Raiders vs Crystal Skull

[Lonemagpie]

I thought the aliens angle was fairly genius but they over did it. The movie blew its load way too early - how could anything occuring later on possibly compete with an ATOMIC BOMB going off?

The first 25 minutes (up to and including the bomb) feel like the finale to a much better movie. I wish I could have seen the hour or so that came before that.

There's definitely some truth to that as well.

 

[davejames]

Yeah the opening action sequences, military debriefing, and college scenes really hint at a much more interesting and complex movie. And then... it just gradually turns into more and more of a goofy and childish CGI cartoon.

You can really sense how much Spielberg didn't care for the alien storyline, because that's about when the movie starts to go off the rails and not work anymore.

 

[Leonardo T. Dragon]

I went into Skull wanting to love it, even like it. But while Ford gave his best performance in years, some time in, my grin turned into a yawn. It felt at times like watching a computer game. It was like an Indiana Jones film written and directed by someone who has been told about the last 3 films but never seen one. Marion was a simpering wimp, so unlike in Raiders, Ray Winstone was tiresome and John Hurt wasted. Shia was actually okay, IMHO, and credibly cast as Harrison's son (its the nose) but nobody could have saved the Tarzan yell or being smacked in the balls by the treetops.

I could live with the aliens McGuffin and I understand Lucas' reasoning that it should feel like a 50s B-movie rather than a 30s cliffhanger. But it didn't. It felt like a soulless 00s blockbuster. Indy and we deserve more.

This summarizes almost exactly what my reaction was to Crystal Skull in the theatres.

I'm a big fan of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and so the beginning of the movie mostly worked for me. (Except the fridge-- that was just ridiculous.) For the most part, there was reasonable suspension of disbelief (save for the fridge-- you don't survive that with nary a scratch after how beat up we've seen Indy in previous films) and the nods to the other films were a lot of fun. Indy wasn't quite as rough and tumble as he once was, but he was fighting smarter in many cases which fits with his age.

My biggest problem with the film was how it didn't take itself seriously-- especially compared to the other films. In the first two, the situations may be ridiculous at times but the characters always reacted to them as if they were deadly serious. Sure, Indy survives the equivalent of a stagecoach chase in Raiders but he was really worse for wear afterwards. The same goes for Temple of Doom in which he's a bloody mess at the end. Even LC, which started winking at the audience more than the other films felt like Indy was a real person in some very unrealistic situations. (Save for the plane in the mountain tunnel. I hated it when I first saw the film in '89 and I still hate it today.)

The problem with KoTC was that it didn't take itself seriously-- especially near the end. The jungle chase onwards is where the film just falls apart for me, devolving into a series of choreographed action sequences that feel more at home in a video game than in an Indiana Jones film. There's no logic to any of it and all that's missing is simply to have the characters look directly at the audience and wink to let everyone know that this isn't taking itself seriously anymore.

The other problem with KoTC is that the premise really isn't as tight as any of the other films. The skulls required too many expository data dumps to further the plot throughout the entire film. By the time the film arrived at the third act, the audience should have understood the stakes and the premise. However, the film didn't deliver that and instead we're subjected to one last explanation as the too-large cast sits atop an overlook and watches the river fill in the after effects of the aliens' transition back to their "space in between."

KoTC feels more like fanfic than a real Indy film-- or even a real Indy adventure. Heck, the old computer game "Fate of Atlantis" felt more like an Indy adventure than this did.

 

[The Old Mixer]

What a scintillating contribution. Your well-reasoned and articulate post has brought up an issue of key importance to this discussion. Thank you.

However, I would submit that since 3 of the 4 films were originally presented as Indiana Jones and the ______________, that it is not such a big leap to give Raiders a "the", when dropping "Indiana Jones and" for list purposes in a post on a bbs.

I was going for mock indignation...nothing personal, Commodore.

But considering that the film has always been named Raiders of the Lost Ark, leaving the article in when otherwise dropping the rest of the extended packaging title just sounds/reads the awkward and the clunky to me.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

This is what I get for hanging out mostly in the Doctor Who forum these days. Totallyt missed this topic.

As an indyfan who anxiously waited years for another sequel, Crystal Skull was an ENORMOUS disappointment from the moment they landed in Peru. The movie died after that.

There was no feeling of tension at all. They skimped on the feeling of wonder or exploration. They found the damn artifact too easily. Mutt swung in trees with monkeys. Indy didn't outsmart any traps. They overplayed the snake/quicksand scene. They underplayed the big Akator stone maze thingy scene.

Last Crusade steadily built a sense of wonder and anticipation as it approached its climax; Crystal Skull just kinda....puts it before us and says "look at this temple of aliens!" There was nothing for Indy to figure out. The actual climax itself was astoundingly weak and very abrupt.

I keep trying to like the film but every time I watch it I'm just reminded of how disappointing it is once you get to the meat of the story. But the first 30 minutes or so is pretty cool.

 

[Roshi]

I love that movie! Only Indy could have survived that!
I agree about the jungle and flying monkeys scene, though. And they shouldn't have called the aliens "interdimensional" aliens... What the eff?