Well what can I say about this made for TV movie? The acting was not bad, although some of the support actors would have had trouble getting into am-dram productions. the story line was the same old 'quest' story, searching for that elusive artifact. One good point was a baddie that actually admits his mistake and works with the Indiana Jones type hero to save the world. However;... . . In my opinion there should be an international law (UN help please) that anyone other than script writers with a physics degree, should be banned from writing sci-fi scripts/teleplays. The worst thing about this movie was the total disregard for science. the continuity in the film is totally missing. In the first part of the film a cave collapses, seemingly covering the floor of the enormous cavern. Later the same cave appears again, but there is no sign of the cave-in and the nice path remains clear of rubble. Nice clean-up Sweden. Then there is the quick rescue when a helicopter crashes in Sweden and a team is sent out from Vienna (that's Austria, at least a thousand miles away) and the rescue team find them and get them back within the hour. That's some helicopter they have. No wonder most Americans don't have a clue about geography.
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derekblake9 September 2014
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sorendanni28 September 2020Well, a low-budget movie with big-budget aspirations. That often goes wrong and unfortunately it is also thecase for Crystal Skulls. The TV channel had scheduled this film as Horror / SciFi. It certainly isn't. The film is never scary (or even thrilling) and the greatest ambition is to be a kind of modern Indiana Jones adventure movie.
Good news: some beautiful filming locations, neat costumes, realistic gunfights and actors who are funny at times.
The bad news? All the rest...
There is much wrong with 'the scientific facts' this film presents to the audience. Anyone who watches the documentaries on NGC, even if it's just on occasion, gets a few of the errors out. Two examples: Pyramids in Bosnia? Hoax! The engine of the helicopter that fails? You won't survive that.
Logic? This movie rattles on every level! For example geographic locations and distances. The film lets the characters fly around the world, on routes that are often not the shortest, with stops that make no sense. Or how about politics? American soldiers stationed in Spain who just take control of a private company in Austria. I hope you don't have to have a master's degree in international law to realize that this would result in a diplomatic crisis.
My final thoughts? Would it not have been better to tune down a few violent scenes, send the main character out together with his younger nephew on adventure and then show the whole as an adventure series for the youth, after the children's programs? Big kids and young adolescents will forgive Crystal Skulls for the flaws in the plot and appreciate its strengths (the locations, the adventure) more. A bit of a missed opportunity. -
Stevieboy66618 July 2022Silly nonsense about 13 Crystal Skulls that date back before Man (obviously of ET origin) and how some billionaire's obsession with them could lead to the destruction of Earth. Or something. Bulgarian/Canadian made for TV movie, it was never going to be great, cheap effects, laughable dialogue and some bad acting, these movies are two a penny, though to be fair I have seen far worse. Sam Redford plays a tough guy who is tough to watch. I love skulls, I have them decorated around my house and garden (not real ones!), plus a few tattoos, as a time filler this is just about passable.
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nafps30 July 2022Most of the other reviews have covered its bad story, terrible FX, and incredible stupidity when it comes to basic science. The whole premise of the film is based on a long ago debunked lie that unfortunately Spielberg and Lucas fell for and peddled in their ignorance.
No, Mayas never made crystal skulls. No, neither did any other ancient or modern people except con artists. They were made in the 1890s to con the gullible.
All the stories claiming what the skulls were and what they can supposedly can do, ETs and so on, were invented to cheat people, the kind dumb enough to believe Ancient Aliens. -
nogodnomasters13 November 2018Billionaire William Hadden (David Rintoul) is collecting crystal skulls from around the world in Vienna. He is in a wheel chair and "doesn't have much time." He has twelve skulls. There is a group known as "The Brotherhood" protecting the 13th skull, the one skull to rule them all. There is no albino in the group. The best hope for locating the 13th skull fall into the lap of John Winston (Richard Burgi) who is a bad imitation of Indian Jones.
