Shia LaBeouf said this about Indiana Jones 4: "I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished...You get to monkey-swinging and things like that and you can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on Steven [Spielberg]. But the actor's job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn't do it. So that's my fault. Simple."
Have you ever gone to a movie theater to see something you were excited to see, only to be let down with a ridiculous story, or unbelievable action scenes throughout the movie? I have. And without naming any names (see picture above), it seems to happen more often than not.
Indiana Jones 4 left a bad taste in my mouth. Worse than throw up. Maybe because the storyline was stolen, and doesn't work for the Indiana Jones franchise.
Please note that I was already a fan of the first three Indiana Jones movies. But when you put all four movies side-by-side, and compare them, one of them is not like the others. Indiana Jones 4 was horrible!
But before dissing Indiana Jones 4 any further, let me point out something that most people are not aware of. The whole Crystal Skull story was already used.
And this is how I know. My wife and I are watching Stargate: SG1 at home, and we are in Season 3, episode 21. Guess what the title of this episode is? Crystal Skull. And as we are watching, I scratch my head, because something about this episode is eerily familiar. Basically the whole premise of searching for a Crystal Skull that was placed there by an alien race.
Haven't seen the epsiode? Buy the complete season on DVD.
Stargate SG1: Season 3, Episode 21 "Crystal Skull"
In episode 21, Daniel Jackson comes across a Crystal Skull that does something magical (but explained by the physics and science in the show), which transports him to another plane of existence where the other team members cannot see him. Fast forward to the end, and they are standing in front of the Crystal Skull, which is connected to an alien race that has placed it there so they can be contacted. Sound familiar?
So the episode ends and my mind brings me back to that awful movie that we all know to be Indiana Jones 4. And this seriously bothered me.
So today, I emailed the writer of SG1, episode 21, and asked him if he received any credit from Indiana Jones 4 (2008) after coming up with the original idea in the year 2000. He graciously confirmed that he did not because, "that's Hollywood!" Personally, I wouldn't want to be connected to that movie either, if I was in his shoes. But it just goes to show that it doesn't pay to steal ideas (plagiarize) and try to label them as fresh and original.
Instead of Harrison Ford reveling in a quadrilogous victory, he will forever be running from the Crystal alien Skull. Somebody should tell him that it was stolen from an Stargate:SG1 storyline.
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| Indiana Jones 4 |
Indiana Jones 4 left a bad taste in my mouth. Worse than throw up. Maybe because the storyline was stolen, and doesn't work for the Indiana Jones franchise.
Please note that I was already a fan of the first three Indiana Jones movies. But when you put all four movies side-by-side, and compare them, one of them is not like the others. Indiana Jones 4 was horrible!
But before dissing Indiana Jones 4 any further, let me point out something that most people are not aware of. The whole Crystal Skull story was already used.
And this is how I know. My wife and I are watching Stargate: SG1 at home, and we are in Season 3, episode 21. Guess what the title of this episode is? Crystal Skull. And as we are watching, I scratch my head, because something about this episode is eerily familiar. Basically the whole premise of searching for a Crystal Skull that was placed there by an alien race.
Haven't seen the epsiode? Buy the complete season on DVD.
 |
| Stargate SG1: Season 3 Complete Set |
Stargate SG1: Season 3, Episode 21 "Crystal Skull"
In episode 21, Daniel Jackson comes across a Crystal Skull that does something magical (but explained by the physics and science in the show), which transports him to another plane of existence where the other team members cannot see him. Fast forward to the end, and they are standing in front of the Crystal Skull, which is connected to an alien race that has placed it there so they can be contacted. Sound familiar?
 |
| Daniel Jackson finds the Crystal Skull |
So today, I emailed the writer of SG1, episode 21, and asked him if he received any credit from Indiana Jones 4 (2008) after coming up with the original idea in the year 2000. He graciously confirmed that he did not because, "that's Hollywood!" Personally, I wouldn't want to be connected to that movie either, if I was in his shoes. But it just goes to show that it doesn't pay to steal ideas (plagiarize) and try to label them as fresh and original.
Instead of Harrison Ford reveling in a quadrilogous victory, he will forever be running from the Crystal alien Skull. Somebody should tell him that it was stolen from an Stargate:SG1 storyline.
5 comments:
I was watching a rerun of this particular StargateSG-1 episode. I was immediately struck by the similarity with the Indiana Jones film. I guessed that I was not the only person to make the connection. I searched online, using the two titles. I found ound your blog and agree with your comments.
Thanks for reading, John Dee. Glad I am not the only person out there that made the connection.
Just binge watching Stargate SG1, and came across Crystal Skull episode of SG1.
Exactly what I thought, this plotline had virtually the same premise as the Indiana Jones movie, and all what you said here popped into my head too as I was watching and finishing the episode.
Amazing how one of the least expensive parts of a huge production, the plot, cannot even be original and stand on its own. Where has the creative talent gone, but more likely why do they pick writers that haven't any -- I know they are out there because I am one, unseen and unsong.
It is like the the first Star Trek movie stealing its whole premise from one of the episodes with V'ger and Nomad.
GTriest, glad that I am not the only person out there that realized this. It's all true.
I saw it last night and was floored by the outright theft which goes deeper than this article:
Stargate:
Crystal skull (obviously and part of myth anyway)
Temple that has an earthquake and disappears (as told by Daniel's grandfather)
Giant ethereal aliens
Giant aliens wanting to collect knowledge
Giant aliens that operate in multiple dimensions
Crystal skull glows and has particles swirl and people become hypnotized by it
Brought to the SGC
Old man from mental instition believed crazy about the skull beliefs (Daniel's father) and SG1 goes to him for answers.
Giant Aliens speaking Mayan
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull:
Crystal skull
Temple that has an earthquake and disappears (ending of movie)
Giant ethereal aliens
Giant aliens wanting to collect knowledge (as seen in their spaceship museum. "They're archeologists." Indiana Jones line)
Giant aliens that operate in multiple dimensions (spaces between the worlds as said by Jones' friend Oxlsley)
Crystal skull glows and has particles swirl and people become hypnotized by it (as seen in the scene where Jones was made to stare into it when he was captured).
Housed in Area 51
Old man in mental institution driven insane by his theories on the skull and visited (attempted to) by Jones for answers.
Oxsley speaking Mayan
The difference is where the story takes place, the main characters and the antagonists. Crystal Skull had Russians, Stargate showed it was the Gau'old because Tarl'c wasn't affected and the "enemy of my enemy" part.
After all the years Lucas claimed it was being worked on, for it to be a theft is really disappointing. I'm sure they could have met with countless authors of the old comics, books and fanfic authors and come up with a better original story.
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