Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 22, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
12
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's crammed full of the dash, filmmaking flair, swashbuckling magic, impossible stunts and tongue-in-cheek humor that made the series such a phenomenon of its time, and -- for those versed in its traditions -- almost every frame is enjoyable on some level. Read full review
90
SalonStephanie Zacharek
It miraculously pulled off the effect of feeling like a surprise: The picture both fulfilled some vague, unexpressed hopes I didn't know I had and also left me with the sense that I'd just seen something I wasn't quite prepared for -- the kind of contradiction that great showmanship can bridge. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Despite the merry duo of Ford and Connery, The Last Crusade offered a familiar pursuit of the Holy Grail. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull makes a better move: It goes back to the future. Once again, the Indiana Jones series is the rare franchise that treasures knowledge and embraces the unknown. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Nineteen years after their last adventure, director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford have no trouble getting back in the groove with a story and style very much in keeping with what has made the series so perennially popular. Read full review
80
EmpireDamon Wise
A slick, fun film that has by no means sacrificed the fast action beats of the first three. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Entertaining, inventive and old-fashioned in the best way. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Though the film stars a relaxed and capable Harrison Ford as everyone's favorite intrepid archaeologist and boasts supporting players ranging from Cate Blanchett as a superb villainess to Shia LaBeouf as the inevitable youngster, the real heroes of this film are director Steven Spielberg and the veritable army of superb technicians who turn the film's numerous stunts and special effects into trains that insist on running on time. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Ford's Indy, who doesn't quite hang up his fedora at film's end, is still the only cinematic smartass-cum-bullwhipping scholar of antiquities I'd want by my side when push comes to shove comes to Nazis ("I hate these guys"), Russkies, or, for that matter, Al Quaeda. Go get 'em, Indy, and cue the John Williams while you''e at it. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Often thrilling, sometimes charming, occasionally clunky family entertainment that perhaps wisely doesn't attempt to scale the heights of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Merely grand old-school fun - a rollicking class reunion that stands as the second best entry in the venerable series. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The overall effect is either exhilarating or exhausting, depending on your emotional investment in the franchise, but credit where credit is due: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas set out to make one for the fans and delivered. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
The movie's pretty good, occasionally very good. But I also kind of hope they don't make another one. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Both the good and bad remind us that the most special thing about "Skull" is the man wearing the fedora and the rakish grin. He has never worn out his welcome, and this valedictory – it can be nothing else – is a fitting one. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The movie moves. It has action sequences that are so enormous that they won't just wow audiences, but rock them back in their seats and make them laugh at the audacity of it all. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Crystal Skull is a fun ride, but if we have to wait 19 years for the next one, that's OK by me. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
There are scenes in the new movie that seem like stretching exercises at a retirement home; there are garrulous stretches, and even the title seems a few words too long. But once it gets going, Crystal Skull delivers smart, robust, familiar entertainment. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's enough to make you forgive a great deal of this film's dumbness and appreciate it as meaningless, goodhearted and mostly non-obnoxious entertainment. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's romantic manliness at its purest, almost but not quite schmaltz, ideally calculated to please true believers and ironic snorters at once. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The character and plot contrivances are dumber than ever, but this is basically vaudeville, not narrative, and the thrills keep coming. Read full review
70
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
I can't deny it: I had a shit-eating grin on my face for most of the ensuing two hours. I also can't deny that many of the criticisms about to be leveled at Spielberg and Lucas over "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" are well-deserved, but it's still good to see Indiana Jones, and Marion, back in action one last time. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Harrison Ford? Terrific -- and re-energized. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The biggest problem with Crystal Skull is one that's lately plagued Spielberg in otherwise excellent films like "Munich" and "War Of The Worlds": He fails to stick the landing. And for an entertainment with nothing much on its mind, that hurts. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Even with the ponderous dialogue, it's hard not to have fun on this adventure, and it's good to see that Indy, though slightly weary, still has the goods. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The script was kept under unusually tight wraps during filming, but the biggest surprise in the picture is how talky the whole enterprise is. Particularly deadly is a long stretch in mid-film where the heroes walk through caves, talk about what they're seeing, get captured and talk with their captors, escape and talk some more. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
While the production values are top-notch, and the action artfully choreographed, in the end - and quite well before the end - a sense of tedium sets in. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Audiences looking for emotional resonance in Indy 4 are doomed to the temple of disappointment. Spielberg and Lucas aren't upping their creative game -- they're taking care of business. Read full review
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