INDY 4 Review~ Spoiler Thread

[Richard at Remax]

Ok I saw it last night with an open mind because I had heard good and bad things about it.

I feel like I was taken advantage of. I thought it was horrible and compoletely dissapointing. Harrison Ford didn't even seem like he wanted to be in the movie. Just wanted his $20 million check.

During some parts you could feel the old Indy vibe coming back but then it would go away. The good parts were bringing back his old flame from Raiders. Whenever they were on screen together it was good stuff. The story behind the skulls was interesting. Does anyone know if there is truth to those tales?

What ruins it is all the yeah right moments and CGI and freaking alien spaceships. While I don't have a problem with CGI it just seems so out of place here. The fridge scene with the atom bomb testing is what made me realize what I had gotten into. I actually read a post on a movie site where a guy defended the scene saying fridges were built strong and sturdy and that totally could have happened. I almost fell out of my seat.

Im glad I wasnt alone when during the movie I could hear various "yeah rights!, no way, whatevers, followed by booing at the end.

I guess what gets me the most is that if you get a high profile director, same for actor/s and you can make any movie you want and people will go see it. Its just a shame for those of us who actually expect quality.

Sorry about the rant. Thoughts?

[flintysooner]

Search for "Mitchell Hedges Crystal Skull" - stuff everywhere.

And don't worry about not liking the movie because if the Mayan's were right then this all ends on December 21, 2012 anyway - unless someone gets the skulls back together.

[mmonroe]

We already have an Indy 4 thread going...

[redland]

We already have an Indy 4 thread going...

True, but it is in the OKC Metro forum rather that here where it belongs.

[mmonroe]

I placed it in the SAME forum as the "Indy 4 Premier" thread.

[Martin]

ok...

one of my favorite things about this film was the references to the past films... here are a couple obvious ones i saw... were there any others?

the first scene is in the warehouse that the ark of the covenant was stored in the first movie... one of the crates is knocked open to reveal the ark.

during the chase scene on the college campus, the soviets ram into a memorial statue of marcus brody.

any others?

-M

[mcbee04]

I too, was disappointed in the heavy use of CGI. I felt like they made all these expensive scenes and then had to go ahead and use them, even though they didn't work with the movie.

I've heard talk that they'll be making a new film with Shia as the main character and Harrison with a supporting role. Where do you go after aliens though?

[MadMonk]

ok...

one of my favorite things about this film was the references to the past films... here are a couple obvious ones i saw... were there any others?

the first scene is in the warehouse that the ark of the covenant was stored in the first movie... one of the crates is knocked open to reveal the ark.

during the chase scene on the college campus, the soviets ram into a memorial statue of marcus brody.

any others?

-M

The pictures on his desk of Marcus and his dad was a nice touch. I also got a laugh out of the scene where he refuses to grab the snake while in quicksand (or whatever it was that he called it). The little monkeys in the jungle reminded me of the monkey in the first movie. Indy tipping his hat down and sleeping on the plane happens in every movie (I think). Indy calling Mutt "Junior" (I expected him to come back with "Don't call me Junior!".

A few irritations:

• Yeah, the whole "survive a nuclear blast in a fridge thing".
• It seems that certain non-magnetic metals (like lead and gold) are attracted to the alien skull like a magnet. However, Indy uses gunpowder to find the alien in the warehouse and it has no metal in it at all. Weird and never explained.
• Besides, the grenades of that era usually used TNT for an explosive, not gunpowder and those that did use smokeless powder only used less than an ounce, not the handfuls they were pouring out of them.
• Over three huge waterfalls and not one broken bone among them? Not even a bloody nose? There are no airbags in '57!
• Although I know it's a staple in these kind of movies, it's obvious that the Soviet army and Star War's Stormtroopers both went to the same school of marksmanship.
• This is a minor gripe - usually you get to see Indy finishing up a previous adventure before the main story begins. Sort of like in James Bond movies. I was sort of expecting it, but was disappointed. I guess that the warehouse scene sort-of qualifies, but not really because it involves the same characters that are used later in the movie.

