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If people are going to make an unnecessary sequel to the movie series you outgrew 20 years ago, it could be worse than this.
Yeah, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: trailer, woo-woo, thrills, yadda-yadda.
I don't hate it. It appears very faithful to the original movies and to have much of their charm. It goes without saying that the film itself looks great. Whatever his failings as a writer and director, I would argue that George Lucas is the best producer in the business. He has a great eye for talent behind the scenes and his films always look amazing. And Spielberg is Spielberg - he does what he does very well, although I'd be surprised if Indy4 was anything other than a step backwards for him from the very nearly adult sensibility he brought to directing MUNICH.
But when everything is said and done, I don't love it either. I was 16 when the last INDIANA JONES movie came out and, while I loved them, I never imprinted on them the way I did ALIENS, X-MEN comics and, earlier, STAR WARS. I was a bit too young to moon over Dr. Jones and a bit too old to get entirely lost in the adventure and after Karen Allen's Marian Ravenwood, Indy's leading ladies got progressively less interesting and less honest. The Evil!Greedy!Nazi!Babe! in LAST CRUSADE (IMO the weakest of the original films) left a bad taste in my mouth at a time when I was discovering Ellen Ripley and Tasha Yar. Having no memory or nostalgic attachment to the Saturday-afternoon serials INDIANA JONES referenced, I drifted away from the movies. That was then, this is now and you'd think the collective braintrust of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg could have come up with a new story in the last 20 years rather than perpetually recycling their earlier successes.
But apparently not.
Still, unless KotCS is absolutely slated in the reviews, I'll go see it. Chances are good I'll see it within a day or two of its release because I don't do delayed gratification - waiting the 14 months or so of production time between the announcement of a cast and a film's release is generally enough for me - and I am excited by the cast, if not what I've heard of the plot or the new characters.
Writing this, I did ask myself what the difference between INDIANA JONES coming back 19 years after the last film and TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES 17 years after T2 (no, T3 as filmed does not count) beyond the idea of one excites me and the other doesn't. If there is anything but personal taste involved, I think it is that the latter represents a new take on the story and universe, while the former is another chapter of an established story. Also, I believe that there's a difference between storytelling in TV and film, TV being about how character changes over time, whereas film is about plot - a gross simplification but true nonetheless. As a writer, I'm a sucker for character stories (especially character stories with guns and explosions and killer robots/aliens) and INDIANA JONES, although populated by great characters, has never been a franchise known for great characterization.
But I'll still be sitting in the third row on the right-hand aisle with my popcorn come May, waiting to be entertained.
Yeah, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: trailer, woo-woo, thrills, yadda-yadda.
I don't hate it. It appears very faithful to the original movies and to have much of their charm. It goes without saying that the film itself looks great. Whatever his failings as a writer and director, I would argue that George Lucas is the best producer in the business. He has a great eye for talent behind the scenes and his films always look amazing. And Spielberg is Spielberg - he does what he does very well, although I'd be surprised if Indy4 was anything other than a step backwards for him from the very nearly adult sensibility he brought to directing MUNICH.
But when everything is said and done, I don't love it either. I was 16 when the last INDIANA JONES movie came out and, while I loved them, I never imprinted on them the way I did ALIENS, X-MEN comics and, earlier, STAR WARS. I was a bit too young to moon over Dr. Jones and a bit too old to get entirely lost in the adventure and after Karen Allen's Marian Ravenwood, Indy's leading ladies got progressively less interesting and less honest. The Evil!Greedy!Nazi!Babe! in LAST CRUSADE (IMO the weakest of the original films) left a bad taste in my mouth at a time when I was discovering Ellen Ripley and Tasha Yar. Having no memory or nostalgic attachment to the Saturday-afternoon serials INDIANA JONES referenced, I drifted away from the movies. That was then, this is now and you'd think the collective braintrust of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg could have come up with a new story in the last 20 years rather than perpetually recycling their earlier successes.
But apparently not.
Still, unless KotCS is absolutely slated in the reviews, I'll go see it. Chances are good I'll see it within a day or two of its release because I don't do delayed gratification - waiting the 14 months or so of production time between the announcement of a cast and a film's release is generally enough for me - and I am excited by the cast, if not what I've heard of the plot or the new characters.
Writing this, I did ask myself what the difference between INDIANA JONES coming back 19 years after the last film and TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES 17 years after T2 (no, T3 as filmed does not count) beyond the idea of one excites me and the other doesn't. If there is anything but personal taste involved, I think it is that the latter represents a new take on the story and universe, while the former is another chapter of an established story. Also, I believe that there's a difference between storytelling in TV and film, TV being about how character changes over time, whereas film is about plot - a gross simplification but true nonetheless. As a writer, I'm a sucker for character stories (especially character stories with guns and explosions and killer robots/aliens) and INDIANA JONES, although populated by great characters, has never been a franchise known for great characterization.
But I'll still be sitting in the third row on the right-hand aisle with my popcorn come May, waiting to be entertained.
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