Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Covenant Edition

Like most - KoTCS - I try to make believe it doesn't exist. There's no fourth film in my world. I'd watched a couple edits and they were still full of issues I hated. So I noted the film was on last night and thought, isn't there a new edit out there? Which is getting the hightest ratings?

Turns out it's TM2YC.

Had high hopes for this edit and I have to say, overall, this is a great improvement over the original film. Massive sequence removals just go to prove that they weren't needed at all. (I've always hated Boomtown) - but the removals of interrogation and university were the most bold and totally not missed.

I completely forgot about the goafers. Didn't even notice!

Edit wise, I noticed nothing abrupt or jarring. Picture is good. There may have been a few audio transitions that were a little notable, but then I'm looking for those things.

The film does feel a little short now and moves at quickened pace, perhaps a little faster than the first three Indy films. There's no pondering moments or pause for reflection, but then that wasn't the editors intention. I enjoyed it, but it won't get more than an 8, as I don't like the story that much. I will say that I though the ending was a little abrupt and of course because it's not standard for post credits sequences in Indy films - I didn't know it was there. (BTW - why does Jim Broadbent get a credit???)

If you're looking for an edit of this 4th installment of Indy that you won't hate - you can't go wrong here. Well done.

This is an exemplary fan edit. Although perhaps some movies might be converted into a far more successful narrative, such a feat is not possible when it comes to movies more fundamentally problematic. But when it comes to bringing a movie in a franchise back to the quality of it's predecessors, well, I can't imagine much more that could be done than Bring me to your cinema's work on this cut.

The movies overdone saturation has been removed. And although it was quite noticable for me and at first felt strange, it was nothing once I got used to it. And it certainly helps make the movie feel more like an actual sequel to the 80's originals.

The best part of this edit is the cuts. They are so seamless that I must have missed 90% of them.
So seamless, I even forgot that the failed whip jump at the start was even cut.

But the attempt to remove the cg gopher at the start didn't work for me. The matte felt too out of place, and not realistic. I would rather have had the silly gopher than something that took me out of the movie.

The First cuts I noticed were some dialogue cuts, with no issues. Then came the actual excising of whole scenes. The first of which I noticed was the removal of the atomic bomb scenes and interrogation. Indy now simply stumbles on civilization, shining in the distance. Then he is seen on a train.

This. is. perfect. In the original movie we were confused by the train segment. Why was indy there? How could mutt find him? Besides that, the terrible, terrible acting of the FBI people is now gone, thank heavens. And altough his dialogue with mac still references it, Indy is no longer directly stated to be some war hero. (which is overdoing it, and pushing Indy even further into mary sue territory)

Now, it makes perfect sense! He's on a train back to wherever the college is, where he works. Sure, Mutt must have employed some detective work in finding out he was there at that time, and there's no difference in the logic in this between the versions, but I can accept it in any case.

The pacing of the movie was excellent. I never thought that a part dragged on too long.

I also like that Take me to your cinema also doesn't dislike Mutt as much as some fans, and we don't lose the fencing scene which I admittedly always enjoyed.

Lastly, there's the removal of the live alien on screen, at the end of the movie. I was looking forward to seeing the changes, because I didn't realize any way in which it could be done and still look professional. But it was just perfect. This scene cemented the fact that this is my go-to version of this movie.

Although I must say, I downloaded the .iso dvd version, and expected more quality than what I received. It looked much more like an .avi. Still, perhaps that is more of an issue to others than to me.

In the end I must say that this could probably have salvaged the movie, in the eyes of the fans. If it had been the version we saw.

A classic example in which "less is more". You brought Indy back to its original roots. Gone are the ridiculous CGI effects. Gone is the pointless Cold war subplot. By removing the over the top sci fi elements in the end you have indeed produced a worth while finale that reminded me of the Ark finale in the original Raiders of the lost Ark. I do agree with Pkmatrix that the transition to the train station and Mutt's intro seems a bit rushed but upon a second viewing it didn't bother me much. Excellent Visual and Audio editing. This edit is highly recommended for what it accomplishes... it feels more in tune with the other Indiana films' atmosphere and pacing and removes the Computer Gaming CGI nightmare-look that I hated so much on my initial viewing when it premiered on theaters. Kudos for a job well done.

Whilst I was too young to see the originals in theatres, I grew up with them on home video and they were my go to films, second behind the Superman series when I was looking for fun and adventure. I actually enjoyed Indiana Jones 4 when I first saw in the theatre. However on repeated viewings of the Crystal Skull I realised it was the experience of seeing Indy on the big screen that I enjoyed rather than the movie itself.

Could Indiana Jones 4 be saved? TM2YC's fan edit of the Crystal Skull seemed like a good place to start.

With 30 minutes cut this isn't a conservative edit. TM2YC felt the middle of the film had too much exposition, as a result extensive cuts are made. However I always found the drawn out action towards the end to be the real downer.

Despite a cool transition from the warehouse scene to Indy on the train I felt too much set-up was missing and that we arrived at the third act too quickly.

That said there's plenty to like in this edit. Most of what fans would call offensive has been removed, though I would have liked to see no monkeys and Jeep sword fighting and the post credits wedding scene felt a little tacked on.

Picture quality is great with improved colour design and less overblown saturation and the editing was pretty much faultless. Overall a very solid fan edit.

some things are be left alone, and the Indiana jones trilogy is perhaps the best example. after a long period the fourth film for me like many was a disappointment. though my own personal expectations weren't too high after seeing what George Lucas did with the star wars prequels. and so as with the star wars prequels many faneditors have tired to give the fourth Indiana jones film a make over

TM2YC edit is solid attempt in trying to improve the film, gone is the nuke town to which coined the phrase 'nuke the fridge'. to be honest i didn't mind this sequence it gave us a iconic image of indy standing near the mushroom cloud and is no more plausible to other events that have taken place within the series. that being said the removal here is done well and moves the story along at a quicker pace.

one of the main issues with the original film was the character of mac and his continued flipping from one side to the other. this character is poorly written and i don't feel it's a good performance from the normally solid ray winstone. the editing is done really well though his character has little to do towards the end of the film. it is also obvious that it's his hand that pointing the gun at the end but a editor can only work with what he has.

the only thing that stood out as being awkward was the car/cliff jump. the editing here seemed to imply that the cliff wasn't so high and wasn't that great a risk. also the pit/snake scene perhaps should have been left alone. it's a terrible scene to begin with and only serves to remind us of Indiana's fever of snakes. i feel with some edits perhaps editors try and change to much and sometimes some things should just be left alone (no matter how bad they maybe)

but looking at the cut-list there are a lot of changes made all of which are done to a very high standard. overall i enjoyed this version more than the original but it's still a average film within a excellent film series.