Some wow moments:

• That nuclear explosion looked awesome on the big screen!
• Death by ants - yikes!
• Nice chase sequence on the motorcycle.
• The scene when the saucer takes off is pretty cool too, especially when the water flows back in to fill up the hole.

All in all, I liked it. I'll probably go see it one more time just to try to catch things I might have missed.

[mmonroe]

Mad Monk, that is very impressive.

Just to put it this way, Henry Jones III's mother.. Mary, she seemed like a very awkward character as the movie went on. She seemed almost out of place.

[Caboose]

I do not understand the logic of the people who did not like this movie. Did they not watch the previous 3? Most of them seem to indicate that they did because they compare this film negatively to the previous 3... yet, it was exactly like them.
If you liked the previous 3 how could you not like the 4th? Were you expecting something different? If so why? And if not, whats the problem?

My personal opinion is that the negative nancies suffer from Star Wars Syndrome. People saw the original 3 installments of both series when they were children or young adults, so of course they seemed incredibly awesome... because everything does when you are that age. After years of distorted/exaggerated/false memories, they built up the quality of the first three installments to a ridiculous and inanely innacurate level in their minds. So when the fourth installments came out the now adult viewers feel let down because the films do not meet their false expectations. In reality, the 4th installments (good or bad) are no worse than the first three. After re-watching the original three Star Wars films as an adult, I realized that they were awful. Entertaining, but awful. Is it any wonder that the newer three installments were bad as well?

The Indiana Jones series is no different. The first three installments were good adventure/action flicks based on religious artifacts that had some ridiculously unrealistic elements and the fourth installment was the exact same thing.

Watch the movie, accept it for what it is, and stop comparing it to your delusional false memories of previous movies.

[Martin]

uhhh... no.

the first three movies dealt in the realm of religious artifacts that hold supernatural powers. indy 4 deals with space aliens. big difference.

glad you liked the movie... there's nothing wrong with that. however, there's also nothing wrong with those who didn't like it.

-M

[flintysooner]

The Crystal Skull is a religious artifact - well maybe unless it is fake - that has supernatural powers - maybe. If Mayans carved it they had pretty advanced technology.

[Martin]

yeah... and indy4 could've gone that route... but didn't. the crystal skull ended up being an alien's skull... so... to me... the movie strayed too close to science fiction for an indiana jones story.

i enjoyed the movie but think i would have enjoyed it more had they kept everything and nixed the aliens.

-M

[flintysooner]

I see your point of view now. That's interesting because I think that was kind of the problem that Ford, Lucas, and Spielberg grappled with as well.

[Caboose]

uhhh... no.

the first three movies dealt in the realm of religious artifacts that hold supernatural powers. indy 4 deals with space aliens. big difference.

glad you liked the movie... there's nothing wrong with that. however, there's also nothing wrong with those who didn't like it.

-M

I have no idea what you are talking about. On one hand you have an artifact containing supernatural powers that were bestowed upon it by an all-powerful celestial being and on the other hand you have an artifact containing supernatural powers that were bestowed upon it by an all-powerful celestial being. What is the difference exactly? One man's religion is another man's bellylaugh and/or alien boogy-man.

[Martin]

caboose, i think you choose not to understand. have a nice day. -M

[Caboose]

I think you are just grasping for something to rationalize your feelings. You have a nice day too.

[kevinpate]

nanu nanu?

[dismayed]

I think Lucas has officially lost his mind. I know that Spielburg and Ford argued constantly with him on the storyline, of which he was a proponent. I have read that they compromised by allowing him the alien thing as the main story arc if they were allowed to write everything else. I liked everything else.

[Richard at Remax]

It seems like the overall consensus was that it would have been good if not for the aliens (and escaping nuclear blast in a fridge, and lost city of gold where gold = knowledge).

If you could pick what would you wanted the main quest to be?

Mine would be either the Garden of Eden or The lost city of Atlantis.

[dismayed]

I actually really liked the concept of the Crystal Skulls. I remember reading about them and the mystery surrounding them when I was a kid. They should have done this but focused on some kind of Mayan 2012 disaster avoidance instead, made it kind of like the really mystical 2nd film. Just no aliens.

[flintysooner]

Art of deception: Crystal skulls in British, US museums were fakes

Imagine that.