Indiana Jones and the Box Office Bomb (Why It Sucks) 

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I’ve seen some people say they didn’t like the circumstances in Skull as to how Indy and Marion got back together. Yet they’re complete fine with how they got back together in this film which is literally just a callback to Raiders and that’s it. At least Skull actually tried to push their dynamic in a new direction rather than rely on nostalgia.

I’ll be honest the only real issue I had was indeed Mutt. I think if he had been written “upstate”, or even appearing at the end, or something different with the character instead of death, the whole movie’s atmosphere would have changed. So much of the movie would have been completely different because they would have been forced to write a different story entirely. There are some really neat plot threads that would have been enhanced because Indy basically became his dad, and because of Crystal Skull he’s learned you can’t mess with things you don’t understand. And so his Goddaughter would be an earlier him, and so on. It truly feels like no one on this movies team watched Crystal Skull cause if they had, this movie probably would’ve been peak.

Something else I noticed is that in Dial there's no iconic trap sequence like the others. Raiders has the entire beginning Temple has the spike ceiling and Crusade has the whole run leading up to getting the Holy Grail. This one desperately needed more of going through some ancient ruins just for it to be trapped. All we got was the one weird methane thing. We needed something more crazy and out there. This is Archimedes we're dealing with. They could've had so many bat shit crazy mechanisms for Indy to deal with.

After Dial of Destiny had done, I realized the Kingdom of Crystal Skull is truly the final chapter of Indiana Jones to me, despite some flaws.

Crystal skull actually had characters that had chemistry, good paced action, it's still a fun film even though it has flaws. The fifth film is just boring

"crystal skull' had flaws but it was made by two men who loved indy and wanted to give a good send off, along side his son, who is a far more complex and well developed character than most people think. DOD is just a product. a product to run on member berries that drags down and crushes its hero while trying to force feed us a new "bestest gurl evvaaaa" as his replacement. like with the star war ST, i watched to say i watched it and i'll never touch it again. and hopefully, KOTCS will get a bit more love and respect from the fans.

The Santa Clause TV show on Disney+ had Scott Calvin's son Charlie in it for a few minutes. It worked well as it showed that he was happily married even if he didn't have a huge part.

It really feels like the people making this film took one look at the backlash to Crystal Skull, pre-emptively baulked at the prospect of another Indy film getting such overblown criticism and decided to trot out the safest, blandest most corporate-driven product imaginable. For all of its predecessor's faults, I can at least have some appreciation for its willingness to go all out and be as buck-wild and insane as it ended up being. This film by contrast feels like it's too afraid to do anything that "out there", largely playing things safe and just ticking the boxes of a "typical" Indy adventure. And even then it doesn't do it properly; the map scenes look really awkward and weird, the scenes with bugs and snake-like creatures don't commit to the visceral creature-feature horror, Indy never actually gets into a brutal physical fight with the massive hulking henchman, and in perhaps the most offensive mistake, the film neglects to give the villain a horrifically brutal death scene in keeping with the series' tradition. Burning to death in a plane crash is certainly a nasty way to go, but it's embarrassingly mundane compared to heads being blown up by God, falling off a cliff and beaten eaten alive by crocodiles, aging to death, or brains being fried by infinite alien knowledge. I didn't hate Dial of Destiny, it has a few decent enough action scenes, the score is great, and Harrison Ford is as wonderful as always, but the lack of passion and pulpy excitement that permeated the previous entries (yes, including Crystal Skull) is sorely missing. Add onto that the murky and visually ugly cinematography, the meandering and monotonous story, the mean-spirted undoing of Crystal Skull's happy ending, the lack of emphasis on the late 60s setting and cultural climate, and the incredibly underutilised supporting cast (shoving Sallah and Marion into cameo roles is bad enough, but then also wasting Mads Mikkelsen and Antonio Banderas is unforgivable), and this can happily take its place as the weakest entry in the series, and the only one that I can't see myself watching again at any point. I'll happily rewatch the original trilogy over and over, and might even put on Crystal Skull every once in a while for some half-genuine-half-ironic entertainment, but I all-but-guarantee I'm going to completely forget about this film and its existence by the time the year is done.