The film was poorly written. The opening scenes of gathering the skulls were reminiscent of the Indian Jones warehouse housing artifacts as well as a quick Mission Impossible snatch. Nothing like an Englishman doing business with an Eastern European in a remote Andean village bar with a suitcase full of money.
When the film wasn't imitating other films, the science was off the charts. There was talk of carbon dating crystal skulls to 500,000 years ago. First you can't carbon date crystal skulls. Secondly, carbon dating has a limitation of about 40,000 years. The science was all over the place.
Then there was dad's notebook Winston was using to locate the skull, and maybe find his dad too. This was a big "huh" moment as to how he has the book in the first place. This was answered later on in great length.
The acting was bad as was the dialogue. The CG plane made me laugh as did the reporters speaking in front of a fake background. Colonel Baily (J.R. Esposito) seemed to have been modeled after Daniel Tosh as part of NATO's not ask don't tell force.
The film displayed some Asylum grade cheese, i.e. it is so bad it was funny. The description "It is 2020 and the apocalypse is inevitable. Due to a rapidly growing Black Hole headed straight for the Sun, Earth begins to fall into darkness." has nothing to do with this film. It is at IMDB and has become the official Amazon description. It should be ignored. This is an Indian Jones style film for people who hate decent sound tracks, good plot, and acting. Kids might like it. No swearing sex, or nudity. -
Leofwine_draca21 July 2020This Bulgarian-shot SyFy Channel movie sounds like a cheapo INDIANA JONES rip-off but instead turns out to be a routine disaster flick. It's all about an ancient prophecy and the usual forthcoming end of the world scenario, with DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star Richard Burgi playing the no-nonsense hero who rushes around trying to save mankind. It's cheap and cheesy beyond belief, with the usual poor FX and random roles from the likes of British actor David Rintoul, who I remember playing in LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF all those years ago.
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mike-rew19 April 2015For starters, this movie bears no relation to the film info listed here "It is 2020 and the impending apocalypse is inevitable. Due to a rapidly growing Black Hole headed straight for the sun, Earth begins to fall into darkness" nothing to do with THIS film in any way shape or form. Some interesting special effects and a relatively promising storyline, let down by some implausible moments of scene setting, lots of British actors on-board. Its not terrible, just nowhere near as promising as the incredibly misleading tag-line. I often find movies based on such leading intros and this just misleading, it's simply wrong as if it has been written about another film entirely. I hope this didn't come from the studio themselves and its simply been miskeyed. if anyone were to invest money in a project based on an outline like this they'd be more disappointed at the result than I was with watching it.
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stevens-0759529 January 2023This will will always be compared to the Indiana Jones film and come off inferior. Even though there is one more skull and the effect of them together is different. If it was a kids film it could only just pass because the storyline is simple to understand, the inconsistencies however are troublesome. And the pace is slow. It does not have the adventurousness necessary. The actors are good enough let down by poor story and too many 'pregnant" pauses which do not add any drama except to the annoyance of the viewer. Even kids are more discerning in how they believe people would behave in the situations presented.
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Woodyanders29 September 2020Super rich guy Haddon (nicely played by David Rintoul) collects twelve of the infamous crystal skulls so he can use their ancient powers to cure the cancer he's dying from. However, when said skulls cause a catastrophe that threatens the fate of mankind, it's up to archeologist John Winston (a solid and credible performance by Richard Burgi) to find the 13th crystal skull before it's too late.
Director Todor Chapkanov keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a zippy pace, treats the daft premise with admirable seriousness, stages the exciting action with flair and skill, and further spices things up with an amusing sense of self-mocking humor. The sound acting by the capable cast keeps this movie humming: Wendy Glenn as the spunky Sienna, Sam Redford as the shifty Mitchell, J.R. Esposito as the hard-nosed Colonel Bailey, Matt Rippy as Winston's ill-fated brother Terry, and Velislav Pavlov as the nefarious Hussein. A fun flick.