Indy 4. (SPOILERS) Do not read if you have not seen. by lwaves

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

Indy 4. (SPOILERS) Do not read if you have not seen.

POSTED BY: LWAVES
UPDATED: Monday, June 9, 2008 08:39
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Saturday, May 24, 2008 12:59 AM

Just to add to the warning in title that this post will contain major, unhidden spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
DO NOT read anymore if you haven't seen the film.

In a word I would sum the movie up as 'disappointing'. Not bad, but not great either.

Too much CGI. Even though they promised that they'd limit it I still thought there was more than enough and in some fairly obvious places. Some of it looked great and fitted perfectly, some of it didn't (the fight scenes on the army cars).
And those ferrets or whatever that popped up near the start. Huh? That had to be Lucas putting in cute for cute's sake, but they didn't work and looked stupid.

Where was the humour?
The jokes seemed forced and in an almost full theatre there was barely a snigger.
Ray Winstone was woefully underwritten and a waste of his talent. In fact the character never should have been there. He goes at it alone, everyone else just tags along, he doesn't need a partner. And the whole double/triple agent thing was obvious.

There were no sparks either between Indy and Marion like in Raiders. I never believed that she could have forgiven him so easily for walking out. It felt like a betrayal of her character as someone who is tough and independant.
At least they got the whole 'Mutt's your son' part over quickly once the three of them were together and they didn't drag it out over the whole movie.

And there were a lot of over the top moments as well. Even more so than an Indy film could get away with.
Mutt and baddie woman sword fighting on two moving vehicles, and keeping their balance. WTF? Seem to remember that scene in POTC2 on the wheel.
The flying saucer at the end rising up out of the earth reminded me of The Mummy Returns and X-Files put together.

Okay now for some of the good bits.

It was nice to see the warehouse at the start and this was a good intro to the movie (pity it went downhill from there). The shot of the ark in the broken crate was nice.
The mention of Marcus and Henry Snr was good as well but missing out Sallah was criminal, even if they couldn't get John Rys Davies to appear, they could have mentioned him.
The films look was great. The cinematography made it look like it had been made back then.
The stunts and fight scenes were great and Indy can still get beaten up good and proper.
The whole red ants eating up and dragging off the soldiers scene was great.
I kinda liked the 50's setting and going for a style of movie from that era. Although this made it obvious that it was going to be aliens in the end.

Overall I was left with the feeling that it had been too long. The returning cast was too old and not really able to capture what they once had.
They should have let Indy stay where he was as a trilogy.

Agree or disagree?

"I don't believe in suicide, but if you'd like to try it it might cheer me up to watch."

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Saturday, May 24, 2008 6:46 AM

CALLMEATH

I could have dealt with a lot of the movie's flaws if it wasn't for the godawful ending. Aliens? Really??

I'll admit that some of the action was cool, if a little over the top at times (Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge?!), but it just felt empty and meaningless. And some of the dialog was horrendous. "They're from the space between space"??

Oh, those were prairie dogs, btw.

"Invader's blood marches through my veins like giant radioactive rubber pants. The pants command me! Do not ignore my veins!"

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Saturday, May 24, 2008 9:33 AM

STRANGEBIRD

I'd have to agree with you. Though I guess I can forgive them the alien plot. They did atleast attempt to steer from the outerspace/mars angle. Which was refreshing, though not exactly original.

Yeah. There was WAY too much CGI. If the idiotic vine swinging scene had lasted another five seconds I imagine it would have ruined the entire movie. Which it comes close to as it is. The Prairie Dogs at the start were cute, briefly, then a bit much after we continue to see them during every scene. As was the Atomic test scene... too ironic and felt more like an Indiana Jones themed commercial for a refrigerator company.

I didn't feel ripped off. I enjoyed parts of the movie. Almost as many as I did not. The story was forgivable even if more than half the dialog was not. It's hard to describe exactly how I feel about the movie. All I know is I'm disappointed they felt they couldn't pull it off with more intelligence and grace. Sure, the original movies have a near spoof like quality. They have their share of corny dialog as well. But it was balanced with clever and hilarious action and well choreographed stunt work. As well as believable characters. Even the most over the top villain in any of the other movies is more believable than Indy himself, this time around.

All that said. It's worth seeing atleast once. If you live in another country wait and get an english spoken version on DVD. I have a feeling the dialog would be even worse translated into any other language. I won't be seeing this movie again any time soon. Once was enough. Which is sad since I'm going to see Iron Man again next week. Which I'm even more sad to say had better dialog.