"Evil cannot create anything new. It can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made." - JRR Tolkien

With Kathleen Kennedy still at the helm and having a notoriously and known bad writer as Leslie, why would you have even a fraction of an ounce of hope it would be any good?

i find it highly HIGHLY ironic how the progression and development of the Indiana jones films parody's the trajectory of the pirates films, the first three being universally loved by most everyone in this day and age (curse of the black pearl, dead mans chest, at worlds end) (raiders of the lost ark, temple of doom, last crusade) and then a fourth film which came out years later, which fans are completely divided about (on stranger tides, kingdom of the crystal skull) and then a fifth film which long jumps over the mark of what makes these characters interesting or compelling and writes everyone into as corner while screwing up the "hero at sunset" story thread this of course being pirates 5 and Indiana jones 5, now they are different moves of course and should be treated as such but something happened in development of these films, to make them like this, and I feel it is the same at its centre, I'm so surprised how no one has talked about this yet??

My wife and I were a little disappointed with Dial. We didn't think it was horrible, but it just seemed kinda bland to us. Having said that, the train sequence at the beginning was actually my favorite part lol. Thank you for another interesting video essay. God be with you out there everybody. ✝️ :)

I hope James Mangold can redeem himself with the DCU's SWAMP THING

People always talk about these movies as being 'safe', but they keep flopping, or at least underperforming. Meanwhile, smaller, stranger movies that are considered 'risky' are actually turning a profit. It seems that trying to stay safe is now a pretty big risk.

The more reboots are made, the more people realize Spielberg and Lucas had something modern hollywood doesn’t.

Happy to hear someone else call it the Polar Express. I couldn't stop thinking of anything else the whole way through. Here's an idea.... do the de-aging technique on EVERYONE... call it an animated film.... would that work?

The only thing I disagree with was the Mutt situation. I thought it added a bit of realism and pathos to a movie that sorely needed it. Life doesn’t always turn up roses, even for our beloved heroes and a lot of men who went to Vietnam didn’t come back. But I think a lot of that depends on how one feels about Crystal Skull.

Great video and take on why 'Top Gun' and 'Rocky' sequels manage to succeed where Indy sequels don't. I also think those franchises are lucky that the activities that the stories are built around (fighter jets and boxing) are high octane and that they went the practical route with minimal green screen in their filmmaking approach so that it looked exciting (no 'Polar Express' level animation to kill your excitement along with any realism). It also didn't help that 'Dial of Destiny' looked cheap and unatmospheric because it was shot on digital instead of 35mm. I appreciate that it saves time and is less expensive to shoot on but this is the same issue that the 'Fantastic Beasts' movies had. Best de-aging I've seen is of Bruce Willis's character in 'Surrogates.'

I rewatched all the movies in preparation for this one. I thought that it fit well, had everything I want from an Indiana Jones movie. Sad that not everyone got the same enjoyment out of it.

This movie did exactly what I feared it would do, kill off mutt and ‘seperate’ indy from Marion. That was weak lazy story telling and felt like stab in the back to me as someone who loves crystal skull. That movie had a beautiful ending, then this movie comes along and ruins it. This movie does not exist.

I personally like DoD better than the fourth one. But a lot of little kids loved the fourth one when it came out. I did my practicum in an elementary school in 2008, and the Crystal Skull was a hit with the five to ten year olds. I can't really imagine DoD having the same appeal to kids. And I'm going to say it folks: Indiana Jones is for kids first and foremost. Nothing wrong with being an adult fan of the series, but it's for kids. I consider them the best judges for this sort of thing.

7:41 Every time a good director inexplicably turns out a terrible film, know it's down to the studio.

Dial of destiny made me appreciate Kingdom of the crystal skull so much more it had what the latest film was missing that fun adventure movie feeling it has its problems Which give the film such a bad wrap if Spielberg didn't want to do it they should of just let indy rest

Half way into Dial of Dysentery, I found myself wishing I had to go pee. That's when the Disney Effect kicked in, which is a Disney sequel is so bad, it magically elevates all the crap that came before. Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull are masterworks compared to this. Worst Indiana Jones movie by far.

