Here's the thing you've got to remember about Raiders: it's a really dumb movie saved by really good performances and excellent execution. There's no reason why it should have worked at all.
As I recall from the movie's original release, people liked Indy, they liked the hat and the whip, and they really liked the whole running from the boulder bit. The theme was catchy, too. But otherwise, it was considered unnecessarily violent (for the time), full of plot holes (Marion's non-death when the truck explodes, for example), and was saddled with a puzzlingly weak ending (putting the crate in storage - was it an homage to Citizen Kane, or could they just not think of any way to end it?)
A lot of negative reviews I've seen for Crystal Skull blame the writing (usually code for "I know nothing about movies"), but it's important to remember that Raiders plays as if there were no script at all:
And all that being said, I still love it. It's great. It's fun. It has the sneakiest monkey in the history of cinema. It has that really creepy Nazi torturer dude. All I'm saying is that Raiders and the rest of the series has more flaws and warts than most people will own up to.
On the flip side I can also forgive Temple of Doom (the most hated of the series) because of the mine car chase which I think inspired both a video game, and my notion of what a summertime popcorn movie should be. Forget Kate Capshaw. Forget chilled monkey brains. The mine cars looked cool.
Similarly, I can't stand Last Crusade for essentially being Return of the Jedi in Indy garb: both movies repeat the villains from the first one (death stars=nazis), are heavy on the father issues (Darth Vader=Sean Connery), imply an icky love triangle, are way too jokey and slap-sticky (Ewoks=Jones's sidekicks), and feature ghostly Knights at the end (jedi=templar). I also didn't buy the idea of turning the Indy series into Roger Moore era James Bond (e.g., Octopussy). In fact, the only thing I did like was that Air ship.
Anyway, my point is, if you're thinking the Indiana Jones series is being betrayed by Crystal Skull, you're just not remembering how feeble the other one's were, and how lucky we were that Raiders worked in the first place. You can't go back in time, and you can't be surprised by the same thing twice. What makes Raiders stay with us year after year is the fact that it came out of nowhere and showed us something we hadn't seen before. The new one can only show us exactly what we've seen before. It's nostalgia for nostalgia, and what's the fun in that? Well, OK. Probably more fun than if there were no new Indy movie. So accept the gift horse and don't look too closely at its teeth (it's an old horse).
Now the Fate of Atlantis game. That was truly awesome.
As I recall from the movie's original release, people liked Indy, they liked the hat and the whip, and they really liked the whole running from the boulder bit. The theme was catchy, too. But otherwise, it was considered unnecessarily violent (for the time), full of plot holes (Marion's non-death when the truck explodes, for example), and was saddled with a puzzlingly weak ending (putting the crate in storage - was it an homage to Citizen Kane, or could they just not think of any way to end it?)
A lot of negative reviews I've seen for Crystal Skull blame the writing (usually code for "I know nothing about movies"), but it's important to remember that Raiders plays as if there were no script at all:
- It has a James Bond-style teaser opening that has almost nothing to do with the rest of the story.
- It creates a rival for Indy in the character of Belloq that has no pay off (neither character changes).
- It provides Indy with a romantic interest that he can barely even stand to look at for most of the movie.
- It has no third act.
And all that being said, I still love it. It's great. It's fun. It has the sneakiest monkey in the history of cinema. It has that really creepy Nazi torturer dude. All I'm saying is that Raiders and the rest of the series has more flaws and warts than most people will own up to.
On the flip side I can also forgive Temple of Doom (the most hated of the series) because of the mine car chase which I think inspired both a video game, and my notion of what a summertime popcorn movie should be. Forget Kate Capshaw. Forget chilled monkey brains. The mine cars looked cool.
Similarly, I can't stand Last Crusade for essentially being Return of the Jedi in Indy garb: both movies repeat the villains from the first one (death stars=nazis), are heavy on the father issues (Darth Vader=Sean Connery), imply an icky love triangle, are way too jokey and slap-sticky (Ewoks=Jones's sidekicks), and feature ghostly Knights at the end (jedi=templar). I also didn't buy the idea of turning the Indy series into Roger Moore era James Bond (e.g., Octopussy). In fact, the only thing I did like was that Air ship.
Anyway, my point is, if you're thinking the Indiana Jones series is being betrayed by Crystal Skull, you're just not remembering how feeble the other one's were, and how lucky we were that Raiders worked in the first place. You can't go back in time, and you can't be surprised by the same thing twice. What makes Raiders stay with us year after year is the fact that it came out of nowhere and showed us something we hadn't seen before. The new one can only show us exactly what we've seen before. It's nostalgia for nostalgia, and what's the fun in that? Well, OK. Probably more fun than if there were no new Indy movie. So accept the gift horse and don't look too closely at its teeth (it's an old horse).
Now the Fate of Atlantis game. That was truly awesome.
