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

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.

Overview - The original was a film I really wanted to like. Set during 1950’s added several political elements, and explained Indy’s age. Mutt is no Brando, however, and John Hurt shamelessly overacts. The film has an interesting balance of action and humor, and, for lack of a better word, cheesiness.

Video - 1920 X 796p AVC. The cuts are excellent. The look is breathtaking, especially some of the darker sequences. There are more details in this version than are in my DVD.

Audio - 689 kbps 5.1 AC3. No subs. Although the score often threatens to overwhelm other elements, the dialogue is clear throughout. There was a point during the temple escape where I cocked my head at the music, the sound mix seemed noticeably altered.

Narrative - The adventure romp has numerous trims here and there. Some I caught, more were later, often quite later. The jungle chase is every way better. That is me. I have less patience with endless fighting and running, which I generally fast forward through. Those are studio padding in lieu of a proper script. Anyway, 15MAF’s edit is intelligent and coherent.

Enjoyment - Yes, quite a bit. This is my Indy film, next in line after Raiders. The previous sequels, not so much.

The elephant. This is a big ass file. 14 GB. That size will place beyond the reach of members who have limited bandwidth. For me, much as I like this edit – and I do – I cannot burn to DVD. It’s too large. Hopefully, a smaller encode will one day be available. Just a suggestion.

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.

The highlight of this Indy edit has to be the mesmerizing glow of its Nixie tube clock. This tiny detail shows 15MaF's eye for detail, skill, and love for the period material. Another fine example is the small improvement of added music to Indy's escape from crushing cogs at the movie's end. The selection and execution reveal that 15MaF loves the sound of Indiana Jones as well as its visuals. An example of improved pacing is the waterfall (one time she drops, thank you very much!), where 15MaF creates a drop that's better than the original or any other edit I've seen. This edit made me look at KotCS with fresh eyes, with improvements I hadn't seen or thought of before.

With such enjoyable improvements, is this the holy grail of Indy 4 edits? Alas, no. Not for me. Despite top marks for audio, video, and pacing, many small trims make the narrative truncated. One example is Spalko's introduction. To move along the pacing, we lose so many details in her exchange with Indy that its coherence is diminished: missing information, and lines that feel like reactions except they are no longer counterpoints to the actions that originally preceded them.

Indy's KotCS - Non Paternal Cut shows great skill and respect for the source material. I look forward to 15MaF's next edits!

Great work!

Like many others I decided to marathon these bad boys once again but chose to do it the fanedit way.

I'm appalled now that I have grown to dislike the Indiana OT, but impressed that this edit didn't leave the same sour aftertaste.
Against all odds, I now consider this to be my favorite movie of the bunch.

I'm not particularly sure if its the edit's merit, but I think Indy is much more of a character this time around.
I mean, after a fresh binge-watch I was having trouble seeing him as a good guy, since he has always been a cynical gung-ho with an itchy trigger finger, a bonafide tomb raider that has no problem with putting in body bags anyone who stands in his way of feeding respectable museums in God-fearing countries.
Here he's much more of a scholar that knows his way around and surprisingly uses his brains more than his fists.
What I do know it's the edit's merit, is that freaking Mutt is much more tolerable and even likeable now.

Everything is seamless and the bloat is long gone thank you very much. Yes, "enjoyably unrealistic adventures" is definitely the formula, so even if the good guys evade gunfire like they weren't even there and make fools of trained military men, the fact that the signature slapstick with drastic tone changes from previous movies is nowhere to be found gives way for a much more palatable and straightforward treasure hunt that, this time, doesn't revel (too much) on period politics and repetitive cowboy action.

I did feel some frames were a bit janky at some spots, but nothing that distracting.

And like others have said, the attention to detail really shows during the edit.

Thanks!