Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - *SPOILERS WARNING*

This one - also on AICN - is rather more positive. Well, it's actually A LOT more positive:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36678

Nevertheless, Martijn speaks wisely: probably best to kick down our expectations a notch or two. Better to be positively surprised than negatively.

Cate Blanchet with the sword in the face.... I don't know if it's a good way to put Hair in his face or not..Errol Flyn anyone?

:P

After some scary moments for the GGI, now i really think this movie is going to be GREAT!

I can't wait 2 weeks!

Temple of the Doom , specially for the cinematography and Ford Muscles..seems more a Bruckheimer production than a Lucas one..

I agree with most of what you said there, Mogans. However, I will say that the highlight of the Last Crusade script is the dialogue between Henry Sr. and Henry Jr. It shows us a different side of Indiana Jones. And the " Indiana... let it go!" line gives me chills. I think it really has a personal affect on me because I for some reason think of me and my father's relationship. Now, it doesn't mirror Indiana and Henry Sr's... we are very, VERY close... but just the way Henry Sr. says "Indiana" there is some sort of acceptance in his voice... that as a Dad he is very proud of his son so much that he is willing to call him, FINALLY, by the name that he has adopted. But then again, maybe it was just a way to get Indy's attention.

And then I think about me and my son. It's amazing how watching these films... especially Temple of Doom and Last Crusade AFTER having a child greatly affect my emotions. For example, when Short Round gives Indy his hat and whip after saving Willie and Shorty says" Indy, I love you." I start to well up. And it doesn't help that Williams' slow, low string version of the Indy theme is playing at the same time.

DAMN YOU, JOHN WILLIAMS! WHY ARE YOU SOOOOO GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO!!!

Anyway, it was only AFTER having my little guy did I get that feeling. Strange, huh?

Anyway, back to Temple of Doom kicking some serious ass over Last Crusade. What I absolutely adore about Temple is that Lucas and Spielberg made what the Empire Strikes Back is to Star Wars... sort of. While Empire is the best of the original trilogy Raiders is still the finest film of THAT franchise. However, Temple of Doom is something COMPLETE different. It's not a retread of Raiders, which unfortunately Last Crusade is. It's Indiana Jones goes to hell, and I love EVERY minute of it. I love the fact that we get an anti-Marion... a whiny, sniveling, damsel in distress, perfectly portrayed by Kate Capshaw, which is another element found in every Saturday matinée serial. The writing is FANTASTIC (just watch the opening scene with Lao and Indy - fast paced and brilliantly written dialogue) and the action - especially the final 30 minutes - is like NOTHING I've ever seen before. And Indy on the bridge surrounded by bad guys and nowhere to go... talk about intense. How is Indy going to get out of this jam?

"Hang on lady, we going for a ride"
"Oh my God... Oh My God... is he nuts?"
"He no nuts... he's crazy!"

Fooking awesome stuff right there!

And then you have the score. Easily one of Williams' greatest accomplishments. Again, like Empire he takes the score in a whole new direction.

I love everything about Temple of Doom.

-Erik-

PS - Spielberg always apologizes for Temple of Doom and I wish he wouldn't. He made a spectacular film one that you should never have to apologize for.

Just to let you know that I DON'T have to have to relate to a personal experience for the scene to work either. I loved both scenes (Shorty and Indy - Henry and Indy) well before I had Liam but now the emotional experience has intensified do to the fact that I do have Liam.

I love Short Round. I've never had a problem with him. And it seems that you are letting your personal preferences ruin your appreciation of Shorty... which is fine. I just think there is a wonderful chemistry between Indy and Shorty which is perfectly displayed during the camp fire card game. Shorty thinks of Indy as his Dad so when Indy slugs him Shorty is caught off guard. Imagine your father doing the same thing to you. So, when the cautious Shorty gives Indy his trust hat and whip back and the two hug, Shorty knows that Indy does still love him and that it was the blood of Kali that really turned him evil. It wasn't Indy's fault. And Indy is appreciative that Shorty helped turn him from the dark side. I have a soft spot for stuff like that and I don't think it's cheesy whatsoever.

-Erik-

I'm pretty much with you on everything here, Erik, even though - like Martijn - there are some of the aspects I cannot relate to on a personal level, not having kids myself (I *do* have five nieces, though, so I'm not completely unrelated to how it is to love a child absolutely unconditionally).

