Indiana Jones IV plot holes

[Gaith]

And then eventually, the entire tone of the movie just didn't feel right.

Quite. Apologies for the long repost, but not really, bwahahaha :

What I liked most about Raiders of the Lost Ark was that rough-around-the-edges, gritty type of sensibility that has gradually dissolved throughout the series.

.... Plus, I think a big factor in separation from the rugged quality of Raiders to the quality of Crystal Skull was that everything seemed too polished and neat. The cinematography was way too polished and clean for an Indiana Jones movie. Even the locations and sets and special effects had this very pristine quality that felt totally out-of-place

A good point. Let's compare some college shots from Raiders...

to some college shots from Skull:

Here's Indy's house in Crusade:

Skull:

A creepy place from Raiders:

Crusade (the set design being already far too fancy and showy, IMO, but at least the lighting and color palette fits):

Skull:

I agree with JacksonArcher. Storybook/painterly color can be used to great effect in outright fantasy (LotR, Harry Potter 3 and 4), contemporary comic book fantasies (Iron Man, Dark Knight), or even drama (The Good Shepherd covers periods close to Skull's, and with a similarly dreamy look). But the downside to the perfect lighting, super-high contrasts and general prettiness is a creeping sense of unreality. May not be a big deal for Frodo, Tony Stark or even Casino Royale's Bond, but when Indy's defining characteristic is gritty, sweaty authenticity, the visuals and character are badly at odds.

Heck, take a gander at 2001's The Mummy Returns:

Looks more like Raiders than Skull does.



Ultimately, Skull looks like what it is: a trio of old softies waxing nostalgically about the era they spent their childhoods in, having a bright, cheerful time, making themselves and their surroundings as pleasant and good-looking as possible:

 

[JarodRussell]

Yeah, cinematrography was one part of that issue.

http://whatthemovie.com/movie/indiana_jones_and_the_kingdom_of_the_crystal_skull/snapshots
http://whatthemovie.com/movie/raiders_of_the_lost_ark/snapshots
http://whatthemovie.com/movie/indiana_jones_and_the_last_crusade/snapshots

I hope that some day they get away from the dreadful orange & teal color timing they've been using lately and return to more natural colors.

 

[Silent_Bob]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Massive flying saucer buried under ancient city for thousands of years, but containing artifacts from myriad past eras - WTF???!!!

My house contains crap from all over England, that doesn't mean i took it with me when i collected it. These aliens could jump between dimensions and resurrect themselves from a bunch of shiny crystal bones, it's not too hard to believe they could leave their ship with a bag, pick something up and take it back to the ship again.

As for my own opinion of the film, it was enjoyable enough as a popcorn flick, and i certainly enjoyed it more than Temple of Doom, but i wouldn't hold it up as a masterpiece of modern cinema nor do i think a sequel is necessary.

 

[EJA]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Massive flying saucer buried under ancient city for thousands of years, but containing artifacts from myriad past eras - WTF???!!!

My impression was that the saucer's occupants were alive and active for a considerable span of time after they landed there, travelling the Earth and influencing ancient civilizations as per standard ancient-astronaut mythology, and bringing back artifacts of the civilizations they mentored. It's not like they died as soon as they crashed. Naturally, they had to be around long enough to influence the cultures that preserved legends of them.

But I don't think the saucer did crash though. And if it did, it was repaired at some point prior to the aliens' skull being stolen, as it was fully functional by the end of the movie. If the saucer could move, the aliens would have, and must have, used it to travel the ancient world.....but it had clearly been buried for a very long time when Indy and co found it, on the scale of thousands of years. It makes absolutely no sense!!

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, technically that's true. But most fans and critics have always regarded these as being "Spielberg movies" more than anything else (in fact most people have to be reminded that Lucas was even involved), and so I would think he would at least want to make sure he didn't let down his own fans, or tarnish a great legacy he helped create.

And surely he's got enough influence that he could have put his foot down if he wanted, but for some reason he didn't.

Actually he resisted the idea for years. Lucas came up with the idea of an Indiana Jones film with aliens in 1993, and Spielberg and Ford both refused to do it. So the project died for seven years, until 2000, when a variety of factors got Spielberg interested in doing Indiana Jones again. Lucas compromised to the point of making the aliens interdimensional instead of extraterrestrial (since Spielberg didn't want to do space aliens again -- though I agree it's a distinction that proved academic). It took years to come up with a script that all three principals could agree on. Spielberg and Ford both liked the Darabont draft and were willing to proceed with it, but Lucas wouldn't bend.