Oh I should also mention I went to see this with my parents. Who were the ones who originally introduced me to Indiana Jones, way back when I was a kid. They loved it. So much so I hardly mentioned to them how disappointed I was. So obviously if you are just expecting a fun, brainless summer blockbuster, that's what you're going to get.

I guess I should also add, if you're going to see a great continuation of the Indiana Jones saga you'll be sorely dissapointed. I really have to admit it's the Star Wars Prequels all over again. It really had nothing to do with the age of the actors and more to do with the lack of effort. Shia Lebouf was actually good in it. Or atleast he seemed so next to all the other lackluster performances.

<--------------------<<<<-~~~~(*)~~~~->>>>-------------------->
"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read" Gaius Plinius Secundus

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Saturday, May 24, 2008 8:22 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

I saw this a day or 2 after seeing Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed in the theater. I had no idea what Expelled was about, and then to have these 2 back to back - what a huge coincidental counterbalance.

Would i be imagining things to wonder if Indy is trying to be the next Natioanl Treasure?

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 4:13 AM

SLOWHAND

I was expecting some of the action to be a little over the top. Indy is like Bond. It happens. But some of it went beyond over the top action and into the realm of cartoony. The scene that really made it feel like a cartoon to me was the scene of Mutt swinging on vines with monkeys to CATCH UP to the fast moving trucks. That was a little much for me.

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 4:40 AM

FEARLESSVENOM2

Maybe i had high hopes about the movie since they had almost 20 years to come up with a script and all we got is this?...
Im from Peru and what really pissed me off was all the goram mistakes they made!
The NAZCA LINES are in NAZCA!, not in CUZCO.
They put mexican music while still in Peru.
The used Mayan looking temples in Peru's jungle.
They used the nazca lines to locate the tomb of Francisco de Orellana....really?, thats the best they can come up with?
Suposedly Pancho Villa taught Indy the Quechua dialec.....for those of you who dont know Pancho Villa is mexican.
I know this is probably meaningless to some people, but i love my country and this is a million dolla movie, they could at least tried to get their facts right.

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 7:03 AM

STEAMER

I probably won't go to see it again. Well, maybe one more time just before it drops from theaters.

Not that it was a bad flick. I really liked it at first, from the brief glimpse of the (Lost) Ark to the painting of Marcus hanging on the wall outside Indy's classroom. Ooooohhhh, and the scene where Indy is sitting at his desk reflecting on the deaths of his father and Marcus....gave me a wistful smile, I'm here to tell you. Plus it had a great many classic Indy hallmarks - the dean visiting Indy's classroom in mid-lecture, Indy dozing off on the plane with his hat over his eyes while we follow the red line on the map, high-speed chases on moving vehicles, religious myths and legends, strange clues scrawled cryptically on paper, the bad guy (or in this case, evil vindictive bitch) meeting a suitably messy end - and then the SNAKES!!!! Oh, that part was a riot. Couldn't help remembering that one Star Wars fanfic I wrote where Han finds a huge snake in his speeder and hollers at Luke about it. ;) I also liked the nod to the Young Indiana Jones series when Indy mentioned his involvement with the Mexican Revolution.

Shia LaBeouf was annoying. Definitely not his father's son - which, by the way, I'd been led to believe wasn't true. His monkey scene was waaaaaay over the top, but at least he wasn't bungling Indy's every move....Loved seeing Marion 'GET YOUR LOUSY HANDS OFF ME!' Ravenwood again though. Oh, and those ants.... *shudders* Bar fireflies and spiders, I cannot STAND any living thing with more than four legs. Remind me to have plenty of grenades handy if I ever find myself in the Amazon jungle.

And then, of course, there's what I really didn't like:

Throughout the movie, I was muttering, Please don't make the aliens for real. Do NOT make the aliens for real, DAMN YOU, GEORGE, DO NOT MAKE THE ALIENS FOR REAL!!!!! Boy, was I disappointed. Pretty much the only thing I liked about the ending was seeing the evil vindictive bitch get hers. Oh, and Indy's 'I've got a bad feeling about this' and his line that the treasure wasn't gold, but knowledge - nice touch. All that glitters is not gold, after all.

So, yeah - I liked most of the movie, but I'm glad I have plenty of Young Indiana Jones DVDs at hand. Those are really good once you get past the post-modern Lucas cheese and appreciate the history they cover.

