Reactions to Indiana Jones IV (Spoilers)

[JME2]

My friends and I saw it on Friday while taking a break from the San Jose Fanime convention. As I was cosplaying as Indy, my costume actually got me a free bag of popcorn from the concession stand, which I took to be a good omen. So, my thoughts:

* Indy: Ford delivers and it's great to have him back.

* The Warehouse: I was cackling at the Ark's cameo. Glad to see they brought the original prop out of the Lucasfilm archives.

* Mutt: No problems with laBeaouf.

* Marion: Eh, mixed. On one hand, it's great to have her back. On the other hand, the reunion could have been played a lot better.

* Spalko and the Communists: Really dissapointed on both fronts here. It wasn't a rehash of the Nazis as I was afraid it was going to be, but they came off much the same way the Thugees did, ie too cartoonish. Blanchett was also terrible as Spalko; I was expecting and lot more.

* The Score: While the Star Wars prequels started it, this film is a final confirmation for me that John Williams needs to throw in the towel. I'm sorry, but he hit his peak before the end of the 80's and almost everything he's done since has been flat. A lot of it felt out of place at points (ex. the Grail Knight theme after the ship takes off). Oh well, at least we cheered at the Raiders March.

* The Skull and the Aliens: Eh, kinda hokey and even four days later, I'm still not fully sold on it. It's just that after three films involving the paranormal, it's just...too weird for me.

So, in conclusion, not as weak as Temple, but Last Crusade still regins supreme for me.

3/5

[SylasGaunt]

They had a machine gun on the front of their amphibious jeep. Just get someone onto the hood and splatter the bitch across the back of her vehicle.

I just got back from seeing it again and in those instances:

Duck 1- Marion and Mutt. Marion is driving and so can't use the MG, Mutt is a teenager who's probably never fired a gun in his life.. do we really want to put him behind the thing?

Duck 2- Indy, Random Russian, Mac, Ox- Indy's driving, Random Russian sure as hell won't do it and was unconscious anyway, Mac's not really on their side, and Ox is off in lala land.

So who's going to use the thing?

[Skylon]

I really think this should be the last one.

The last moment was a perfect way for Indy to take his final bow; snatching the hat away from Mutt. There'll be other heroes to grace the screen (maybe even Mutt in his own films), but there'll be only one Indiana Jones, and he's Harrison Ford damnit.

I thought it was fun, in a retro-way. I rank it above Temple of Doom (just remember Willie Scott's screaming and you'll know why), but below Raiders and Last Crusade.

[Coyote]

Willie's screaming and that obnoxious Short Round. Feh.

Well, we all know what the next Indiana Jones ride will consist of at the studio-- something about a amphib jeep going through some waterfalls... heh.

I'd be willing to see LeBeouf in a follow-on movie, if it comes to that-- hopefully they let him flesh out an Indy-like character without trying to be an Indy copy, if you know what I mean.

[Drooling Iguana]

The last moment was a perfect way for Indy to take his final bow; snatching the hat away from Mutt. There'll be other heroes to grace the screen (maybe even Mutt in his own films), but there'll be only one Indiana Jones, and he's Harrison Ford damnit.

There were two, actually, but River Phoenix is dead.

[Pelranius]

I felt a bit underwhelmed to the end, but I still think that it can hold its own with the other films.

Perhaps Spalko "ascended" into another dimension or something? It seems only fitting that the aliens grant her wish in its entirety and at the point, it seemed to me that she was no longer human, and her last moments was realizing what was happening to her.

[Sidewinder]

I'd be willing to see LeBeouf in a follow-on movie, if it comes to that-- hopefully they let him flesh out an Indy-like character without trying to be an Indy copy, if you know what I mean.

So you want LaBeouf to be like Harrison Ford the way Daniel Craig was like Sean Connery, not the way Jonathan Archer was a copy of James T. Kirk? That won't be easy; Ford's shoes are huge compared to Shatner's, and he has the box office records to prove it.

