”. Boring and average, not even pretty. Even Temple of Doom entertained me more. (07/02/2008)

There was a huge pile of emotions after leaving the cinema, but they can all be summed up in one message: "You took your time, but it was worth it, Indy." The teacher looks like he hasn't done anything but searching for more and more treasures in the last nineteen years, and even though it has added a wrinkle or two to his face, he still throws himself into everything headfirst. Fortunately, with an increasing dose of reason, because the main hero has indeed grown wiser in his old age (not to be confused with becoming soft). And this nostalgic, mischievously winking adventure contains so many amazing ingredients. The ethereal Cate Blanchett, a chase over a cliff, "ants like pigs", breathtaking climax, and last but not least, the rebellious Shia LaBeouf, perhaps even better than I dared to hope. The Last Crusade's base as the pinnacle of the series passed without any problems, but such an adventurous ride can probably only be found with Mr. Jones. (05/30/2008)