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News / Columns / Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus: Indiana Jones is Certified Fresh!
Trip to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull worth it.
by Tim Ryan | May 21, 2008
Discuss Article

This week at the movies, Indiana Jones makes his return after 19 years in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford. What do the critics have to say?

The wait is finally over, and the word is good. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull may not be of the order of the first three Indy adventures, but critics say it's a solid entry in the series. Skull finds the principals from Raiders of the Lost Ark (director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas, and stars Harrison Ford and Karen Allen) battling the Soviets to keep the world safe from nuclear war. This time, an aging Indy's joined by a youngster (Shia LaBeouf) who helps him track down the titular skull before a ruthless Russian agent (Cate Blanchett) gets her hands on it. The critics say Skull is a solid action adventure buoyed by the warm feelings the Indy franchise has generated over the years; they say it's good to be in the company of these characters again, even if the results aren't as exhilarating as past entries. At 77 percent on the Tomatometer, Skull despite being the worst-reviewed entry in the series, is still Certified Fresh. (And check out all of our Indiana Jones features here.)


"Let me show you how Russians say good-bye."


Also opening this week in limited release:

  • War, Inc., starring John Cusack and Hilary Duff in a satire of the military-industrial complex, is at 21 percent.
  • Uwe Boll's Postal, a post-9/11 satire, is at 25 percent (check out Boll's list of his five favorite movies here).
  • A Jihad for Love, a documentary about homosexual in the Muslim world, is at 83 percent. The Edge of Heaven, a drama about family ties and immigration, is at 76 percent.
  • The Children of Huang Shi, a drama set in war-torn China in the 1930s starring Michelle Yeoh, Radha Mitchell, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, is at 25 percent.


    "Hey, where's the fourth Horseman?"

    Indiana Jones Movies:
    ----------------------------
    90% -- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
    87% -- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
    95% -- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

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Comments (1-20 of 48 posts) | Reply
neoes
neoes writes:
on May 21 2008 05:49 PM

lol first...ha ha. But this is good. I'm happy Jonesy certified fresh, that makes me all the more want to see it. I really can't wait. I don't know how it's possible growing up in America and NOT

(Reply to this)
neoes
neoes writes:
on May 21 2008 05:49 PM

lol first...ha ha. But this is good. I'm happy Jonesy certified fresh, that makes me all the more want to see it. I really can't wait. I don't know how it's possible growing up in America and NOT seeing these films when you were a little kid.

(Reply to this)
Some guy you dont know
Some guy you dont know writes:
on May 21 2008 05:53 PM

"Hey, where's the fourth Horseman?"

Epic win.


(Reply to this)
rockclmbr6
rockclmbr6 writes:
on May 21 2008 05:58 PM

Hopefully seeing Indy tomorrow. Glad to see it's what we all waited for (at least, for most of us).

Strange, for some reason all the text on RT is really plain and bad looking right now...


(Reply to this)
Bloody Mathias
Bloody Mathias writes:
on May 21 2008 06:00 PM

I can't be the only one who's pissed off that Shia's in this Indy film.

What has he done to deserve the title of "the next big thing"?
Why does Spielberg feel the neeed to cram him down our throats?
First in Transformers and now Indy. Is there no respite from him?
This movie will atuomatically be worse for me just 'cuz he's in it.

I promise, no, i vow i will never hand Lucas and Spielberg a cent of my hard earned money again if they replace Ford with Shia and continue the series.

There is no Indiana Jones without Indy, period.

*Angry vent over.


(Reply to this)
Bloody Mathias
Bloody Mathias writes:
on May 21 2008 06:03 PM

BTW RT, no more Box Office Guru predictions????

(Reply to this)
Some guy you dont know
Some guy you dont know writes:
on May 21 2008 06:07 PM

In reply to this comment (#1744042)
Look let's save the complaining about that untill it actually happens. Then we can hate Indy.

Untill then... I love Indy.


(Reply to this)
707PG13
707PG13 writes:
on May 21 2008 06:33 PM

looks like I'm Shia's only fan here at RT. Eversince the rumor mill hit that he MIGHT be taking over the franchise, the movie web shook with a back lash that sent an earthquake through china.