Serenity has
Grace and class
She also has
A shiny....engine.
FIREFLY

Captain of the New England Browncoats
http://www.myspace.com/nebrowncoats

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 7:16 AM

MIRAMEL

you guys seem to have sumed it up pretty well, i'll just add this-

i waited past the credits in hopes that there would be a quick shot of lucas saying, "just kidding guys. sorry. really, i'm very sorry. it won't happen again".
sadly, no such clip.

still, i wouldn't say i was dissapointed, because i wasn't really expecting anything too wonderful. and as soon as indy survived teh nuke, i took that as an indication that i shouldn't worry too much about reality for the rest of the movie.

~~~~
98% of teens have smoked pot, if you are one of the 2% that haven't, copy this into your signature
~~
Fear is the Mind Killer
~~~~

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 7:27 AM

ADAMWANKENOBI

SPOILER:

I hated the wedding scene at the end. I think the filmmakers should have left the issue ambiguous. I think a better ending would have been if they had shown Indy and co. walking down off the mountain the next morning. It would have given the film that "the continuing adventures" feel that TOD and LC have.

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 3:41 PM

STORYMARK

Quote:
Originally posted by fearlessvenom2:
Maybe i had high hopes about the movie since they had almost 20 years to come up with a script and all we got is this?...
Im from Peru and what really pissed me off was all the goram mistakes they made!
The NAZCA LINES are in NAZCA!, not in CUZCO.
They put mexican music while still in Peru.
The used Mayan looking temples in Peru's jungle.
They used the nazca lines to locate the tomb of Francisco de Orellana....really?, thats the best they can come up with?
Suposedly Pancho Villa taught Indy the Quechua dialec.....for those of you who dont know Pancho Villa is mexican.
I know this is probably meaningless to some people, but i love my country and this is a million dolla movie, they could at least tried to get their facts right.

All good points, and stuff I wouldn't have caught myself - except one.

You missed something on the Quechua / Pancho Villa bit, he didn't say he learned it from Villa, he said that a couple of guys who rode with Villa spoke it, and he picked it up from them. This was actually from one of the episodes of Young Indy.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Sunday, May 25, 2008 6:56 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Mutt was cutting across the jungle, the trucks were on a path going away from his path, then acute turn towards their juncture, so i didn't see that as bieng as bad.
The nuke detonation, fridge flying (the only fridge to survive????) was ridiculous. he should have been stuck inside and suffocated.

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Monday, May 26, 2008 3:21 AM

RAINSTICK

was it just me, or did anyone else think that crystal skull looked poor? it looked like some art deco crap people without a sense of tast put on their coffee tables.
i think it would have been better to have some other mystery and not the crystal skulls as the theme of the fourth indiana jones instalment. both the grail and the ark are deeply rooted in mythology and though i don't claim them to have ever existed, they appear more real than the whole crystal skull idea. the mitchell-hedges skull that is referenced in the film has been proved to originate from the 19th century not pre-Colombian america, for example. so not only is myth surrounding crystal skulls very young, it is also very weak.
well, aliens is an altogether different matter, but i think many more believe in UFOs and aliens than in crystal skulls.
honestly, george and steve, if you were so eager about making a fourth film, was this the best you could come up with?

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Monday, May 26, 2008 4:22 AM

PIRATECAT

I agree. You summed it up lwaves in a nutshell. All here have good points. Fearlessvenom right on the mistakes. Now this should have been made ten years ago. This is a good movie better than the second Indy. I did not like Mac in it. Its not chemistry they are old. Their energy level is gone. Indy seemed winded just talking. Now you know why old people drive so slow. I felt this movie had a disney feel to it. Maybe because Lucas is of the boomer gen that he gave it that Americana fifties family feel. Blue hairs luved it. With El Dorado already in National Treasure it seemed similar story line. Now should we end the series or go like the Bond films replacing the lead every so often.

"Battle of Serenity, Mal. Besides Zoe here, how many-" "I'm talkin at you! How many men in your platoon came out of their alive".

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Monday, May 26, 2008 4:39 AM

PIRATECAT

Skulls did look cheezy. The ufo tie in is with the skulls and ancient astronaut theory. Hey but how about the star wars nod with the trucks side by side sword fighting like in Return of the Jedi.

"Battle of Serenity, Mal. Besides Zoe here, how many-" "I'm talkin at you! How many men in your platoon came out of their alive".

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Friday, June 6, 2008 6:15 PM

CHARLIEBZ

I liked the nods to 1941 and American Grafitti.

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Monday, June 9, 2008 8:39 AM

CRUITHNE3753

Flash forward to 1977, at a top secret installation near Devil's Tower, Wyoming...

The huge alien mothership has just touched down. Its enormous hatch opens, and a dazzling light issues forth. Hundreds of human figures wander out to meet the awaiting reception. They are returning abductees.

Amongst them, a woman with dark bobbed hair. She is attractive in a severe sort of way.

One of the clipboard-wielding members of the team nervously approaches her.

She gives her name.

"Dr Irina Spalko, KGB."

I AM THE KING OF RETCON!

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