Reactions to Indiana Jones IV (Spoilers)

[Darth Servo]

After this film, I wouldn't be surprised if they make a 5th Indy film, where Scientology is real and Indy has to find an artifact to defeat Xenu.

[Oskuro]

It's like having a film in which Thor fights Ra, how do they coexist without some interesting backstory?

Sounds familiar..... very familiar..... Stargate?

[Gandalf]

It's like having a film in which Thor fights Ra, how do they coexist without some interesting backstory?

Sounds familiar..... very familiar..... Stargate?

And there's a lot of backstory, isn't there?

[Pint0 Xtreme]

Well, I finally watched Indiana Jones. And by that, I mean all of them for the first time consecutively. I honestly didn't have such a big problem with the aliens. Maybe it's because watching movies about the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail in 2008 gave about the same ridiculous impression as the whole alien bit. While the Crystal Skull had new CG elements and all that, it still felt very much like an Indy film even after watching the first three just before going to see the movie. I was pleasantly surprised at how much the last one felt like the first three. I thought it was quite a ride.

[Jaepheth]

Finally watched it.

I liked it, but I too felt that aliens were just too out of place for Indiana Jones.

The previous movies were all magic and spirits. Throwing super alien tech into the mix just feels out of place. At least the saucer didn't do the Close Encounters light and color show before departing.

[Havok]

I don't get this. Why do people, ESPECIALLY on this board, have such a problem with Aliens being real in the Indy-Verse, BUT NOT with the fact that Jesus did in fact exist and was the actual son of God? How is magic and theology more in line with Indy, an archaeologist that preaches about FACTS, than SCIENCE?

[Shroom Man 777]

The presentation could've been done better. Now if it was fancy lights and weirdo sounds and stuff, instead of a Grey alien snarling at us and clenching his fist, then it would've been better.

How would you have liked it if Jesus was there in Raiders of the Lost Ark, ruining the Nazi's shit with finger beams?

[Davis 51]

How would you have liked it if Jesus was there in Raiders of the Lost Ark, ruining the Nazi's shit with finger beams?

That would have been FUCKING AWESOME!

There was nothing wrong with the movie. From start to finish, it felt like pure Indiana Jones.

[Knife]

I don't get this. Why do people, ESPECIALLY on this board, have such a problem with Aliens being real in the Indy-Verse, BUT NOT with the fact that Jesus did in fact exist and was the actual son of God? How is magic and theology more in line with Indy, an archaeologist that preaches about FACTS, than SCIENCE?

Probably because a lot of people don't think it was done well. Ancient alien skulls aren't a bad idea at all, but 13 skeletons spinning around into on Stargate reject was dumb.

[Darth Yoshi]

The presentation could've been done better. Now if it was fancy lights and weirdo sounds and stuff, instead of a Grey alien snarling at us and clenching his fist, then it would've been better.

How would you have liked it if Jesus was there in Raiders of the Lost Ark, ruining the Nazi's shit with finger beams?

Mystical artifacts and the Power of God™ were presented as an inherent part of Indiana Jones, so people had no choice but to accept it. But aliens are a new concept. Or at least, that's my take on it. Personally, aliens posing as gods works too.

[Jaepheth]

I don't get this. Why do people, ESPECIALLY on this board, have such a problem with Aliens being real in the Indy-Verse, BUT NOT with the fact that Jesus did in fact exist and was the actual son of God? How is magic and theology more in line with Indy, an archaeologist that preaches about FACTS, than SCIENCE?

IMHO, If you go with one, it is better to exclude the other.

[JME2]

The presentation could've been done better. Now if it was fancy lights and weirdo sounds and stuff, instead of a Grey alien snarling at us and clenching his fist, then it would've been better.

How would you have liked it if Jesus was there in Raiders of the Lost Ark, ruining the Nazi's shit with finger beams?

Mystical artifacts and the Power of God™ were presented as an inherent part of Indiana Jones, so people had no choice but to accept it.

Exactly; it's part of the mythology and part of what people think of when they think of Indy. In fact, it was probably the absence off both the paranormal and action that affected the draw of TYIJC and hurt itis ratings.

[Darth Servo]

I don't get this. Why do people, ESPECIALLY on this board, have such a problem with Aliens being real in the Indy-Verse, BUT NOT with the fact that Jesus did in fact exist and was the actual son of God? How is magic and theology more in line with Indy, an archaeologist that preaches about FACTS, than SCIENCE?

It would probably have the same reaction if Star Wars, with all its mystical elements of the Force and such started incorporating all sorts of Star Trek style bullshit technobabble.

[Trogdor]

Saw it last night, and I enjoyed it. The aliens didn't really bother me. It would've been out of place if they'd used aliens in a film set in WWII, but for one set in the 50's, when there was a huge buzz over UFO's and the like, I think it worked fine.

[Pint0 Xtreme]

I don't get this. Why do people, ESPECIALLY on this board, have such a problem with Aliens being real in the Indy-Verse, BUT NOT with the fact that Jesus did in fact exist and was the actual son of God? How is magic and theology more in line with Indy, an archaeologist that preaches about FACTS, than SCIENCE?

It would probably have the same reaction if Star Wars, with all its mystical elements of the Force and such started incorporating all sorts of Star Trek style bullshit technobabble.

Didn't they sort of do that with the whole Midichlorian thing in Episode 1?

A friend of mine commented that the reason why the alien thing somewhat erked him a bit was that he preferred the idea of an unexplained mystery of religious mythology as opposed to the idea of an explanation of it in the form of aliens. So in short, theological mystery is cooler than sci-fi in an Indiana Jones movie. To each is own I suppose.