Personally I feel like this film was one rewrite away from being good, and that rewrite shluld have been: Make Indy obsessed with finding the Dial so he can bring back Mutt. Have it be that obsession that casues Marion to leave because she can't stand around and watch Indy work himself into the ground whilst she's trying to heal herself. Then over the course of the films Indy finds a surrogate Father/Daughter in relationship in Helena, and that starts to heal him, with Indy coming to the realization that he needs to stop looking to the past and focus on the present starting with making sure Marion is okay. That way youve got a full character arc, and it's one that lcan be an ending for the character becausein giving up the past, Indy is giving up archeology, then end the film with Indy's retirement party and a little conversation between him, Marion, and Sallah. Also the film should have had Indu fight the heavy, but play up the fact that Indy can't beat him in fisticuffs, so he needs to rely purely on wit: It should be the Mr Freez bossfight from Arkham City.

Imagine if Indy said went back in time and actually said a good bye to his son trying to save him

Disney is ruining every franchise it touches.

Critics: "Crystal Skull is the black sheep of the Indiana Jones franchise." James Mangold: "Hold my beer."

If they really wanted to do Time travel, then they should have had Indi get stuck in the past leaving clues for Mutt and Short round to find him. The film could have been about Mutt dealing with the stages of grief as everyone else thinks Indi was dead, where as Mutt thinks he’s still alive. Would have to be a two part story

The killing of Mutt felt more malicious by the filmmakers, because it would have been the perfect way to go had they recast with someone like Chris Pratt where Indy Jr and Indy III go on an adventure and you could pass the torch to that character and have adventures in the 70s or 80s. But it was clear that father-son relationships was not the goal, it was to replace Indie with a white British woman.

I’m not ashamed to say that I love Crystal Skull just as much as the original trilogy!

Dial of Destiny makes Crystal Skull look like Last Crusade

I still can't believe Disney actually went along with Kathleen Kennedy's insane idea to invest 350 million dollars for a movie series who's first successful movie only cost 20 million

Indiana’s Bones and the Most Expensive Nap of My Existence

They do time-travel and not even try to save Mutt. If saving Mutt was Indiana's motivation to get the dial again? IMAGINE THAT. Or that they changed something in the past and it resultet in Mutt never enlisting and him beeing alife at the very last scene. Dunno, I don't care enought to thing of something better because by making Indi's life miserable and him depressed they made ME depressed.

My parents saw raiders in the theater and loved it. We saw Dial of destiny together, and we loved it. If you watch Indiana jones as if it’s an old dime novel put to screen, then I can guarantee you’ll enjoy these movies so much more. Just enjoy them for what they are, and I promise you you’ll be so much less disappointed, because this is just how media works.

The Freakin Dora movie was a better Indy movie than Dial of Destiny

Your capitalist discussion in the ‘sanitised Indy’ section was straight fire 🔥

We really have to reel in these big budget franchise entries that have nothing going for them other than name recognition. When you look at “Everything, Everywhere, all at Once”, “Puss in Boots Last Wish”, and “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse” both in terms of critical reception and box office sales with their budgets Vs. Disney’s big budget endeavors that either bomb box office (for not making enough) or are so poorly received by fans and critics that threaten to kill future franchise revenue, there’s a problem.

The true ending was Last Crusade and I will stand on that mountain. Crystal Skull wasn’t that bad, tbh

It was just a cash grab from a studio that thought it could get another pay day from a dead property they still own...plus thinking they could get fleabag to carry it on

You encapsulate all of my thoughts in such a constructive and optimistic manner. I love you so much

Sorry if someone already mentioned this: When RAIDERS was released, there was no (PG-13) rating. In '84 when TEMPLE & GREMLIN were released parents were P!SSED. Both movies traumatized little kids. The MPAA came out with the (PG-13) rating. Late that very summer, "RED DAWN" was the 1st. film to receive that rating. The movie was a hit, specifically for two reasons: It had a large cast of popular, young actors and people wanted to see what content would and wouldn't be allowed in a (PG-13) film.