[SylasGaunt]

I felt a bit underwhelmed to the end, but I still think that it can hold its own with the other films.

Perhaps Spalko "ascended" into another dimension or something? It seems only fitting that the aliens grant her wish in its entirety and at the point, it seemed to me that she was no longer human, and her last moments was realizing what was happening to her.

It seemed a bit screamy and 'Oh my Lenin my eyes are on fire!' to be an ascension kinda thing.

[Coyote]

I'd be willing to see LeBeouf in a follow-on movie, if it comes to that-- hopefully they let him flesh out an Indy-like character without trying to be an Indy copy, if you know what I mean.

So you want LaBeouf to be like Harrison Ford the way Daniel Craig was like Sean Connery, not the way Jonathan Archer was a copy of James T. Kirk? That won't be easy; Ford's shoes are huge compared to Shatner's, and he has the box office records to prove it.

Well, I mean there'd be a continuation rather than an attempt to pave over with something new. For example, there has now been numerous different actors all playing James Bond-- same character, same name, etc. That wouldn't work, I think, for precisely the reasons you point out.

But having LeBeouf (or someone else) play Indy's son, and allow him to be a different character while following in the same mould, I think that would be worth a look. If the writers, directors, etc are honest, they'll confront the fact "hey, this is a different guy, he's junior-league compared to Indy, he screws up and makes dumb mistakes, etc" instead of trying to immediately pick up where the series left off with an equally competent, dashing hero.

I admit up front it'd be a hell of a challenge, but there's a lot of mysteries, legends and fodder to work with for an archaeologist in the 50's and 60's.

Years from now, I'd also like to see a good and qualified actor try to portray the World War Two events of Indiana Jones as an OSS Colonel fighting the Japanese... but that'd be down the road.

[Balthea]

I thought it was good. Definitely would rank it third among the movies, beating out Temple of Doom obviously.

I agree. Way better then Temple of Doom, and not bad compared to the original one and three.

This movie had everything I wanted though. Indy getting the hot babe, punching some guy a lot, using his incredible and vast knowledge, and a snake. XD

[JME2]

I just wanted to add clarification on this earlier point:

(ex. the Grail Knight theme after the ship takes off). Oh well, at least we cheered at the Raiders March.

I know that this cue also represents a theme of illumination throughout TLC and understand why it made its way in KoTCS; I just tend to associate it more with the Grail Knight.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

I can't say I liked it entirely. It felt like there too many plot points and shifts in tone, as if the script was pieced together from several early drafts. Irina was too one-note and didn't have enough screen time to be an effective villain, and the comic relief moments felt out of place (A student asking Indy about an ancient civilization as he skids off of a motorcycle in the middle of a library is funny in concept, but is jarring after Indy and Mutt spent the last few minutes trying to escape the Communists)

Besides that, it had everything I wanted in a new Indiana Jones movie (new characters, Indiana Jones as a humble archeology professor, nods to the first three films, homages to old B-movies, and so on). I give it 3 stars out of 4.5

[LadyTevar]

(A student asking Indy about an ancient civilization as he skids off of a motorcycle in the middle of a library is funny in concept, but is jarring after Indy and Mutt spent the last few minutes trying to escape the Communists)

I actually found that highly amusing.

[Knife]

Meh, watched it a couple days ago now. I agree with those that say the first half or even two thirds of the movie is great and the last bit failed miserably to wrap it up and or make the movie work.

I didn't think the Commies worked as a bad guy either. More like plot device and set up for comedic relief. I was totally disappointed with the big tuff commie too, no where near the tough Nazi plane mechanic. Hell even the big bad Thuggee.

And why didn't Indiana get to shoot the chick with the sword after she waved it around some?

That said, the first half was fun in the Last Crusade sense, the ending just didn't fit nor did it work for me. More in the vein of the Mummy or National Treasure rather than Indiana Jones.