As for Capshaw, I see your point in saying that she's a nice antithesis to Marion. I just think they overdid it slightly, but that's a matter of taste. You're certainly right in saying that her character harks back to the serials, so in that respect I completely agree.

As for Shorty, I'm definitely divided on the issue. I think there are some genuinely good scenes between him and Indy - the campfire card game is an excellent example - but at other times he just makes me cringe. Here, I probably feel more like Martijn - child actors need to do a helluva job to not annoy me a lot of the time. And although Ke Huy Quan is definitely not the worst of the lot (I'd save that dubious honor for one Jake Lloyd), there are cringe-inducing moments for me in TOD as well.

Where I completely agree, however, is in the tone of the film. "Indiana Jones goes to hell" is a perfect description for Temple of Doom, and that's also why I think it's so stupid that Spielberg feels he needs to "apologize" for it. Just plain dumb in my opinion.

Last Crusade definitely felt like a rehash of Raiders to me, too. And while I agree that there definitely are some fine moments between Ford and Connery, the more mature tone of the film which this relationship inserts in the movie is exactly where I start tuning out. Indiana Jones is about adventure. If people want drama, I'm sure Dr. Tyree has some excellent examples for y'all

The "Let it go, Indiana"-line is a highlight of the relationship between Indy and Henry Sr. in the film, and the poignancy of that moment even gets to me, so it's not like I loathe Last Crusade. I guess I'd just as soon have seen Indiana Jones go on another adventure all of his own.

Furthermore, from beginning to end, I have to say that Temple of Doom is better paced than Last Crusade, and I definitely do not agree with you, Martijn, that the sense of closure is necessarily better in Last Crusade than in Temple of Doom. I'm curious as to what exactly you're getting at here. Pacing-wise, Temple of Doom keeps things rolling constantly - as did Raiders - while there are moments in Last Crusade where I feel things are dragging.

And, as Erik said, Temple of Doom is just great when it comes to the action set-pieces. Raiders[b] had the Desert Chase, [b]Temple of Doom the bridge and the Mine Car Chase. What did Last Crusade have to rival any of these? Surely not the second Desert Chase. If anything it'd have to be the Venice Boat Chase which, unfortunately, comes too early in the picture for dramatic satisfaction. And I have to say that when it comes to cringe-inducing moments, absolutely nothing tops the "Ohmygod, Indy's dead"-moment in Last Crusade. That one's just plain embarassing.

Finally, I also have to say that - for me - Last Crusade is the one of the three original films which is most caricatured. Particularly when it comes to the villains. Sure, the Nazis were stereotype cardboard cut-outs in Raiders, too, but Colonel Vogel is just a bit over the top for me (although I have a fondness for the "This is how we say goodbye in Germany, Dr. Jones"-line ). In this respect the far more nuanced "is she good? is she bad?"-thing with the female lead in Last Crusade doesn't sit well with me either. I mean - just pick what you want: caricature or deeper characters.

Oh well, I could go on ranting about this forever and ever.. At the end of the day, there's no doubt I love all three of the Indy-films dearly - but I guess I'm just in the minority when it comes to the way most of us rate the three films.

The best part of TOD is the opening - very James Bond-ish. The middle part drags on. It takes 50 minutes to even get to the bug tunnel, and then we've got to put up with the whole drinking of the blood thing that puts Indy in that trance. Until we get to ''We're going home....all of us'' it's just lame.

You'll see this before me, make sure you report your opinion here.

That could be pretty cool! Jungles tend to have large rivers with a variety of unpleasant animals in them (even snakes)

There's another trailer up on www.indianajones.com

Only a few seconds of new footage, but not much more if you've seen the other trailers.

And for those of you who may not usually look, I had a crack at a couple of Crystal Skull covers over in the custom cover thread.

I also watched the Jack Black-Lord Of The Rings ( check out Related Videos )......I'm scarred!

A 3 behind the scenes videos at IESB.net

http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=co … mp;id=1036

-Erik-

Check out the last 4-5 pages of NOW PLAYING thread mate.

O.M.G

Just brought up Indiana Jones in a conversation during lunch, and two of my workmates have NEVER seen an Indiana Jones film. One asked ''What are they about?''. I was actually speechless...