I've not seen the film, but I agree with almost all your sentiments on the wider issues with these films and Hollywood in general. The main reason I've not seen Dial of destiny is because I'm already over the line you're talking about... I'm utterly fed up of endless regurgitation of IP without the heart and soul to make it good. Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Jurassic Park... Even the Bond franchise fell foul of it. I'm all in for unique visions and freshness. The more disappointing big budget films I see at the cinema, the less likely I'll go see the next one.

ok, just finished it, and I gotta say, I pretty much agree with everything. This movie was an absolute waste of time. Your video on Crystal Skull did help me enjoy that movie more, and I totally see that as a good film that ends the series well. This doesn't. For most of the movie, I felt nothing. The only time I did feel anything was when they revealed Mutt was dead, and Marion is divorced. My heart actually sank when those were revealed, and it reeks of Rise of Skywalker, where they over-correct on fan reactions, instead of continuing the story as is. This was meant to be Indy's swan song? Because it sure as heck didn't feel like it when the credits rolled. An almost soulless movie that I will quickly move on from.

Dial of destiny is perhaps the worst film I’ve ever seen. I went in expecting trash but it ended up being even worse just everything about it is just wrong

There was massive studio interference, her name is Katherine Kennedy.

Disney's going downhill

They didn’t have to reinvent any wheel for this movie. The Last Crusade provided a perfect template for handling an aging Indiana needing to be rescued by Short Round, or being called out of a happy retirement for one last adventure. Lucasfilm only knows how to trash their male heroes, any nobody wants to see that.

Hope Mangold redeems himself with Swamp Thing and agreed about Last Crusade, it’s my personal favorite too! Also Nice to see someone else calling Disney’s hypocrisy(People have ignored it or treated me like a cynic when I mention it)! Honestly I think Mutt should have been away and the film ends with Indy reuniting with Marian and Mutt(except we either never see his face or he’s been recast since Shia is quite controversial!)

Y'know, I didn't like Mutt, nor did I think Indy's marriage was a good idea, but even I didn't want him to experience the tragedy of the death of his son and a divorce on top of that!!!! He's not Peter Parker, for crying out loud!

Uncharted better than Dial? 😳 Tbf I get why people don’t like Dial. But I personally loved it. Don’t agree with this retroactive appraisal of Mutt. He was fine but killing him off gave Indy such a fascinating and different story. I don’t agree with this awful idea of”Indiana should have gone back and saved him.” Literally is not within Indy’s character. His story is always about the temptation and showing he’s better than that. He should have had a Crusade type temptation scene where if he had tried to do it, it would have gone against him. So he could pick up his hat and realise he doesn’t need to change things to make himself better. I personally enjoy the fun set pieces. Yes it’s nowhere near the originals. But this film exists and I think it’s fun. I think a lot of people just like being upset by predictable Disney products 🤷🏻‍♂️

0:00-0:21 Best and funniest intro to any of your videos yet

I could not agree more with your final thesis! I feel nothing but abject apathy for modern cinema. I grew up in the eighties, and despite what Tarantino might think, it was the greatest time for movies. As I've grown older, the appeal of nostalgia has lost most of its power when it comes to film. If you had told an 11 year old me in 1989 that I would reach a point where I wouldn't care at all about a new Indiana Jones movie, I'd think you were daft. As Henry Jones Sr. so simply but beautifully stated to his son, there is a time to "let it go".

Well I mean reason it failed right out of the gate is because Disney has completely lost the trust of the audience everyone was assuming it would suck and then you would be destroyed and sure enough they were right but they just didn't want to witness it and especially have to pay for it.

Wait.... People had faith that it was gonna be good?!? Why in God

Despite what everyone thinks of Shia LeBouf, I definitely agree that it was a mistake to kill off Mutt. First, I don't think that his death was true to his character. He doesn't seem like the type who would go along with the establishment (aka the government) and voluntarily enlist. I also don't believe he would want to spite Indy and and Marion (particularly not Marion) by enlisting. Second, I don't think that his death was earned. Although I understand that it was an attempt to explain some aspects of Indy's character in this particular movie, to me it feels like a hollow afterthought and doesn't add any substance to the plot.Third, I think it was cruel to take away everything Indy was given in the last film (on the assumption that people want to view the fourth film as canon). Also, because I view The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as canon (because of George Lucas' involvement with it), I consider Indy to also have a daughter (Sophia). As far as I am concerned, he could have found out about her later, and she doesn't have to be Marion Ravenwood's offspring 🙂.