[Superman]

(A student asking Indy about an ancient civilization as he skids off of a motorcycle in the middle of a library is funny in concept, but is jarring after Indy and Mutt spent the last few minutes trying to escape the Communists)

I actually found that highly amusing.

It wasn't much different than Indy going into an in depth explanation about the difference between quicksand and "dry quicksand," or whatever he called it. It was funny enough, even if completely out of place.

To me, the main problem with this movie was the CGI overkill. Ever since Episode 1, I really think that Lucas has jumped the shark. While he's not exactly bad like M. Knight Shymalomadingdong is, his over reliance on CGI and mediocre-to-bad scripts are definitely lowering him a few notches... at least in my book. It's like someone needs to explain to him that he doesn't need to put scenes into all his movies that are really nothing more than upcoming attractions at Disneyland or Universal Studios. Ah well, I'm sure we can all look forward to a CGI remake of "Howard the Duck" at some point.

[weemadando]

Does anyone else remember all the promises from Lucas and Spielberg about a return to physical FX?

Yeah. And the movie starts with a fucking CG prairie dog, CG dirt and a CG background.

Fucking hell.

[Superman]

Does anyone else remember all the promises from Lucas and Spielberg about a return to physical FX?

No, when was that?

[weemadando]

I can't remember for sure, but I'm sure I've read stuff on it (probably in Empire) that they had been talking up how they weren't going to rely on CG for the new Indy film...

[Shroom Man 777]

George Lucas is an asshole. What the fuck is with him and making peoples eyeballs explode?!

[Superman]

George Lucas is an asshole. What the fuck is with him and making peoples eyeballs explode?!

I dunno man, but I DO know that you liked both "Speed Racer" and, possibly the crappiest move ever, "Armageddon." I'm sure you mean well, but your taste in movies is... well... horrible.

I kinda like eyes exploding...

[Shroom Man 777]

Well, they ARE awesome, man. Speed Racer, Armageddon, and eyeballs exploding.

General Grevious was awesome. Did you know that the awesomest thing he said in ROTS, aside from "You LOSE, General Kenobi!" was "Activate RAY SHIELDS!!!" ?

ACTIVATE RAY SHIELDS!

And come ON, what the HELL is wrong with my taste in movies? Armageddon is pure guilty pleasure. Like Macho Bullshit in Space!

[Anguirus]

Oh please, the CG prairie dogs were obviously just to tweak people and set a comedic tone. The stunts looked just as good as they ever have, and if they used CG for any of them (not counting backgrounds and wire removal) then they did it in he right, non-obvious way.

[JME2]

Well, they ARE awesome, man. Speed Racer, Armageddon, and eyeballs exploding.

General Grevious was awesome. Did you know that the awesomest thing he said in ROTS, aside from "You LOSE, General Kenobi!" was "Activate RAY SHIELDS!!!" ?

Eh, what about, "You fool! I've been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku!"

[andrewgpaul]

I enjoyed it. The 'aliens' thing did grate on me, but for the life of me, I couldn't say why. Dimension-hopping aliens are somehow sillier than the power of the Ark of the Covenant or the Breath, Word and Path of God?

A good point was made elsewhere that, as well as updating the time of the film, they also updated the inspiration, too; the original three were based on 30s pulp stories; plucky American hero fights off supernatural villains. This new one was based on 50s sci-fi B-movies; PLucky American hero fights off space aliens.

Perhaps they got Mutt's bike back? Plenty of time after the aliens left. The things that grated on me were the flying refirgerator. I can accept hiding in it from a nuclear blast, but it flying hundreds of feet through the air was a bit OTT. That and the aliens all combining into one being at the end. No good reason why that bugs me, but it does.

[Darth Servo]

OK, purely subjective opinion here and it might have a bit to do with recent movie-going experience, maybe it was the 'literally solving a riddle' bit, but for some reason, I felt like I was watching another 'National Treasure' film rather than an Indy film.