Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull Recut by 15MAF
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.
The look of 15MAF’s edit is breathtaking, especially some of the darker sequences. There are more details in this version than are in my DVD.
The sound is a dynamic 5.1 AC3. 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.
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.
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.