(don’t worry, no spoilers)* It’s not necessary for all the plot points to make sense for a movie to be thoroughly entertaining. Suspend disbelief, folks.
* The 1950s were romping good times.
* Indy is responsible for later archeology-tinged action flicks such as The Mummy and National Treasure. Thanks loads, Spielberg.
* This film would never succeed without the nostalgia factor. Well, it would but it would seem far sillier than it already is.
* Harrison Ford is getting too old for this. Meanwhile, is Shia getting groomed for a career as an action star? That seems odd. But we did see the trailer for Eagle Eye, coming out later this year:
It might work better if Shia didn’t still look like a 14 year old.
8 comments:
I saw this movie this weekend too and really wanted to post a blog about it and have a conversation, but at the risk of spoiling the movie, I did not. (You, however, have done a nice job here.)
Anyway, we had an Indie marathon before seeing it, to make sure we were up to speed with the new one. Not necessary, but helpful, if you have not seen the first three in awhile.
While I enjoyed this one, I didn't feel it was as good as the first three; "The Last Crusade" is by far my favorite. I was intrigued by the themes running through all four of the movies. And also commented on the parallels to the James Bond films. (A sidebar conversation would be appropriate here, had I the knowledge to find chatrooms anymore.)
Does anyone else find it funny that Shia was Louis on Even Stevens? What a great show that was. The golden age of Disney Channel programming when it was The Lizzie McGuire Show followed by Even Stevens, back when I was young and could watch these tween shows (five years ago.)
The kiddie crap you watched as a kid will always have a special place in your heart, and will retain all kinds of rich meaning throughout your life. But the kiddie crap that you didn't watch as a kid is always going to seem stupid to you.
It's like how parents used to hate the music their kids listened to, and there arose a gap between each successive generation. But that doesn't happen anymore, because the 36-year-old parents of today are listening to the same music as the 18-year-olds.
So instead of having a real generation gap, we have a kiddie crap gap. Which splits into a million little gaps, because you only have like a 5-year window in which the kiddie crap of your precise childhood can leave an impression on you.
Robert Repino is going to kick your ass for calling Indian Jones kiddie crap.
The scene in "Crystal Skull" with the monkeys on the vines was unforgivable kiddie crap.
By the way--were these guys in the movie?
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/30/brazil.tribes/index.html
I saw this last weekend and didn't like most of it. It annoyed me right away with the cheesy artificial looking lighting. What is with that? I tried my best to enjoy it and I love most movies for kids, but this one didn't do it for me. It looked like the movie was actually made twenty years ago. The dialogue was ridiculous and the action way too fake. I could hardly bear it.
The very next night I watched "Live Free or Die Hard", another action flick sequel with an aging actor. It was awesome and I was riveted the whole time. The action and effects were tight, creative, and looked real. I still smile when thinking about some of the sequences. I enjoyed this movie far more on DVD for $3 at home than I did Indiana Jones at the theater for $25 plus another $20 for drinks and popcorn.
I'm with you on the lighting, Steven. The first 20 minutes I was like, why does it look so weird and fake? Why is it all so stilted?
The latest Die Hard was indeed a better, more straightforward action flick, but it's not hampered by the Indiana Jones childhood nostalgia factor.
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