Common question, and for as long as I can remember my response has been Raiders of the Lost Ark .The next two films in the series definitely make my all time top ten. Despite this (or maybe because of this), I reacted with dread to the news of a fourth installment. The trilogy was, to me, a complete story. When we last saw Indy, he was riding off into the sunset, having discovered the Holy Grail itself (which is synonymous with “no bigger artifact available”). And aside from all of that, to quote the new film –how old is Harrison Ford now? Like 80?
I shouldn’t have worried. While Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn’t of the same caliber as the original movies, it’s a nice epilogue to the series, and entertaining.
Spielberg and Ford don’t try to hide the characters age, but embrace it. Throughout the film, Ford appears to be channeling Henry Jones senior (as portrayed by Sean Connery in The Last Crusade). The introduction of Mutt Williams (Shia Labeouf) is the one of the saving graces of the script– not so much due to that character but the foil he provides for the aging Indy.
The film has many flaws, chief of which is the determination to make it as true to the era it’s set in- the 1950’s – as the previous films were with the 1930’s. The pulp serials that inspired Raiders were full of guns, magic and Nazis. The 1950’s still had the guns, but Commies had replaced Nazis, and magic was replaced by flying saucers, aliens and atomic bombs.
Favorite scene: The opening. The thing that separates Indiana Jones from so many others in the action pantheon is that he is not a hero because he can smash a hundred bad guys with his bare hands; it’s the way that he never gives up, taking beating after beating. So it’s fitting somehow that he returns to the big screen by being thrown unceremoniously to the ground.
Worst scene: The G-men accusing Indy of being a communist. This seems to be nothing more than a device to fill the viewer in on what Jones has been up to since the 30’s, and another “Hey! It’s the 50’s! Red Scare!” moment that has nothing to do with the plot. It doesn’t go anywhere.
Kids movie? Nope, too much violence (though I saw Raiders when I was 8 and it didn’t do me any harm. Well not much. Actually, don’t bring any kids under 13).
Date movie? Yeah, as long as your date likes good movies.
If you like this, check out: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, another tribute to genres of old.
-- Necronomisean
I shouldn’t have worried. While Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn’t of the same caliber as the original movies, it’s a nice epilogue to the series, and entertaining.
Spielberg and Ford don’t try to hide the characters age, but embrace it. Throughout the film, Ford appears to be channeling Henry Jones senior (as portrayed by Sean Connery in The Last Crusade). The introduction of Mutt Williams (Shia Labeouf) is the one of the saving graces of the script– not so much due to that character but the foil he provides for the aging Indy.
The film has many flaws, chief of which is the determination to make it as true to the era it’s set in- the 1950’s – as the previous films were with the 1930’s. The pulp serials that inspired Raiders were full of guns, magic and Nazis. The 1950’s still had the guns, but Commies had replaced Nazis, and magic was replaced by flying saucers, aliens and atomic bombs.
Favorite scene: The opening. The thing that separates Indiana Jones from so many others in the action pantheon is that he is not a hero because he can smash a hundred bad guys with his bare hands; it’s the way that he never gives up, taking beating after beating. So it’s fitting somehow that he returns to the big screen by being thrown unceremoniously to the ground.
Worst scene: The G-men accusing Indy of being a communist. This seems to be nothing more than a device to fill the viewer in on what Jones has been up to since the 30’s, and another “Hey! It’s the 50’s! Red Scare!” moment that has nothing to do with the plot. It doesn’t go anywhere.
Kids movie? Nope, too much violence (though I saw Raiders when I was 8 and it didn’t do me any harm. Well not much. Actually, don’t bring any kids under 13).
Date movie? Yeah, as long as your date likes good movies.
If you like this, check out: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, another tribute to genres of old.
-- Necronomisean
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