Riddles of the Lost Gods

This was so good! I easily prefer it to the theatrical release. There is no contest there. The only small contest, in my mind, is between your edit and njvc's. Surely njvc's montage during the Indy-stares-at-the-skull scene was probably better, and a very smart way to use removed footage.

There is one thing that has been bothering me about both edits, and it seems to me, as an outsider, an easy fix. I'm talking about the awful quicksand scene. njvc managed to "remove" the embarrassing snake aspect, and you removed the reveal of Indy's son, but why not cut the whole pointless scene? Moronic character Mutt instigates a pointless escape that goes nowhere and they are recaptured immediately. Why not go from Indy looking at the map with Cate Blanchett, describing where they should be going and fade into the trucks cutting through the jungle?
That would wipe out the stupid snake scene and the reveal about Mutt.
Of course this would only work in a cut such as yours, where you are removing Indy's parentage. (Which I applaud!)

The way you edited the scene inside the back of the truck was perfect. And I was fine with the last line dubbed in of "you're not my dad". I loved it in fact. It was the point of the whole cut. No, Indy wouldn't have a whiny annoying son like you. lol.

The final shot did feel a little like the end of a sitcom, but I am not sure what anyone can do there.

Overall, fantastic. Truly, you took a movie I hated, with a character I loved, and repaired it. Even with the aliens/ufo nonsense, you made this movie, to me, on par with Temple of Doom for sure.

I watched this one after The Covenant edition. While the covenant edition is the action cut this is more of a riddle clue finding mystery cut of Indiana Jones, which is a different take but a very welcome version to have in the collection. The pace is really cool, although not too sure about the opening scene from the fountain...did not really feel like it belonged but it is simply a courageous take and approach I do enjoy seeing done in fanedits so it did not bother me at all that you tried to make it stand out from other cuts that have been done. I had a lot of fun watching this cut from start to finish and will watch it more than a few times in the future. Thanks for your hard work and obvious creativity :)

Enjoyment: Original: D+
Enjoyment: Riddle of the Gods: B+

This Indy 4 moves at a cracking pace, with the dead weight removed. At its best, this edit feels like it belongs with the original films, as opposed to the sore thumb it truly is. The opening is superb and fits so well that it's almost like a director's cut. Some of the audio dubs don't work quite so well, and the edit whips along so quickly that you barely have time to breathe, but overall it's a great Indy 4 fix without the groans. (I still dislike that Indy is saved with a snake (!) but doubt that anyone can reasonably do anything about that.) Well worth a watch. Cheers.

Tough to say really how much I liked this. Mask's editing is excellent and the bullshit is at an all-time low in this version. But to answer the big question, "Is this movie good?" No. But it's probably the best it could be.

The biggest problem here is the narrative. Act I is the strongest part. The new opening sequence is just excellent. And the way it's tied in to the finale was perfect. But everything that happens in Act II and the start of Act III is still terrible. Narratively this has the same issue that most SW prequel edits have; things happen too fast. Sadly that's kind of unavoidable. There's so much garbage cut out that the film doesn't have time to breathe. Before I knew it Indy and Mutt had been captured by the Russians and I said to myself, "Wait, wasn't there more film here?" The second half is really great, moving at a brisk pace but taking time to let the audience in on what they need to know.

I've seen 4 out of the 5 other Indy 4 edits (only Q2's edit remains to be viewed) and this is just about on par with njvc's Raiders of the Lost Skull, but I'd give this the edge due to the opening sequence.

I cannot stress enough how awesome the first 5 minutes are. This type of opening is exactly what this film needed. And major kudos for cutting the wedding without it feeling like an awkward end.

[The only issue with editing was Mutt's final line. It was a nice touch but was too obviously overdubbed. Everything else was expertly done.]

Recommend? If you haven't found your favorite Indy 4 fanedit yet, watch this. If you're a fan of TMBTM, watch this. If you've never seen an Indy 4 edit, watch this first.

A/V Quality - 10
Editing - 10 visual, 9 audio
Narrative - 8 (Extra points due to Orellana opening)
Enjoyment - 8 (Ditto)

Recommended drink: Kah Tequila

This was a really fun take on Indy 4 - Highly original, as is the way of TMBTM, and in parts, extremely effective. It's an alternate universe take on the film, full of 'what if's and interesting alternatives to the original film.

Some of the great highlights include:
- The opening from the Fountain. Great to see this long discussed idea finally realised. Some wonderful audio replacement work with the soundtrack from Raiders in this opening scene.
- Spell of the Skull - Very understated and clever editing, utilising footage from The Fountain again, and making it clearer why Indy reacts the way he does. Also clever rearranging of Marion's introduction. Worked well!
- As usual, I loved the added special effects. They were really fun, and often added to the story. The transition from the aliens teleporting to Indy and co ascending the well was wonderfully realised, and the way in which the footage from Avengers was utilised was great too.

Story wise, I wasn't as happy (but this is why I did my own Indy4 edit, to get rid of all the particulars that irked me! It's personal taste, and I accept this is Mask's happy version). There were some bold narrative changes, and I applaud the audacity ;) but I didn't really feel that some of the overdubbing to help create these story changes was very effective, notably in the graveyard scene, and the very last line of the film.

But overall, this is a fun edit full of surprises, offering a fresh take on a very stale movie. TMBTM, you've done it again :)