Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Recut by 15MaF

I am rating the edit more than the source. I recently saw the race with the devil cut (which i also recommend) and i just wanted to watch this movie again but with my wife this time so i decided to give a different version a shot. and this was a great cut as well. and talk about attention to detail one tiny detail that i though makes a huge difference was that when the nuclear alarm causes indiana to stumble over the manikins - i dont know what they were going for in the original - clumsiness? cheap laugh? i felt this type was of care was evident through out the edit. very well done.

I do not quite like this edit.

I do understand the reasons why this edit exists. The original was just damn lame, and corny. So much old man humor and cheese. It's very much a bad-idea-a-minute type movie. It feels like a movie made by old men tryna be hip, exciting and funny. I get it. And I did like this movie when I was younger. It was the film that got me into Indiana Jones, and movies in general. And while I do have nostalgic ties to it, I understand the badness of it.

However. Say what you will abt the original's badness and lameness, but it was well-structured. There is some excess, which this recut addressed, and rightfully so. But generally the film, even with all its lameness, was well-structured. The scenes were well-edited, the pacing was good, the scenes had flow. The film had a lot of bad ideas, yes, but the basic editing, pacing, and flow were good, outside of the ideas in the narrative.

Which is why I dislike this recut. In trying to remove much of the bad and excessive ideas in the original (at least in how I interpret the intention behind it), the film's flow and pacing suffers drastically as a result. Scenes no longer flow with the smooth music that a Spielberg film always has. I watched this recut first before I rewatched Crystal Skull for the first time in many years. Which means I watched this edit without seeing the original in a long time. And still I could tell when something that's supposed to be there, has been removed, and the flow of the editing is ruined as a result. Which frankly is all the time.

While I do not love the original, seeing what it truly is now as an adult, I am sorry to say this edit is almost as unenjoyable to watch as the original, although for a different reason. While the original is bad because of its many bad ideas, this edit is bad because although the bad ideas are no longer there, the structure, flow, and music that was in it is ruined. Too many times I find abrupt, awkward cuts that stick out way too much like giant scar. This edit is the equivalent of cutting out too much and leaving too many blank spots and holes. Besides, although excessive, a lot of the stuff cut in this edit are scenes with heart. The lighthearted aspect of the film is foregone in favor of thrilling action and straightforward narrative. Which in theory is fine, but the original was very much a lighthearted film. It had that charm. This edit, in cutting out too much, also cuts away the heart of the film, which although makes the film much more exciting, takes away much of identity and spirit.

On a more positive note, the audio editing is good. Never noticed a problem. The visual quality is good as well.

Overall, sad to say, I can only recommend this movie to a viewer, if said viewer had no eye for pacing and flow for film whatsoever. Although I do admit that a movie's flow is a VERY big deal for me, so take my complaints please with a big grain of salt. At least I could potentially enjoy the original in all its lameness, even if I have to turn my brain off when I do, because the original had good flow and heart. On the other hand, I personally cannot sit through this edit in all its way-too-straightforward and cold choppiness.

It feels like listening to a corny love song keeps skipping forward. Although the original song was lame and corny, it had rhythm and heart. The cuts take that away, leaving behind a cold, choppy mess that doesn't quite feel like music. 4.5/10.

Very nice work here. I am a huge Indy fan, but Crystal Skull is just not good. I don't hate it like most, but don't love it either. Too much silliness and this gets rid of a good chunk of that. It's still not a great movie, but much improved. This is now the version that holds a spot in my Indy collection.

A brilliant edit by 15MaF that was bloody brilliant to watch. Really improved on the theatrical version from what I could remember watching it such as cutting some of the silly or overuse of CGI moments like mutt's winging with the monkeys, him getting hit in the groin multiple times during the sword fight and the decapitation of Marcus's statue. There were some audio cuts I did notice but overall my enjoyment of the movie has certainly increased from what I remember of the original version.

This edit was impressively well done. Cutting the small excess scenes with terrible dialogues thankfully gives the movie a serious tone. More notably, the terrible monkeys and gopher CGI scenes were removed. The additional effects of this edit were pretty good. I found a few noticeable audio cuts but if might be me just recognizing the score but I'm sure a new viewer wouldn't recognize it. The pacing of the film feels perfect almost as close to Temple of Doom or Raiders so I will give it a recommendation to a fan who barely watches the original version.