Saturday, June 07, 2008

Pass The Popcorn (or why I feel like I can say I enjoyed Indiana Jones 4 without justification)

So...from the very first day Indiana Jones came out, people I knew said, "wait to rent it," "it was horrible," "it's okay, but the alien thing was weird," etc.

A couple days later I hear people saying they liked it, but being forced to justify their like for it.

And so, with mixed reviews I didn't rush out to see it, even though I had caught up on the original three films and had been posting about this film in the early-early blogging days in a post called Geriatric Jones about Harrison Ford crusading for Indy 4 to come out in '07.

And last night, catching a late showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we left both feeling very entertained.

I felt like Lucas & Spielberg both did an exceptional job creating a seamless plot that acknowledged the time gap in the characters ages and creating a cultural context of time passing as well. I thought the film easily matched the other 80s-Indiana's in tone, style, look, and dialogue.

And surprisingly Shia LeBeouf didn't annoy me as I expected he would and played an excellent greaser...and I wouldn't mind him returning for an Indiana Jones V. Even if the Indiana Jones V had him as the main character while Harrison Ford took a back seat supporting role...I know, where's the purest?

Cate Blanchett's amazing. Karen Allen isn't Cate Blanchett, but who cares. And Jim Brodbent as Dean Stanforth was a perfect casting match.

John Williams still has the skills for a project like this and I certainly won't complain if he gets an Academy Award nod for his score, as he did with his other three Indy-scores.

It's a whole lot of fun, and very popcorn worthy -- just like a good summer movie should be.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you enjoyed it, so did I.

crackers and cheese said...

Amen, I thoroughly enjoyed it also! I just don't understand these haters.

Shia Lebouf as the main character of the next one? Please no! I think they hinted at that when he picked up the hat at the end and almost put it on, but woops, Indy swept in and stole it back! I think that was a little moment to say, "Nope, the torch isn't going to get passed along."

Terence Towles Canote said...

Personally, I don't see why anyone should be forced to justify why they like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I thought it was a whole lot of fun!

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Everyone says the same about poor Shia hehehe.
I really enjoyed this movie as well, people here were complaining about factual errors and that's what I like about these movies so much, it's obvious that Spielberg, Lucas and Ford had the researchers and cash to check stuff like that, but the fact that they mix cultures and beliefs that aren't accurate they're establishing that this doesn't take place in a world we'd ever live in, amping up the adventure and careless spirit of it all.

Anonymous said...

I thought the movie was super enjoyable to watch! I think re-watching the 3 orginals helped get me in the right frame of mind to enjoy #4 more. I thought the Karen Allen re-intro was cute and that Harrison Ford is in awesome shape for someone pushing 70 (is he already 70??).

Dad said...

I didn't think he was 70. Well, sometimes its the small things that ruin it for me.

It took me several scenes to get over the whole escaping an atomic explosion by jumping in an old refrigerator thing. You just can't hit the ground that hard and survive (That same problem occurred in Ironman, but at least he landed in soft sand and destroyed his suit)!

I know its fictional, but they could at least obey some basic laws of physics. He might as well have outran a tidal wave on a motorcycle or just jumped amazingly high at the right moment.

Also, before the fight in the icecream shop didn't Indy put his hat on someone else? I didn't see when or where he got it back. And why did they bring the motorcycle all that way and leave it in a village never to be seen again.

More interestingly is the progression of the movies. The first one acknowledged Jewish history. The second Animism. The third Christian. The fourth one interdimentional aliens. Could this represent a prgression of religious belief or worldview? This especially interesting given Lucas' interest in metanarratives and whatnot.