[Havok]

I don't get this. Why do people, ESPECIALLY on this board, have such a problem with Aliens being real in the Indy-Verse, BUT NOT with the fact that Jesus did in fact exist and was the actual son of God? How is magic and theology more in line with Indy, an archaeologist that preaches about FACTS, than SCIENCE?

It would probably have the same reaction if Star Wars, with all its mystical elements of the Force and such started incorporating all sorts of Star Trek style bullshit technobabble.

Didn't they sort of do that with the whole Midichlorian thing in Episode 1?

A friend of mine commented that the reason why the alien thing somewhat erked him a bit was that he preferred the idea of an unexplained mystery of religious mythology as opposed to the idea of an explanation of it in the form of aliens. So in short, theological mystery is cooler than sci-fi in an Indiana Jones movie. To each is own I suppose.

But that's the thing. IJ takes mythology, especially religious mythology, and makes it real. So how is taking the myth of Aliens and making it real any different?

[Darth Servo]

But that's the thing. IJ takes mythology, especially religious mythology, and makes it real. So how is taking the myth of Aliens and making it real any different?

As I tried to illustrate with my previous post, its the wrong franchise. Aliens work in Sci-fi but little else. Would aliens be seen as fitting well in LOTR or Harry Potter?

[Darth Servo]

It would probably have the same reaction if Star Wars, with all its mystical elements of the Force and such started incorporating all sorts of Star Trek style bullshit technobabble.

Didn't they sort of do that with the whole Midichlorian thing in Episode 1?

A friend of mine commented that the reason why the alien thing somewhat erked him a bit was that he preferred the idea of an unexplained mystery of religious mythology as opposed to the idea of an explanation of it in the form of aliens. So in short, theological mystery is cooler than sci-fi in an Indiana Jones movie. To each is own I suppose.

Not quite the same. The Midichlorians are mentioned but not as a major plot development. We DON'T see transporter accidents driving any of the SW films and it would feel really out of place if we did.

[Schuyler Colfax]

I finally saw it. It was decent. I'm not going to talk about the A-bomb, was that scene necessary. The thing that kind of bugged me about the movie was that these literally have to be the luckiest people in the world, I mean the fact that they survived every single time it could have gone all wrong any second. The Greasers fight was pretty entertaining even though I did see any greasers in the shop beforehand. The aliens didn't bug me, I actually felt pretty sorry Blanchett at the end. I honestly didn't recognize John Hurt as Ox until the wedding. Overall 3/5.

[Hemming]

I saw it only yesterday, and I have to say I didn't like it much.

The story, sure. Some crystal skull with telepathic properties is found and they try to take it back to what is essentially El Dorado. I've seen worse.

Unbelievability really got me, though, especially with the nuke and magnetism. "When I throw this into the air, the magnetic force will suddenly activate and pull it across the room with extreme force, then i will be able to pull it off once it sticks."

I could go on and on about things like that, but it's best summed up by "It sucks in comparison"

[Havok]

But that's the thing. IJ takes mythology, especially religious mythology, and makes it real. So how is taking the myth of Aliens and making it real any different?

As I tried to illustrate with my previous post, its the wrong franchise. Aliens work in Sci-fi but little else. Would aliens be seen as fitting well in LOTR or Harry Potter?

No, but LOTR and Harry Potter have magic firmly established and factual. IJ deals with MYTHS and the proving of said myths. Just because you, and we as a society think of aliens as a recent creation or myth, doesn't mean that is so. The idea of aliens have been around a lot longer then the US. Hell, they have been around longer then Christianity, but we have no problem with two movies based around those myths.

[FSTargetDrone]

Finally saw it last week. It was okay, but frankly, I still like TOD better. I've never quite understood the hate TOD gets (Yes, Kate Capshaw's Willie is shrill and irritating, but that's the point, right?). KOTCS seems a bit too X-File-ish for my taste, with this sort of genre. I haven't read the whole thread here and maybe someone's already mentioned this, but it didn't feel as much like an "Indiana Jones" movie as it did a movie with Indiana Jones in it, if that makes sense. There was a bit too much of the loss-recover-loss-recovery of the skull. Still, I enjoyed most of the movie up until the end with the aliens skeletons merging. The alien at the end wasn't even that interesting. I

With Comcast's On Demand service, you can see upcoming movie previews. Its description for KOTCS is that Indy is exploring "Atlantis." I kind of wish that were the case, as compared to aliens.

Anyway, I saw KOTCS once and I can't see myself seeing it again until it comes out on DVD. I did see Iron Man twice already and if I could afford it, I'd see it again. But sad to say, I have no burning desire to see KOTCS again anytime soon.

It's too bad Indy didn't get to catch a glimpse of the exposed Ark of the Covenant. There was a nod to it in TLC of course, so it would have been amusing to see him catch sight of its golden brilliance as he sped by.

[Anguirus]

I've never quite understood the hate TOD gets (Yes, Kate Capshaw's Willie is shrill and irritating, but that's the point, right?).

I just watched it and had no desire to see it again...the Clerks animated spoof of the film's plot was better than actually seeing said plot in action. Brainwashing Indy, however briefly, felt terribly wrong, and the blatant use and acceptance of magic made Indy's chronologically-later skepticism in Raiders feel out-of-place.

Besides which, it greatly annoyed me that all of the Indians in the film were either malnourished primitives or violent cultists, and more so that the British army saved the day at the end. Nice subtext there, guys.

[Pelranius]

Well, it was the British Indian Army, if it makes it any better. Though you'd think the Thuggees would have the sense to brainwash that British officer along with everyone else in the Palace.

[Darth Yoshi]

The cultists were probably hoping that the officer would bugger off none the wise, and the only reason Indy got inducted was because he stumbled onto the sacrifice and tried to swipe the stones.