indiana jones & the curse of the fourth movie
Hmmm...there's no kind way to say this. I did not like "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Which is hard to admit. Because I love the first three, and made a point to watch all of them last week before going to the theater for the fourth so that all the quirks and intricacies could be fresh in my mind. Unfortunately, revisiting those three films only made the newest installment's shortcomings all the more obvious.
(And yes, I'm going to talk about the plot...so if you haven't seen it yet and want to be surprised, stop reading. Right now.)
Oh sure, it was entertaining, and it was neat to see what an Indiana Jones movie could look like with today's special effects. But the two main plots were both so over the top that there was little room for the intrigue and captivation of the first three. I mean, seriously...aliens? That's the explanation for the crystal skull? Bleh. One of my favorite aspects of the Indiana Jones stories is the element of mysticism and occult surrounding various religious artifacts - the Ark, the Sankara stones, the Holy Grail. But it always felt like the mystery around those objects (and their supposed powers) remained, even after the storylines around them concluded. Whereas the attribution of the crystal skull's powers to its alien creators seems less like mystical fantasy and more like science fiction...which (in my opinion) creates a huge diversion from the genre or specialty that the filmmakers had previously created for their rugged, daring archaeologist.
And the whole "Indiana, meet your son" story came across as nothing more than blatantly laying the foundation for additional sequels starring Indiana, Jr...aka Mutt (played by the handsome Shia LaBeouf). Because the whole "oh, I've missed you so much and pined after you in the depths of my heart" scenario that played out between Indiana Jones and Marian was ridiculous, considering her complete absence (in mention or appearance) from the second and third movies. Oh wait, I get it - he missed her so much, was so distraught at losing the love of his life that he completely blocked her out while he was tracking down the Sankara stones and the Holy Grail with his latest female conquests. Sure, that makes sense. (It doesn't help that, whenever I see a scene where someone meets his long-lost father for the first time, all I can think of is Darth Vader saying, "No, I am your father.")
Those two major issues, combined with the continuous blabber to fill in what Dr. Jones has been doing in the decades between the Last Crusade and now, were just too much for me. So yeah...that was a disappointment. It simply felt like everything I'd loved about the first three movies had been replaced in this fourth film with a less-than-worthy story...like the filmmakers did not choose wisely. Sigh.
Where I am: Lebanon, KY
What I'm reading: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
(And yes, I'm going to talk about the plot...so if you haven't seen it yet and want to be surprised, stop reading. Right now.)
Oh sure, it was entertaining, and it was neat to see what an Indiana Jones movie could look like with today's special effects. But the two main plots were both so over the top that there was little room for the intrigue and captivation of the first three. I mean, seriously...aliens? That's the explanation for the crystal skull? Bleh. One of my favorite aspects of the Indiana Jones stories is the element of mysticism and occult surrounding various religious artifacts - the Ark, the Sankara stones, the Holy Grail. But it always felt like the mystery around those objects (and their supposed powers) remained, even after the storylines around them concluded. Whereas the attribution of the crystal skull's powers to its alien creators seems less like mystical fantasy and more like science fiction...which (in my opinion) creates a huge diversion from the genre or specialty that the filmmakers had previously created for their rugged, daring archaeologist.
And the whole "Indiana, meet your son" story came across as nothing more than blatantly laying the foundation for additional sequels starring Indiana, Jr...aka Mutt (played by the handsome Shia LaBeouf). Because the whole "oh, I've missed you so much and pined after you in the depths of my heart" scenario that played out between Indiana Jones and Marian was ridiculous, considering her complete absence (in mention or appearance) from the second and third movies. Oh wait, I get it - he missed her so much, was so distraught at losing the love of his life that he completely blocked her out while he was tracking down the Sankara stones and the Holy Grail with his latest female conquests. Sure, that makes sense. (It doesn't help that, whenever I see a scene where someone meets his long-lost father for the first time, all I can think of is Darth Vader saying, "No, I am your father.")
Those two major issues, combined with the continuous blabber to fill in what Dr. Jones has been doing in the decades between the Last Crusade and now, were just too much for me. So yeah...that was a disappointment. It simply felt like everything I'd loved about the first three movies had been replaced in this fourth film with a less-than-worthy story...like the filmmakers did not choose wisely. Sigh.
Where I am: Lebanon, KY
What I'm reading: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
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