Poster © Paramount Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction & Adventure
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 2 mins
ReleasedMay 22, 2008
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorSteven Spielberg
StarringHarrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen
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| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's Details | |
| Genre | Action & Adventure |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 05/18/2008 (Cannes); 05/22/2008 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 2 mins |
| Budget | $185M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Characters by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's Interests | |
| General | Crystal skulls, Peru, switchblades, the Red Scare, motorcycles, very sturdy kitchen appliances. |
| Music | John Williams. The Raiders March still hits on the very first note. |
| Movies | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Where the hat and the whip got famous. |
| Television | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Indy before the gray hair. |
| Heroes | Mutt Williams. Never met a comb he didn't pull out. |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's Crew | |
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Writers | David Koepp, George Lucas (story), Jeff Nathanson (story) |
| Producers | Frank Marshall |
| Cinematography | Janusz Kamiński |
| Music | John Williams |
| Edited By | Michael Kahn |
| Production | Lucasfilm Ltd. |
| Distributed By | Paramount Pictures |
Indiana Jones survives an atomic test by climbing into a refrigerator, and somehow that’s not even the silliest moment in his own movie. That honor goes to Shia LaBeouf, who swings through the jungle with a crew of monkeys like he’s late for a Tarzan audition. Harrison Ford still lands every punch, and Karen Allen’s grin when she sees him again does more than any of the CGI. Everything else looks like it was shot in a parking lot with a green screen and a mood. Cate Blanchett plays a Soviet psychic villain with an accent that keeps changing zip codes. The jungle chase turns into a swarm of CGI ants, and the ending goes somewhere this series was never built to go. It made $786.6 million worldwide on a reported $185 million budget, and critics went easier on it than fans did. A 4.3 because Ford still has it and the movie keeps handing his scenes to the computer. $486 says you defend the fridge scene to a friend this week and lose.
What works: Harrison Ford still sells every punch, Karen Allen brings back real warmth, and the opening warehouse chase has the old spark.
What doesn’t: Cartoonish CGI swallows the practical stunt work the series was famous for, and the vine-swinging scene breaks whatever spell was left.
Who it’s for: Indy completists who need to see every chapter, and kids who think monkeys make everything better.
Mutt turns out to be Indy’s son with Marion, and the crystal skulls belong to beings from another dimension who take Spalko’s wish to know everything a little too literally. The temple collapses, a flying saucer rises out of the valley, and Indy and Marion finally get married.
It's 1957, and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) gets hauled into a Nevada military warehouse by Soviet agents led by Colonel Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), who needs him to find one very specific crate. He gets out of that jam, barely, only to get shoved onto indefinite leave from his college back home. Then a greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) rolls up with news: Indy's old colleague Harold Oxley (John Hurt) vanished in Peru chasing a legendary crystal skull, and Mutt's mom went missing with him. Steven Spielberg directs. One hundred twenty-two minutes, one remarkably sturdy refrigerator.
Professors on a surprise leave of absence. Bring a fedora and a pocket comb.
Dean Charlie Stanforthphoto: Scottish Documentary Institute, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mutt Williams/Henry Jones IIIphoto: Pietro Luca Cassarino, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons| Harrison Ford | Indiana Jones |
| Cate Blanchett | Irina Spalko |
| Karen Allen | Marion Ravenwood |
| Ray Winstone | George "Mac" McHale |
| John Hurt | Harold 'Ox' Oxley |
| Jim Broadbent | Dean Charlie Stanforth |
| Shia LaBeouf | Mutt Williams/Henry Jones III |