Anyhoo, one of the articles here did quote Spielberg saying that Shia would be the lead character and Indy would be the side kick. Ala Sean Connery.
Shia'a not "Indy", he's "Mutt". Even if he were to take over, rest assured they can't call it "Indiana Jones" anymore. "The adventures of Mutt" Anyone?


(Reply to this)
~*Admiral Snowstorm*~
~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on May 21 2008 06:40 PM

I don't see a problem at all with Shia. Between him, Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, and all the other Disney channel alumni, he's absolutely the most competent and the only one who can actually act in the slightest. He's no superstar, and he's got a ways to go before he can chase after any Oscars, but he's perfectly acceptable where he is.

(Reply to this)
LindsayWU
LindsayWU writes:
on May 21 2008 06:50 PM

I have ever seen the similar report at the free interracial dating site--InterracialConnect.com where thousands of new members join daily to meet dream date. Many people are discussing it

(Reply to this)
YesIm6ft7
YesIm6ft7 writes:
on May 21 2008 07:04 PM

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm excited to.

However, after reading a few spoilers and several comments from critics that have seen the movie already - I *can* say I'm already disappointed with the story line and creativity department. Crystal Skulls, Aliens, and Atlantis? Sounds like someone (or maybe two people to be exact) have been watching Stargate SG-1 a little bit.

If you're a SG-1 (ran strong for 10 years straight) fan then you'll totally know what I'm talking about! Especially if you've seen the episode, "Crystal Skull" and enjoy watching the SG teams battle it out with aliens and discovering the lost city of Atlantis. I would be a little upset if I was a SG-1 writer/producer, but that's just me.

Anyways, I'm still looking forward to giving my $10 to Ford's paycheck since I'm fan.


(Reply to this)
jokerboy1991
jokerboy1991 writes:
on May 21 2008 07:49 PM

Only 1 hour til the mid night show... After 19 years of waiting this one hour seems longer.

(Reply to this)
hope524
hope524 writes:
on May 21 2008 07:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#1744149)
you're 19?!?! I thought you were very young or something. dude, you gotta learn to spell "awesome" right.

(Reply to this)
JakeTheSnakeMane
JakeTheSnakeMane writes:
on May 21 2008 08:05 PM

I'm a Shia fan as well. I've liked him ever since he was in Holes. I liked Transformers and I thought he did a great job in Disturbia. I'm a fan of the Indy movies as well so him being in it doesn't bother me one bit cause I'm sure he does a fine job and doesn't steal any of Harrison Ford's thunder.

(Reply to this)
Agent0042
Agent0042 writes:
on May 21 2008 08:15 PM

Never woulda guessed -- most everything I personally have seen about it so far have said that it's uninteresting, lacks any magic, etc., etc. Hmm...

(Reply to this)
sorjue
sorjue writes:
on May 21 2008 08:35 PM

Is anyone not disturbed that an Uwe Boll movie got a higher meter than a John Cusack movie? Granted both movies look like they suck but still, Uwe set a record for his movies.

And fingers crossed that Indy is fun.


(Reply to this)
selke99
selke99 writes:
on May 21 2008 08:51 PM

Shia and Spielberg are jewish, that's why.

(Reply to this)
P'city Psycho
P'city Psycho writes:
on May 21 2008 10:03 PM

In reply to this comment (#1744348)
And Indiana Jones fights Nazis, so it all makes sense now.

(Reply to this)
GreenBastard
GreenBastard writes:
on May 21 2008 11:23 PM

I just saw it a couple of hours ago. I so wanted it to be great, so much! But from the opening sequence with the CGI gofer to the CGI riddled action to where CGI aliens came into it, it was a joke. It was as dissapointing as the Phantom Menace. I think maybe kids might like it but when you grew up with Indy films this one feels like a joke.
I hate to think how much this cost because it wasn't worth $30,000,000 let alone $100,000,000 . Absolute rubbish.
I do think Steven Speilberg is the best director ever but this wasnt like a Speilberg film at all. Do yourself a favor, go see Ironman its ten times better.


(Reply to this)
GreenBastard
GreenBastard writes:
on May 21 2008 11:25 PM

Sorry, the Phantom Menace was much better!

(Reply to this)
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