Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull: The Race With The Devil Cut

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9.7
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9.8(25)
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9.6(25)
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9.7(25)
Narrative
 
9.6(25)
Enjoyment
 
9.5(25)
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
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9.0
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9.0
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10.0
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10.0
As far as I'm concerned this is the best way to watch this film. It's editing is tight and it moves fast. Did I notice some rough spots in the new edit, yes, but that's only because I've been a professional editor. 99.9% of people watching this wont notice a thing. Does this elevate it above the previous Indiana Jones films? No, it's still the weakest of the bunch, but now it's at least watchable for completists. No more silly grave digger fight, no more monkeys, and the film is just better for it.

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(Updated: January 06, 2023)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Update 6-1-2023:
The editor made some changes and tweaks on the edit and I rewatched it yesterday. It's a very good edit, It brings out the Indy-spirit of the first three movies and makes the story a whole lot better and watchable. It's become a really streamlined edit. I adjusted my scoring.

Original review:
I knew there was a better movie somewhere in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
It's just bloated with this trying to be funny humor and scenes that add nothing but distract only from the story.

This edit achieves something great. It successfully debloats the movie. It gets rid of a lot of the sillyness and keeps just about the right amount of humor
It makes the movie tighter and concentrates on the story.
It's more in line with the other Indy movies.

It's not without some faults, but that's mainly because cutting stuff away doesn't always make for the best transistions. Though, the cuts and transistions are executed very well. For example, the removal of Mutt swinging in the jungle. It's only slightly jarring, but I couldn't have done the transistion any better and all things considered, it works, it keeps the pace going instead of slowing it down and the transition moment is quickly forgotten. It doesn't take you out of the movie, and that's the whole point.

I also noticed a small drop of audio in the beginning right before Indy guesses where Irina is from. (but this small error has been corrected by the editor)

That being said, I enjoyed a lot of the choices made in this fanedit. I had a very good evening, enjoying the Crystal Skull more than I ever did before. Thank you.

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Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply December 05, 2022

I found the audio hiccup you mentioned! Thanks so much, Can't believe it slipped my test viewing!

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(Updated: November 18, 2023)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I watched Crystal Skull at the cinema and was fairly disappointed - I thought the theme of Roswell/McCarthy Red Scare Era was appropriate but there was far too much silliness throughout the film.

Thankfully this edit cuts all the bits I didn’t like and has generally tightened up the entire movie - it now scoots along like one of the original trilogy, and it’s gone from a film I was never going to watch again to one that I have watched (and enjoyed) twice now.

The editing is almost flawless and I think a first time viewer would be hard-pressed to see the joins if they’d never watched the original. My only two “hmmmm” moments are at the tail end of the CIA interview where Indy asks what he is being accused of - his looking up just before the agents say he is a person of interest doesn’t match the previous shot - and the jungle car chase just prior to the crash - two vehicles swap positions and Mutt suddenly appears in a vehicle footwell - it’s a minor thing and much more preferable to CGI monkey vine swinging!

---EDIT: I've just watched the new cut (the Nuke version) and both these minor issues have been addressed - the jungle sequence now flows much better and I'd be hard pressed to point at any cuts in the interrogation scene. A few of us watched it on a movie night and the two who'd seen it at the cinema said it was much, much better ("I wish I'd seen this version at the pictures") and the one who hadn't said they'd enjoyed it. Top work from DonkeyKonga! Next time I'll watch it on my Quest 3 virtual cinema, it deserves to be on the big screen :D---

Having recently watched the Dial of Destiny, I think this edit still works with regards to Mutt & Indy - although all explicit mentions of parentage have been removed, by the end of the film it’s obvious that Indy has a strong bond with Mutt and what he says in the fifth film still makes sense.

Great edit, and one that I will be showing to a few friends who didn’t like the theatrical release - I’m glad I gave the film a second chance curtesy of DonkeyKonga, and I hope it works for my friends too!

(Watched using Quest 2 virtual cinema app “Skybox VR Player”)

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Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 0
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Good God - this is almost a different film! I can't recommend it enough, tbh.
I could trawl thru all the marvelous editing [dammit, it's almost a reconstruction!] on display here - but I won't, just read DK's 'Changes' tab here, it tells you everything you need to know.
I just had to make a slight deduction for 'Narrative' - no slight intended on DK's work, but it's the plot/writing of the ending - I keep expecting to see Nick (over-actor supreme!) Cage come bounding along on a National Treasure-vibe horse to the music from Close Encounters!!
WTF were they thinking with that ending??
Even the Master, DK, couldn't rescue that train-wreck but my God he gives it a great shot.
A Masterful piece of work - miss it at your peril!
;)

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Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 2 0
(Updated: July 03, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
The first thing I noticed as this started is how much it LOOKS like an Indiana Jones movie. The color timing on the original always bugged me and the couple other fanedits I watched before this never quite fixed it for me. DonkeyKonga mentions taking out the yellow tint, but I thought the whole film had a very pleasing golden hue to it, much like the original films do. Whatever he did, I say bravo.

I most appreciate that DonkeyKonga doesn't try to twist the movie into something that it's not. It felt like he eliminated what he could where he could, but not at the cost of derailing the main story. The fridge is still there. So are the fire ants. And the swashbuckling across the cars. But with a few trims these scenes are not quite as obnoxious. (I'm actually very pro 'Nuke the Fridge'. There's a lot wrong with the original 'Crystal Skull', but I found that moment pretty inspired.)

One thing I was a little unsure about while watching this was how DK handled Mutt's relationship to Indy - not that I really want the kid to be the hero's son, there are just so many hints at it still present throughout the edit. I want to justify them by saying the original also played the "is he, or isn't he" game, just with a different conclusion. By the end I kind of like how the edit definitively says, "No, Mutt is not Indy's son" and just when you think he's going to take up the fedora, Indy snatches it away. That moment plays a little bit funnier here than in the theatrical cut because of what we (don't) know.

For all his hard work (and I'm very grateful) the editor has proven that rather than being a BAD Indiana Jones movie, 'Crystal Skull' can actually be an okay Indiana Jones movie. The worst CGI offenses are 9one (goodbye monkeys!) but it's still a film that leans way too heavily on obvious digital effects for my taste. (Say what you want about 'Dial of Destiny', but at least it doesn't look this artificial most of the time). Having watched a few 'Crystal Skull' edits, I can definitely say this will be my go-to version of the film going forward.

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