Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Indiana Jones


OK so about 50 days after its release, I finally saw the new Indiana Jones movie.  And I give it about 2 stars.  I think George Lucas hurt the movie, he has equal rights and control as Speilberg does.  The movie had a pretty decent beginning series of scenes, but then about 35 minutes in it becomes predictable, and paint by numbers.  The problem is not entirely the fault of the movie, but the fact that there are so many movies that have copied Raiders since it first came out that what we are seeing is not original.  There is zero tension when Indy and the gang are in their series of predicaments.  There is no palpable tension, and there really is not much payoff in the end as far as I am concerned.  
I liked  the reveals that took place which hinted what Indy was doing since "Crusade" I wish they had expanded on that, but instead we launch into a quest that isn't all that interesting.    That aside, it was still fun to see one of the most iconic characters in movie history back on screen one last time.  

Best aspect of the movie (They potrayed the mid to late fifties very well, with the red scare, atomic testing, and such)

Worst part (After the first part of the movie they jump to a predictable adventure that seemed pasted together with no real suspense)

5 comments:

Brett said...

bummer to hear. Of course it seems that with a fourth installment you should have your sights set pretty low as far as a desire for originality (note that this is your fourth of fifth review and you too are recycling ideas - e.g. "paint by numbers" - not that I am complaining - I am just not looking to have my socks knocked off). All you can hope for is fun and some action. I will still see it. Thanks for the review. -sent from my iPhone.

Garrett said...

Yes I indeed have said "paint by numbers" before. What I am trying to say is that the studio system knows what works and they try to recycle the same old setups and payoffs. Speilberg is an absolute genius of a director which goes without saying.....it would have been nice if he could have taken the story out into a little bit of a different direction, I can't say too much more because I don't want to give away anything. But I was very intrigued by the first part of the movie, and it had potential to go in a really neat direction, where we could see this beloved character strech a little. After about 35 minutes or so it seemed the movie almost restarted and showed us a patchwork of adventures that seemed to be picked right out of Raiders, Doom, and Crusade and reshuffled.

I almost think someone had a great idea but the studio thought they better go with what makes money, and everyone made a bunch for sure.

Anonymous said...

All I can say is, it has been a long time since the Last Crusade and sequels usually don't get better.

Grandma Dee said...

As we discussed today, Garrett, the movie was not so great. Cate Blanchett's character was so unbelievable. Do you think that the RUSSIANS would put a woman in charge? Her character and that whole plot was just silly. I'm with you about the chase scene - no suspense or tension. The best part of the movie was getting to see Harrison Ford. Ooh la la! What a hunk. And his son in the movie was a nerd - no star power.
-Denise

Baptist_Mike_in_Utah said...

I finally saw it today on dvd. I actually enjoyed the movie. I was not great my any stretch. But is was an Indiana Jones movie.. The plot was ridiculous, and it had a National Treasure feel a lot of the time.

The worst part for me was to see Indy so stinkin old. I had a hard time getting past how old he looked.

The best was at the end. The symbolic gesture to let us know that Ford is Indiana Jones and the series will not continue with Shia Labouf. The book has been closed.
We have a very entertaining series of action adventure movies to look back on.