No, before you ask, I’m not going to post it, but yes, I have read Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods. Just to get one thing out of the way, I really enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It wasn’t a great movie, but it was better than Temple of Doom and, at times, even surpassed The Last Crusade, in my opinion. I do admit to feeling that it could have been so much more, but, on the whole, I found it to be a satisfying Indiana Jones adventure. However, I now see how the fourth Indy outing could have been a spectacular film, a true send off to one of the greatest motion picture icons and a film that would have gone toe-to-toe with Raiders.
The same basic story is there, but things have been removed, rearranged and added that just make Darabont’s version pop. The aliens are still there, but Mutt isn’t. The action sequences are just stellar. The nods to the other films are much more interesting. And, perhaps most importantly, Marion is much more the Raiders Marion. Even Sallah and Henry Sr. manage to make an appearance. I’m really having a hard time understanding why Lucas and Spielberg rejected this draft of the script and turned it into what wound up on the screen. If you find this draft floating out there on the interwebs, give it a read. You might get pissed off or just shake your head in wonder at a missed opportunity, but you will find it fascinating. I hope enough buzz gets built up about this script in the next few days that Lucas and Spielberg are forced to respond as to why they rejected it. I would love to hear their reasoning, really I would.