I saw it last night and loved it. I really liked the alien twist at the end.
IIRC, there was a something in the first episode of the TV series about Young Indy meeting Pancho Villa.
I wasn’t expecting anything but entertainment from this movie, and that’s what I got. Yes, there were plot holes you could drive a truck through, but I still liked it. The flying saucer at the end was a bit over-the-top.
I did get a laugh at the wedding scene, when Indy’s hat blew off and rolled to Mutt’s feet. My friend leaned over and whispered to me, “The passing of the hat!” and I was sure Mutt was going to pick it up and put it on. Then Indy snatches it away and looks at him, like “Not yet, kid.”
I don’t know much about radiation exposure from nuclear bombs (besides the obvious “It’s really a lot of radiation and if you don’t die instantly you’re going to die painfully later”) but I think the filmmakers’ intention was to have the “lead lined for maximum insulation” fridge dispel our worries about Indy’s exposure to the radiation, even though he ends up seeing the mushroom cloud and staying out long enough to be exposed. While watching, I had a brief, “Indy’s going to die of radiation poisoning! Ah, but the fridge was lead-lined” thought, although that train of thought was abandoned when I realized that the Janitor from Scrubs was talking to him in the next scene.
want2know, I also wanted Indiana to yell “They’re Commies!” during the chase through the anti-Red rally.
I came in just to post about this. It was pretty much my favorite part of the movie, as it was the only thing to play against expectations, instead of fulfilling them. Very nicely done moment.
Rest of the movie was OK. I pretty much agree with Cervaise in his OP. I had no problem with alien stuff as it is no more implausible than magic Arks, and fits nicely with the 50s setting.
Could say a bunch more, but most of it has been said already, so I won’t waste your time. 
Put me down in the list of people who heard “Mud”. I didn’t think it was strange because I attached no importance at all to it, figuring it was just a nickname. I never noticed his name on his jacket. I admit Mutt makes more sense especially given the Indiana/dog connection.
I instantly figured out who Mutt’s mother had to be.
I think Maj. Spalko couldn’t read Indy’s mind because she wasn’t really psychic at all, she just thought she was. I assumed she possibly used a form of cold reading on people who were dumber/more gullible than Indy. Indy’s disbelieving smirk when she tried to read his mind told her it wasn’t going to work on him, so she made up an excuse to save face.
I figured the aliens killed her at the end because they didn’t like her because they knew she was EEEEVVVVIILLLLL (which presumably is also why she couldn’t communicate with the skull herself). The aliens killed her the way they did because they appreciate irony.
Surviving the wateralls: I assumed since both John Hurt and Indiana had been in communication with the skull the interdimensional aliens had told them they would survive the three waterfalls in that way, which is why they weren’t too concerned about going over them. Either that or the skull is in some way able to control events around it, which allowed everyone in the amphibious vehicle to survive.
I agree two smallish waterfalls, followed by relief, followed by a huge waterfall would have been much funnier.
The crystal skull constantly reminded me of the Alien aliens. Also the cheapness of the prop was a huge distraction. They could at least have made it seem heavier.
I also immediately saw where the “Atomic Cafe” sequence with the empty houses was going, having seen an almost identical scene in an episode of the 1980s TV series Crime Story.
I liked how one of Indiana’s lines (to Mutt): “Looks like you brought a knife to a gun fight” paraphrased a Sean Connery line from The Untouchables.
Fine, being in the fridge saved him from the radiation from the blast (although I’m still not buying that the blast itself and what looked like a pretty unpleasant collision with the ground wouldn’t have mashed him up good and proper) but he then promptly leaves the fridge and calmly watches the mushroom cloud without any protection. At that distance he’d be absorbing lethal doses of radiation, his hair would have been falling out several days later - a quick scrub down in a shower afterwards wouldn’t have stopped that.
I know I know, I’m applying logic to a film bereft of one, I’ll stop now.
Yeah. I know they built fake towns. They even set up cameras and stuff to see the devastation. The thing is, in this movie they had a fake town with megaphones to tell all personnel to evacuate (WAY after this advice ceased to be germane) and they had evacuated the entire base.
So. If the base is evacuated, who is running the test, and why bother running megaphones to tell people it’s time to kiss their asses goodbye? Also, you’d think that if they were doing nuclear tests and storing priceless national treasures there would be a bit more security than 4 guys and a chain link fence. Especially if the damned dirty reds are wandering around without a care in the world.
At least, that’s what I would think.
Perhaps they used the same broadcast in many places. Maybe it was just in case someone was left behind. Perhaps it was poetic license.
If you’re going to complain, do a through job and mention the running water hose.
re Illuminatiprimus comment. Does anyone know how close the military personnel used at test blasts were? They made some of them stand up in their ditch. :rolleyes:
I’ve been thinking… Is the skull magnetic? Or telepathic?
When Henry (if they won’t call him Indy, neither will I) first gets the skull, he says
“Crystal’s Not Magnetic”
to which Mutt, noticing the coins stuck to it, says
“Neither is Gold”.
I mean, if the skull was magnetic, surely it’d have a big load of treasure all stuck to it, like in I Love Katamari? Or did the skull, sensing that someone was near, draw things to itself to get attention, and therefore be found?
Because if the skull is magnetic, all the time, then that would bug the shit outa me. Where it jarred most with me was when Mutt was going to toss the skull from one jeep to the next… I was going to shout that he shouldnt be able to lift it off the metal body of the jeep!
I think the entire species is magnetic somehow. The magnetic crate in Area 51 was an alien corpse - no crystal skull around. We saw what they looked like alive when the one appeared to Cate Blanchett - no crystal skull appearance.
He also used the Commie RPG on the tree cutter truck. Gotta assume some people died then.
And the guy with the blowgun, !@#$%!
I’ve mentioned several times on the boards here that I had a problem with that entire aspect of Raiders, FWIW.
Yes. I always tell myself that Raiders takes place in a parallel universe similar but not quite identical to ours, where the UK didn’t control Egypt before WWII.
Dunno about that - radiation is capricious, many were close enough to the blast at Hiroshima and Nagasaki to get bad flash burns and lived (while others further away walked away without a scratch and promptly died).
I thought the more unbelievable part was the indestructable fridge that seemingly got blasted out of a house and flew hundreds of feet before smashing into the ground - and Indy walks away.
I thought the scene was, quite possibly, a sly comment on the “duck and cover!” type civil defence ads of the '50s.
Plot holes. Yes.
Big glaring plot holes. Yes.
BFD.
It’s Indiana Jones. Of course it is formulaic. Of course there are plot holes. That’s what makes it work. You just disconnect and go along for the ride.
And Karen Allen. Gawds, that woman is 56 and still hawt!!
Wonderful movie. I hope Harrison holds on for number 5, even if he is in a wheelchair.
But why was she grinning like she was on opium the whole time? Most people driving over the edge of a waterfall in a metal boat wouldn’t look that happy about it.
In her later years she clearly developed what Mark Twain described as “the calm confidence of a Christian with four aces.” 
The crystal skulls were the aliens’ actual skulls, their whole skeletons were crystal.
Then why did the Russians need the one from Ox at all? They already had an entire corpse from the warehouse.