They killed Mutt like DC killed Jason Todd.

Why are so many big movies not doing well these days? 🤔

The Creed comparison is apt. I don't see why heroes always have to lose their family for them to act as motivation, as if the desire to return to them isn't enough. I'm not a fan of crystal skull, but at least it felt like they were ready for Indy to move on, rather than a tech demo to see if audiences will buy into CGI replacement actors.

Problems is that Hollywood had steered so much into the blockbusters from previous IPs, they dont make anything original anymore. Its either comic book movies or IP properties like Star Wars, etc that are populating the movie scene. Where are the other genres? What happened to great romantic comedies, original action adventure stories, creating new IPs, etc? Once upon a time these movies like Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, etc put directors like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, etc on the map. We need creative people who can do things creatively with not a big budget to establish new movies

Who wants to be blamed for going to watch a movie and not liking it?

Well I liked it... And I was really dangerous about it, too, because I watched the Young Indy series and the 4 movies not long before seeing this one. When I've done similar things in the past with other franchises, I've had it backfire immensely. Currently for me, it's still tentatively 4th in the rankings of the movies, but Dial of Destiny wasn't bad. I've even seen people say it's 3rd, and that all just depends on how much you enjoy Temple of Doom. I think what really killed this movie's box office was the poor reception it got from critics two weeks beforehand, and the general slump in all blockbusters this year. That doesn't mean it was ever going to make its money back with an estimated $300 million budget, but there's just something in the air this year that's killing that which makes people want to go to the movies. I had fun with the movie, the action was good, the dynamic between Indy and Helena and how it progressed throughout the movie was better than I expected, I found the final act to be incredibly fun, just an all around good time. I will say that Mutt dying is not ideal, and even him joining the military doesn't make sense for someone that was anti-authority, but in the years spent with Indy, maybe that changed some things. Maybe Mutt did feel an obligation to serve for a cause he truly didn't understand, much like how his father did the same joining Pancho Villa and eventually World War I. It was also done out of spite for his father, not much unlike what Indy did to his either. Mutt could have enlisted, immediately regretted it, but there was no backing out and it cost him. Unfair though it may be, I get why it was done for the story in the movie in order to put Indy in a place where he feels like nothing matters anymore, even if the initial impetus was to satiate bad fans and avoid any conflicts of interest regarding Shia LeBeouf. And is it wrong to not have Marion in the movie either until the end? I don't think so. If you look at the relationship between Marion and Indy, it's always gone back and forth, and he's presumably the one that always screws it up, too, although I'm sure she has her moments as well. For starters, he never should have gotten together with her at the ages they were the first time, and when it was finally found out, things got ruined. The second time they got together, he ran away from them getting married. Then 20 years later when they did get married, it lasted about 10 years, but he even admits he wasn't there for her when their son died because he didn't know how to handle it either and it drove another wedge. She does still ultimately love him, and the reason why she's back in the very end is because he almost died, but she can see that he's gotten better and maybe their relationship will finally stick until the end for a fourth time. They are constantly on again and off again, this doesn't exactly feel like it's out of place for her divorcing him. Maybe putting a label on it somehow hurts their relationship despite how much they do care for one another. I'm not saying these things are perfect, but I get why they were done, and they don't bother me so much. Maybe it's because I can find a rationale for it that makes sense to me, but whatever, the movie is the movie. I'm definitely going to need more than just one viewing to truly finalize my thoughts, but I don't suspect they'll get worse, I really did quite like the movie, and it's flaws were not so large that they detracted too much from my enjoyment.

Please do a video on Knight and Day

Say what you will about cryatal skull atleast it was an ending for the character as decided on by his original creators and not an obvious corporate grab for some kind of relevancy from a franchise that had already been put to bed

I think. Indy 4 is my second favourite film right after Last crusade. I just love both of them.

I read "Don't touch that dial" on the image as "Don't touch that girl" and immediately thought of Phoebe Waller-Bridge 🤭 This was a very balanced analysis. I haven't seen this movie, and I don't plan to watch it, but I appreciate RU-vidrs like you biting the bullet for those of us who prefer to be selective and see MI7 more than once in the big screen instead 🤗

My boy full fat videos is always spot on on these analysis

I wonder what it says about me or Disney Lucasfilm’s pattern that I expected both Marion and Mutt to bite the dust before the movie came out.

