Riddles of the Lost Gods

I watched a 720p MKV, which I believe is the highest quality available at this point. Source is SD.

Visual editing was generally very good, though I did feel that the opening didn't really match up well with the look of the rest of the film and maybe could have had a bit more done to accomodate that. The opening does feel more in keeping with the look of an Indiana Jones film, but it's also very dark, whereas what follows is bright and orange. The transition from that footage into the actual film though was really well done.

If I'm being honest, there were several bits of audio editing that I noticed. In the opening the sound in general was often either quite brittle or absent, I assume from trying to remove the original score, and would have been better off having sound FX rebuilt. There were also scenes in the movie where it was obvious dialogue had been cut short because all ambience would drop out and the score would suddenly swell. Lines have been tweaked or changed throughout and often go by unnoticed, but some are obvious because of the tone of Indie's voice, or the lip syncing being off or the volume being inconsistent. The most jarring instance of this is Mutt at the end: "you're not my dad". Not sure it's worth being taken out of the edit for the sake of that line, personally. The editor has acknowledged on his IFDB page that not all of the dialogue-swapping is perfect.

(edit spoilers follow)

The narrative worked to a point, but after seeing the opening I was expecting there to be a more dramatic change to the ending - chalk that up to false expectations, I guess. But considering we're still left with Aliens/interdimensional beings, the opening feels a bit superfluous and more of a mood setter than anything. I wasn't 100% on what TMBTM was going for with Blanchet's character at the end... was she meant to have been sucked into this other dimension with the aliens, rather than being burned up? Because we still see her being burned up. The voice-over harkening back to what she said to Indiana is also quite loud, and stands out as not being part of the original mix. I wasn't a fan of the freeze-frame ending either. Felt like an odd choice.

Enjoyment: I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed, but some of that is me expecting something different. It has been a while since I've seen the film, so it was nice to see a tighter take with an alternative spin. I guess i just wish it had gone a bit more mental with plot alterations. This isn't the first Crystal Skull edit I've seen, and I think I've also just come to a point where I realise it's a bad film and it can't be fixed. You take away what's offensive, and you get something that's quite bland and uninspiring. It's hard to believe this was directed by the same man who gave us the original trilogy. Crystal Skull is just entirely unremarkable and there's nothing to salvage that hits above middle-of-the-road entertainment.

Thanks again to TMBTM, who is a very talented and creative editor. I'm sorry I can't be more positive about this one.

A different take on editing Indy 4.
Inspired? Yes, adding Orellana's backstory shifts the focus from Indy to the aliens. History, almost, repeats itself: Indy is simply one more explorer to go down this path. This fleshes out the worship and protection of these gods / aliens. In the original it feels to me that these gods are from a forgotten past, but if so the presence of warriors protecting them makes no sense. For that the worship needs to exist in the present and not only in the past. TMBTM shows us that worship continued into the recent past, making it an easy step to assume it continues into the present. This also clarifies who wrapped Orellana and his men and why (they couldn't have wrapped themselves after all, at least not the last man).
Do I prefer this over the other available edits? No. I feel the focal shift to improve the alien story and extensive cuts reduce Indy's story too much. In all, an impressive thinking-outside-the-box edit that adds a good backstory. Perhaps the backstory would feel better proportioned in a 3-hour extended edit?

As with any boxset there's always the film that no one really wants, and as with the Star Wars prequels Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Scull really doesn't get a lot of love. for me it's not a terrible film but the series was probably better left alone.

TMBTM take on the film is interesting, the opening 10mins with footage from The Fountain is nicely done and feels more like a Indiana Jones film than parts that made the final cut. thankfully such scenes like the cgi goffers and the infamous nuked fridge have been removed from this edit. not having Mutt as Indy's son is done well but after seeing this film about 4 to 5 times i don't think this is the worst part of the film.

the problem i have with the edit is the short run time, at just over 80mins and with additional footage added big chunks of the film have been cut and you can feel it. if you had seen this edit at the cinema you'd walk away thinking that there was a lot of additional footage cut that would have improved the film. it's not that the editing is unprofessional this is a TMBTM edit so the usual high standard is there to be seen. for me i was to often reminded what was cut and there are some great scenes omitted that i rather enjoyed from the original (the cafe fight been one)

As with some of the Star Wars prequels by removing everything you don't like sometimes doesn't improve the film. so overall i'd say this fanedit is on par with the original version in terms of enjoyment but is definitely worth checking out.

It's been a couple of years since I watched TM2YC's take on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Covenant Edition immediately replaced the theatrical cut for me and I've done my part to spread the word for people to at least give it a shot. Lo and behold, I come back after a long while to find Riddles of the Lost Gods! How does this take on the fourth Indy adventure fare?

One word: WOW!

Firstly, the new opening sequence is a revelation and, for me at least, completely changes my outlook on everything that follows. Something along these lines is how KotCS should have started in the first place! From then on I love all the ideas TMBTM approached this cut with and tries to implement, and many of them are accomplished fantastically.

Unfortunately, this cut isn't perfect. As much as I like the mission statement, at times it feels as if the Editor was a bit too eager to trim and many parts of the film - particularly in the first half - feel rushed. The Area 51 sequence and the Camp sequence in particular could both have been drawn out a bit more. In the latter's case, while I understand the logic of the rearrangment to have Marion introduced before Indy is subjected to the skull, I think a slower-paced version more like the theatrical cut might've been better - as it stands, Marion's introduction is really abrupt. And while I see what the Editor was trying to accomplish with redubbing some of the lines, they're quite noticeable and, outside the last line, IMO kind of unnecessary.

That said, I really REALLY enjoyed this version of the film. I think my perfect version of KotCS is somewhere in between Riddles of the Lost Gods and the Covenant Edition, and together I'm fully convinced that not only could KotCS be saved (both cuts, IMO, do so) but a really enjoyable Indiana Jones film CAN be coaxed out of this magic lamp.

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.