It's funny how so many of the same key things that you people say went wrong (and why) with the PT, also went wrong with the Pierce Brosnan JAMES BOND films as well. Once the original Bond Film makers and stars that made the series a hit in the 60's and 70's became old and started to depart, the magic was gone. The way to carry on became the mantra "Just make the old fans (and younger fans of the old films) happy", and that was translated by the second generation of producers (The Broccoli kids) as let's Re-do everything that worked in the hit films of the past, but now use high tech CGI, and young hip popular actors even if they are not up to the parts standards. The Broccoli kids seem to have gone with "Let's not break the mold and just give the fans what they expect to see, and keep it trendy and flashy so the movie shows like Entertainment Tonight will take notice of our production, and we can make lots of money to keep our production company & way of life going".
I think the last film Casino Royal worked a bit better for them because the makers did break away from the mold a great deal more then they had done with the "Brosnan Bonds", but are still not even close to that magic that was there from Dr. No - Moonraker...
Just seems like Lucas and The Broccoli kids have a lot in common here.
If Indy 4 sucks and fails to be a huge hit at the box office, I wonder if it will be Lucas or Spielberg who will be the fans "Sacrificial Cow" in the blame game. If it does suck, I'll have only myself to blame for expecting something even a bit close to the thrills I got from seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time.
FF