So the film we got is the result of nearly 15 years of haggling and compromise between Lucas and Spielberg. It can hardly be said that Spielberg just rolled over for Lucas's wishes; if he had, the movie would've been made over a dozen years sooner. But ultimately, it was Lucas's ball game. The most Spielberg could've done was walk away and let someone else direct it, someone who would've been even less able to influence Lucas.

But I don't think the saucer did crash though. And if it did, it was repaired at some point prior to the aliens' skull being stolen, as it was fully functional by the end of the movie. If the saucer could move, the aliens would have, and must have, used it to travel the ancient world.....but it had clearly been buried for a very long time when Indy and co found it, on the scale of thousands of years. It makes absolutely no sense!!

I think you're operating under the impression that the saucer was a flying craft, a spaceship. It wasn't; it was a dimension-jumping ship. It was built for travelling from one parallel universe to another, not for flying around a planet's surface. For that, they probably had some kind of auxiliary craft.

 

[Whofan]

Didn't Lucas briefly consider Darabondt to write and direct at least Star Wars episode one? What could have been

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah. Either Darabont or Lawrence Kasdan, or both, doing the prequels would've surely been an improvement.

 

[Gaith]

I think you're operating under the impression that the saucer was a flying craft, a spaceship. It wasn't; it was a dimension-jumping ship.

I didn't see any on-screen evidence for why it couldn't be both.

 

[Christopher]

^My point is that it didn't have to be both. Just because they had a ship, that doesn't mean they had to use it to travel the world or not at all. Because there is such a thing as auxiliary craft. Oceangoing ships have launches and gigs, the Enterprise has shuttlecraft, the Jupiter 2 had the Space Pod, the Serenity had two shuttles and the Mule. So it simply isn't logical to say that just because they had a ship, they "must" have used that ship to travel the world, as if there were no other conceivable alternative.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Yeah I made the point a few pages ago that the alien occupants of the vessel possibility used the ship for dimensional shifting which would be a possible explanation of how they got there in the first place. It was shown to "Fly" or hover when the place imploded after all so it's probably capable of both deep space flight and dimensional shifting.

 

[barnaclelapse]

Of all the complaints people had about the film the notion of Ford being "too old" is the most ridiculous to me.

I hardly ever see that issue brought up. Personally I thought Ford looked cool as hell in the costume again, and was glad to see him bring a bit of his old energy and humor back to the role.

Yeah, I agree. I haven't liked any of Ford's performances since about The Fugitive and was dreading him reprise Indy as a grumpy old codger. But I was pleasantly surprised by how he played Indy in this movie. He was the best thing about it, for me.

See I've enjoyed Ford in even his worst movies.

I heard the "Ford's too old" thing from a few people, and I never really understood why a number should mean anything. If a person has the energy to bring what's so great about them to a role, then I don't see where anyone has any room to complain.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ It wasn't age that bothered me. He's in superb shape for his age and looks a fair bit younger. It's just that for most of the past two decades, he's phoned in a one-dimensional, scowling, gurning, completely unattractive one-note performance. It's hard to believe at times that he's the same man who gave us the ultra-charismatic Han Solo and Indiana Jones. But I liked his Indy from KOTCS just fine.

 

[JiNX-01]

^^^ According to my son, there's a fan theory out there that says everything that happens after the Fridge Ride is Indy -- still trapped in the chill chest -- hallucinating while he slowly succumbs to radiation poisoning.

It very nearly works for me.

I like it!

I like it, too. Makes more sense that what we got.

 

[Xavier_Storma]

I liked this film. Much more than TOD, which simply lacked something IMHO (but I nevertheless consider TOD enjoyable). But nothing will ever beat TLC. Connery's and Ford's scenes are among the best I have ever seen. Their chemistry makes the movie.

 

[RJDiogenes]

It was a shame he didn't want to do a cameo in Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. He was fantastic as Henry Jones Sr.

 

[Xavier_Storma]

Let's hope for Indy 5!!! They could make a prologue just like in Indy 3, which will be set before his character died.
Just a short cameo would make the movie worth watching!

 

[JarodRussell]

It was a shame he didn't want to do a cameo in Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. He was fantastic as Henry Jones Sr.

Be glad. The Darabont script already had a drunk Henry Jones singing.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Really? Why?

 

[barnaclelapse]

It was a shame he didn't want to do a cameo in Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. He was fantastic as Henry Jones Sr.

Be glad. The Darabont script already had a drunk Henry Jones singing.

Actually to be honest I probably would have enjoyed that. Much more than a brief mention and some sad music (which was one of the things in the movie that did in fact bother me--I certainly didn't think KoTCS was perfect).

 

[Forbin]

Hey, Henry Jones drank from the Grail! He should have lived a long, healthy life.