John and I saw Indy 4 with some mutual friends (and of course our lovely wives and daughters!) this past weekend.
Hmmm. I really wanted to like this movie!

The plot concerns Indy looking for some crystal skulls with some of his friends. The myth is that the skulls need to be returned to their original resting place, and that the person who does so will be given powers beyond belief. It’s pretty standard Indy plot in that respect.

I may spoil some surprises here, so if you haven’t seen the movie, please stop reading.
If you take the scenes individually, there is a lot to like about this movie. There are some pretty spectacular stunts, voracious ants, deadly snakes, waterfalls, villains, etc. etc., and the movie really catches your eyes from beginning to end. Oh, there is also an atomic bomb blast. But I think that in going for spectacle, the makers of Indy 4 lost the heart of what made the first and third films so very wonderful: the magic and myth of a great story, a tightly worded script and characters that you could root for and against.

In several spots, during this film, I caught myself thinking ahead, and invariably I was right. For example, 1) Bad lady with a sword. 2) Kid who likes playing with knives… surely these two shall meet in a dashing fight of steel against steel. And of course, the heroes are being chased while driving a car that looks like a boat on wheels. Where do you, oh reader, think this chase is going to end?

And this was the first Indy I can recall that stepped into a big puddle of cheese. Even Harrison Ford looked embarrassed when he uttered the line: “The skull told me.”

The cheese occurs again later when a “friend” of Indy’s falls over for no apparent reason and Indy has to use his whip in a completely “non-save” situation that immediately develops into a “save” situation. It’s supposed to occur the other way around guys!

Finally, this is the second climax to a movie recently that was just so-so for me. Remember what a big letdown National Treasure was ultimately when it came to the payoff? It felt that way with Indy IV. I wasn’t impressed with the climax at all.
Please understand me that I really enjoyed 85% of this movie. It is still better than most of the summer movies I’ve seen, especially counting was a horrible summer last year turned out to be quality wise. I guess I just hold Indy to a higher standard. I saw the first movie when I was in first grade, so in a sense I grew up with Indy. The first movie is perfection… it was nominated for a best picture for gosh sakes. The third movie was almost as good.  In my heart and in my mind Indy was always this amazing creature, this thing on a pedestal. It’s sad to see his legacy tarnished by such an imperfect finish.

So, in order then:  Raiders, Last Crusade, Crystal Skull, Temple of Doom

Rating:

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The fourth movie for Indiana Jones has hit it big. Since the movie’s opening on Thursday, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has made an estimated $311 million around the world.

It marked the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in history, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which made $153 million domestically from Thursday to Monday last year.

“Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn’t wait to take their kids with them,” Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution told the Reuters.

Source

I saw it with fellow Flickscribe writer Kevin (and some friends) so it will be interesting for both of us to post our overall reviews. I’ll be working on mine. Don’t rush me okay?

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The reviews are in for Indy 4!

So far, reviews are very positive for Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull. 

The movie opened in Cannes on Sunday, and will open everywhere else this Thursday. 

I am trying not to read them because I don’t want the surprise spoiled.  But if you are the kind of person who peeks before Christmas, see the links below. 

Review 1

Review 2

Review 3

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I think I know how the new Indiana Jones movie will go.  By now you should have seen the trailer for the New Indy Movie: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Previously on this site, we have written that we thought Shia LaBeouf (he’s also being called “Mut” in the media) was playing Marion and Indy’s love child. However, based on the trailer and my gut feelings, I have changed my mind. Here is what I believe:
 

1) Shia is playing a young Indy. Why I think this:
I think we can all agree this is Harrison’s last go at Indy. He is way too old to make another.

Yet the franchise makes tons of money, and it’s a great story.

So, the reigns must be passed to a younger actor.

It wouldn’t make sense to have Shia LaBeouf as some random dude off the street. He is the guy who is going to take on the story in future movies if this one goes well (which, unless someone completely drops the ball, it will be). Therefore, there has to be an emotional connection for the audience.

Typically, this means Shia would be directly related somehow. We have seen him in the trailer interacting with Indiana Jones, so the first thought everyone has is Shia is Jones’ son. HOWEVER:  Which has more appeal? Indiana Jones Jr. or a Younger Indiana Jones? You guessed it! Definitely a young Jones.

As mentioned in an earlier post, George Lucas has said he thought of the MacGuffin when he was filming an episode of “Young Indianna Jones”, specifically when Harrison made an appearance.

In the trailer, Shia asks Indy “You’re a professor?” and Indy says “Part Time!” If he was the love child of Marion and Indy (even if she never told Indy about their son) she surely would have told their son about his father.

Currently, Shia is being billed as a scruffy sidekick to Indy.  If this is true, do you really think they would have had the above conversation?  I don’t think so! 

The rest of the guesses come from #1

If Shia is a Young Jones:

2) The MacGuffin is time travel. This is the only method you could use to get the two together.
The box on the trailer that the glasses hit says clearly “Roswell, New Mexico.” Of course, everyone has heard of the famous “alien crash” there. So, this means:

3) Alien Technology is the means for the time travel.

So, those are my thoughts! Drop us an email or leave a comment below if you disagree or agree.

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Oh the joy! Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is more of the same awesome goodness that we want.

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There is a sweet article about the new Indy movie in this month’s Vanity Fair, starting on page 116.

You can also read the article online here.

I can tell you there is a lot of interesting stuff in this article! There are some snippets that hopefully will whet your appetite for the movie.

One of the things that excited me was the following statement:

“Rather than update the franchise to match current styles, Lucas and Spielberg decided to stay true to the prior films’ look, tone, and pace.”

Thank the cinema gods that there won’t be a lot of fast edits and choppy camera work like there are in the Bourne movies. There is also some discussion of the MacGuffin, a item in the story that moves the story along, powers it into the third act. The Ark of the Covenant was the (”perfect” according to Lucas) MacGuffin in the first movie. The second movie’s MacGuffin were those magical stones. The third movie’s MacGuffin was the Holy Grail.

Lucas thought of the MaGuffin when he was filming The Young Indiana Jones TV series, specifically the episode in which Harrison Ford had a cameo. So, if you happen to have the series at home, watching that specific episode may give you a hint as to what this movie is about! I don’t happen to have it. If you have seen this episode, please leave a comment!

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