The deaging really isn’t polar express bad but the skin was really rubbery and didn’t look right

Kinda wish they did an Indy trilogy instead of Star Wars. Probably would have been safer, and Ford could have been in all 3, and enjoyed it.

Because the hero is 80 and can’t do anything cool anymore.

You should talk about Sound of Freedom. Indie may have bombed, but SoF excelled and actually has a relevant message.

19:00 the streaming service have made it more bloated if anything. The streaming service should be for TV shows only and the movies should get back to the schedule pre pandemic of a theatrical lifespan of 3 months than the release ob digital and physical media platforms

Bro, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull looks like the first 3 compared to dial

The comparison to star wars is a good one. Saying this movie makes crystal skull look good is exactly what happened when 7, 8 and 9 came out. The love and appreciation for 1, 2 and 3 suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Great review! I haven't seen the Vial of Diarrhea (and I won't), but I have seen, and enjoyed, the Crystal Skull.

I think one of the problems is quite simple. Original movie and a lot of movies at the 80s took an old idea and put a modern spin on it. Indiana Jones old cereals told in a new (at the time) blockbuster way. This movie, as with so many of it's ilk, have taken an old idea and presented it in a now old fashioned way.

After that long dragged out car chase, i went into Spiderverse for 30 minutes and came back for the final act.

Raiders was originally given an (R) rating (there was no PG-13 rating at the time), due to violence, particularly for the moment when Belloq's head exploded (why THAT particular moment, I'm unsure). They wanted to keep Belloq's gruesome fate, so they added flames, hoping it would obscure the head exploding and grant them the (PG) rating they desperately wanted. It worked.😁

Is there any memes from indy5?

"Things you could get away with in kids' movies then, you absolutely could not, now" That's a really sad commentary on how fragile our society has become.

I saw Raiders in the theatre when it was released in 1981 only, only because Han Solo was in it. And it was awesome. That's all I have to say.

Well this movie seems to have broken the trend where the odd numbered films are better received and the even ones are initially controversial in the fandom. Though, I'm at least hoping kingdom of the crystal skull will be better appreciated now. Too bad lucas and speilburg coundn't do one last film for indiana jones

This is wild, but I didn't even notice that Kurt Russell had de-aging done in GotG2. I subconsciously processed that in the alternate scenes he's younger or older, but I don't think I ever consciously thought about it. Technology is there man, holy shit.

I really liked Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was pulp fiction cheese. Exactly what Indy is supposed to be. However, the thing I'd have done differently is rely less on CGI. That's the main drawback of the film. The original Indy films soared above Crystal Skull by having a sense of jeopardy during all the stunts. If Crystal Skull had that too, it would be a perfect book-end.

Crystal Skull was dope af Think I was like 16 when it came out It felt like Indy magic to me for that time CGI monkeys and all

Why is no one talking about the fact that this is the second 5th part of a movie saga where shaija labeouf i killed off-screen 11:02

Grampa Jones and the dial of Disney was predictably over used, tired material!!

Why nothing about bridge? literally one of the worst characters in the film and cinema history.

To be fair, they released Indy the weekend of the 4th of July in America.

This is the best review I've seen of Dial of Destiny. You perfectly summed up all of my problems with the film.

Indiana Jones 5 plays it way to safe

Ive seen some of your videos before and are usually pretty good. However, I have to question your judgment when you say you like the #1, most detrimental character to this movie, Pheobe Waller Bridge, then I have to say good luck in the future.

Saw it the other night because my 11 year old son wanted to see it. It was just as I expected, not good. Indie was sad and tired old man who was constantly being berated by a "strong" woman who was morally saved at the end.

Really enjoyed it. The ranking of the 5 movies is as follows: 10, Deeply Flawed 10, 10, 7 and 8. Please bare in mind that these scores aren't my personal opinion, but objective facts, handed down by God on tablets of stone and placed within an ark.

Once you get past the deaging the first 20 minutes is a good lil Indy short film

18:37 *And now the actors are going on strike.*

Doctor Chee Kay has become renowned on this Channel.