I really want to say that there is a passage in the novelization that dealt with the submarine voyage, but I haven't read the novelization since long before I first got the movie on video tape.
Indiana Jones franchise (movies, books, comics, games)
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In an appropriately timed article, Steven Spielberg names Temple of Doom as his least favorite.
He apparently never pins down why, but didn't he meet his future wife doing that movie...?
He apparently never pins down why, but didn't he meet his future wife doing that movie...?
The IGN article I read this morning give his specific reasons, but they do from an old interview. It sounds like his feelings haven't changed, so this probably still applies.
I liked Temple of Doom giving Indy a woman to rescue and protect from danger all the time. It was almost like Romancing the Stone - wasn't it - in that regard. But they did make Willie Scott scream too much, which I completely blame Stephen Spielberg, for. He's got this thing for putting in annoying character traits in his characters in all his movies. But she was very beautiful, obviously, and very glamorous, which really added to here appeal and saved the movie for me, just on that level. Otherwise, I hated the whole dinner sequence, except when Willie wanted to puke in Short Round's hat. And I loved the bedroom scenes with Willie and Indy, later on. The rest of the movie was just "OK." It doesn't flat out suck, but it lacks much of the passion that Raiders had going for it and which made it so remarkable for being an action movie, for the most part.
I don't really see why Sallah or Professor Jones Sr. are so popular ...
Raiders was great but Temple is my favorite, loved the (unusual but effective) combination of darkness and cartoony comedy and also the kind of action and pacing thereof it had.
From her being Germanic, there not being another villain introduced yet, and the expectation that once Connery appeared he, in himself and in interacting with Ford, would dominate the screen I thought that was a pretty expected twist. I thought a lot of the bickering brought Jones down.
Spoilers for 4
Raiders was great but Temple is my favorite, loved the (unusual but effective) combination of darkness and cartoony comedy and also the kind of action and pacing thereof it had.
From her being Germanic, there not being another villain introduced yet, and the expectation that once Connery appeared he, in himself and in interacting with Ford, would dominate the screen I thought that was a pretty expected twist. I thought a lot of the bickering brought Jones down.
Spoilers for 4
Crystal Skull wasn't bad but I think Ford was looking too old and some of his interactions with Mutt and Marion were a little too standard (and Marion being the mother and Indy the father also a little too predictable). Although the interactions and chemistry between Indy and Marion were a highlight, you did believe he regretted not having stayed with her.
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Same for me...
Despite Indy 4 having the Nuke Fridge scene, horrible CGI Monkey/Mutt scene and aliens (though aliens aren't really that much of a stretch after a box from hell full of evil spirits and the holy grail) Temple of Doom is still the worse Indy film. The prequel setting doesn't help for starts, it lacks the charm of Indy 1 & 3 in particular. The kid is annoying too
and Willie is a weak character compared to Marion.
Hey now, that's a great bit. It's a whole diary full of clues and theories. He might think some will be more important but he has no way of knowing what clues he will actually be using decades later. "I wrote them down in my diary so I wouldn't HAVE to remember!" Remember how important the exact wording of the first clue was... "Only the penitent man will pass". If he'd accidentally subbed anything else in for "penitent" Indy would be headless.
Just watched Crystal Skull for the third or fourth time and I still enjoyed it quite a bit. While it have some issues, it still comes in third behind The Final Crusade for me.
I really liked all of the stuff with the Crystal Skull and the aliens, I really don't see where they are any worse than the Ark or the Grail.
Cate Blanchett is a good villain as Col. Dr. Spalko.
Mac was a pretty good supporting villain too.
Marion's return and the relationship between her Indy was a lot of fun.
I really didn't have any problems with Mutt as a sidekick, I thought his relationship with Indy was pretty good. I love Indy's reaction when he finds out he's his son, and the whole exchange about Mutt going back to school.
Pretty much everything up until the fridge is great, I loved getting to revisit the warehouse from Raiders, and I got a big kick out of the Ark's cameo. The stuff with Indy running around in the fake town about to be nuked is pretty fun. I will admit him surviving a nuclear bomb in a fridge is ridiculous, but I don't think it's anywhere near enough to ruin the whole two hour movie.
I'd also put the whole chase through the jungle right up there with the best action scenes in the series, if we just ignore the monkeys.
I pretty much the everything from the time they go through the waterfall to the end is spectacular IMO, and I'd put it right up there with anything else in the series.
Have any of the tie ins ever explored Indy and Marion's original relationship? That seems like the perfect kind of thing to fill in with a book, or comic.
I would love to get some stories filling in the years between TLC and TKotCS, we got a ton of hints about all sorts of adventures.
I really liked all of the stuff with the Crystal Skull and the aliens, I really don't see where they are any worse than the Ark or the Grail.
Cate Blanchett is a good villain as Col. Dr. Spalko.
Mac was a pretty good supporting villain too.
Marion's return and the relationship between her Indy was a lot of fun.
I really didn't have any problems with Mutt as a sidekick, I thought his relationship with Indy was pretty good. I love Indy's reaction when he finds out he's his son, and the whole exchange about Mutt going back to school.
Pretty much everything up until the fridge is great, I loved getting to revisit the warehouse from Raiders, and I got a big kick out of the Ark's cameo. The stuff with Indy running around in the fake town about to be nuked is pretty fun. I will admit him surviving a nuclear bomb in a fridge is ridiculous, but I don't think it's anywhere near enough to ruin the whole two hour movie.
I'd also put the whole chase through the jungle right up there with the best action scenes in the series, if we just ignore the monkeys.
I pretty much the everything from the time they go through the waterfall to the end is spectacular IMO, and I'd put it right up there with anything else in the series.
Have any of the tie ins ever explored Indy and Marion's original relationship? That seems like the perfect kind of thing to fill in with a book, or comic.
I would love to get some stories filling in the years between TLC and TKotCS, we got a ton of hints about all sorts of adventures.
I rewatched Crystal Skull a few months ago. The announcement of the fifth film made me realize that I hadn't seen KotCS since its opening weekend, so I bought it cheaply on DVD and watched it. It was just as enjoyable as I remembered it. Sure, the plot is derivative (it's broadly a remake of The Last Crusade with the characters scrambled), but it never bored me or annoyed me.
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