Those voting for "The Crystal Skull" I'm going to make it my life's goal to track all of you down and smack you hard and then stuff you in a refrigerator.
Temple of Doom versus Crystal Skull
- Thread starter Canadave
- Start date
But then they'll survive the nuclear holocaust.
Indy's timeline goes as follows:
Raiders - 1936
Temple - 1935
Crusade - 1938
KotCS - 1957
For me there are two main differences:
As ridiculous as much of Temple is, it still feels grounded somewhat in the real world. The setting is dark and dank and gritty, and the action sequences are all done practically with real stuntmen who are clearly sweating their asses off on real sets or under the real sun. All of which helps a LOT to offset the slightly cartoonish action and spectacle of the movie (which was frankly common to all 80s action movies anyway).
Meanwhile most of Crystal Skull looks like it was shot in a freakin soundstage in LA, with most of the locations put in later with ridiculous amounts of CGI. Frankly it looks like the crew barely went out on location at ALL, which makes the whole movie feel as artificial as The Mummy Returns.
And again, the other big difference for me is the dialogue and character banter. People have been quoting Temple of Doom for YEARS, with all it's sharp and clever lines (yes, even from Willie), while I sat watching Crystal Skull and barely heard anything worth remembering. The characters interaction was about as dull and lifeless as that in the SW prequels.
Well, there you go. If he goes to Shanghai in 1937 (we don't want to overtax Dr. Jones, he does have classes to teach and papers to publish), he winds up in the middle of a warzone.
Of course, if a Chinese setting is desired this is rather easily changed to Hong Kong, which of course did not fall under attack till 1941.
I also sort of like the idea offered above that it was to foreclose any speculation about what happened to Marion. Even if Crusade didn't seem to care.
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It won't be a lead-lined fridge with an inertial damper in it.
Temple is boring. Crystal Skull is insane, but entertaining and tries some new stuff.
And if you want to update the Indy formula to the 50s, you have to follow in the B-movie pattern, which in the 50s was all about aliens.
The same is true in the climactic scene of Raiders. Unless Indy warning Marion not to look counts as "driving the plot."
He doesn't even get to decide who keeps the Ark, or where it ends up. Sheesh.
And if you want to update the Indy formula to the 50s, you have to follow in the B-movie pattern, which in the 50s was all about aliens.
The same is true in the climactic scene of Raiders. Unless Indy warning Marion not to look counts as "driving the plot."
He doesn't even get to decide who keeps the Ark, or where it ends up. Sheesh.
Wanting to do aliens, ala 50s B-movies, is fine. But do it right, dammit. Shia's stupid Tarzan scene, the awwwing googly-eyed groundhogs, the insipid on-top-of-the-speeding-jeeps sword fight and the retarded multip,e-waterfall scenes? Not what I think of when I think of 50s alien-based B-Movies.
Watch some, good, classic episodes of MST3K to get some good 50s alien movies cheese. Not a high-speed chase in a jungle in sight.
Watch some, good, classic episodes of MST3K to get some good 50s alien movies cheese. Not a high-speed chase in a jungle in sight.
^None of those films probably had the budget for a high-speed jungle chase.
However, you've got to love all the face-melting scenes in those 1930s serials.
Rett Mikhal
Captain
I think everyone can agree if you join the beginning first hour of crystal skull to the last 15 minutes of Temple of Doom you have a solid movie.
Crystal Skull wins this one. I literally want to beat myself to death whenever I hear Short Round and that chick screaming. The only scene I don't is when she's flipping out whilst Indy and Short Round play cards, completely apathetic to her... because that's how we in the audience felt!
Yeah the aliens were pretty dumb (not nearly as dumb as the all-CGI Shia LeBoouf tarzan swing), but I liked the Russian officers and the crazy dude. Harrison was still strong as Indy.
I think I've only ever seen either movie once, however.
Crystal Skull wins this one. I literally want to beat myself to death whenever I hear Short Round and that chick screaming. The only scene I don't is when she's flipping out whilst Indy and Short Round play cards, completely apathetic to her... because that's how we in the audience felt!
Yeah the aliens were pretty dumb (not nearly as dumb as the all-CGI Shia LeBoouf tarzan swing), but I liked the Russian officers and the crazy dude. Harrison was still strong as Indy.
I think I've only ever seen either movie once, however.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
How is this even a question?
KOCS was bloody awful. End of story.
KOCS was bloody awful. End of story.
For the win!
Discussion like this makes the internet fun. Someone always pulls out a logic, in movie reason, to shoot down the Skull haters issues (whether they accept the truth is another matter).
Was Skull perfect, no but it was just as fun. However it does not deserve all this bashing due to biased nostalgic factors for the other three.
I actually liked the interdimensional space alien concept in Skulls. I'm a believer in what is called the ancient astronaut theory in real life and had hoped that an Indy movie would address it. What I absolutely hated about Skulls, aside from the refrigerator of course, was the ridiculous and cartoony CGI action that went on for way too long. I could say the same about most action movies now days. Speilberg and Lucas should challege themselves and make the next Indy movie only using technology that was available to them in the 1980's.
Well, with these two choices, you can hardly avoid that.
Capshaw was pretty insufferably annoying in ToD (a prequel movie I'll remind you) I mean you just want Indy to turn to her and say, "Listen the only reason why you're still conscious is because I don't feel like carrying you. Now shut the hell up!"
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Well, with these two choices, you can hardly avoid that.
Yeah, no matter what you do, you've got a bad movie.
