I have no idea why aliens shouldn't be in an Indy movie... Especially if it takes place in the 50's. Aliens where a pretty big thing back then, so discovering an alien skull would've been a pretty important archeological discovery. And because of the futuristic UFO taking off at the end... I bet that is the main reason that ticked people off. Well, of course aliens are expected for some reason to have far more advanced technology then we have. How was it really that bad?

I don't think that this movie was horrible…in it's own right it was a decent film. But, when compared to it's predecessors it just falls flat! I think I would be more inclined to like this film if it was left without the aliens. I think there were many other legends/lore left for them to explore without jumping the shark with aliens. That is one thing that always fascinated me about the plots in Indiana films…the relics were things that were familiar, the holy grail, the arc of the covenant. They needn't have gone so far as outer space to find a decent story line.

I don't like it much (definitely the worst of the 4) but I think people go slightly over the top in their hate for it. I don't think it ruined the Indiana Jones franchise at all, I just judge it on a movie on it's own, instead of comparing it with the first 3.

The first 3 I see as the trilogy, and this one I see as a seperate film.

Although I don't think they 'ruined the franchise'...I mean I still enjoy the 1st 3 movies so those aren't ruined for me...however I do think that the 4th movie was absolutely horrible.

The plot was a mess, the jokes weren't funny and the action was too over the top. And no I don't think aliens belong in an Indy film. The previous movies all involved the supernatural; mystical things that can't fully be explained. And not only were these aliens ridiculous, turns out they aren't even really aliens but some kind of trans-dimensional beings. It was lame.

I honestly think they did a sloppy job writing and directing this movie, focusing far too much on fancy special effects that were totally unnecessary. This movie was made to make money; they knew that Indy fans would pay to see it no matter how many bad reviews it got.

As for 'judging it on it's own'- what's the point of making an Indy movie if you aren't supposed to compare it to the previous ones? If they didn't want to us to measure it against the others, they should've just made some random movie about aliens.

Action was over the top? What isn't cool about a guy getting dragged into a nest by giant fire-ants? :D

^^ I didnt say you couldnt compare them.. I didn't mean that. Honestly I know what I mean but I find it hard to put things into words and I find it hard to explain. :/

I just think that people shouldn't just sit there and compare every little detail to the previous ones, because (more often than not) this will just make their hate for the film deepen.

It's just my opinion. I see the 4th one as completely different to the first ones, but that's just me..

@Mongoose, I didn't mean to make you feel attacked. I just meant that IMO a series should have some kind of cohesiveness. Obviously you're entitled to a different opinion. And kudos to you for being able to enjoy the movie on it's own merits. I, unfortunately, am unable to even attempt to try. I'd rather pretend the movie never happened. lol