Aliens Aren’t So Bad…
I don’t typically use this space for movie reviews, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on the latest Indiana Jones movie. As with most movies now days, I waited until it came out on dvd to see it. This has the effect of making the movie experience much cheaper, but it also means that there’s pretty much no way to avoid plot spoilers until I’ve seen it. As was the case with this movie. Over the last few months I had heard all the negative reviews and had heard at least the one major plot spoiler and because of that fact, I had pretty low expectations. And maybe that’s why I was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed it.
Against all odds (and critics), I actually liked Indy 4. I admit that there were some pretty unbelievable scenes, and the plot got a little “hokey” in places, but I think a lot of people conveniently forget that the previous three weren’t any less “hokey”. I mean, c’mon… faces being melted off by the Arc of the Covenant. A heart liberating shaman from a secret mystic cult. Not to mention Henry Jones senior being saved from a fatal bullet wound by drinking from the Holy Grail. Maybe it’s just because the plot involved aliens and people weren’t ready for it, but Indy 4 wasn’t based on any more reality than the others. In fact, I thought they did a pretty decent job working the story around existing myths and legends. Don’t get me wrong, I think Lucas is way past his prime and most everything he touches now days is crap (is it just me or did Episode III contain some of the worst dialog EVAR?) I think it’s a testament to Harrison Ford’s ability to act, but I thought this one turned out ok.
November 8th, 2008 at 8:39 am |
Okay, so let me first say that I’m an Indiana Jones fan from way back. Love all the movies. I, too, waited for this one to come out on DVD before seeing it and I’ve got to be honest with you…I really, really liked it. I thought it was funny, clever and the same as I remember the old Indy movies. I’m totally going to buy it.
November 9th, 2008 at 6:20 pm |
Which part did you like the best?… The fact that it was entirely predictable, the osteoporitic Indiana Jones, or the fact that the waterfall in Peru they went over is actually the border between Brazil and Argentina? I don’t know why you claim to like it, but I didn’t get the same vibe. I guess having an entire city disappear into a river was the best part.
November 9th, 2008 at 10:30 pm |
Yeah… Because riding on 2 wheels in a mine cart through a lava filled mineshaft is totally believable. Or surviving a plane crash by hopping in a large life raft and then riding safely all the way down a mountain is possible too. My point wasn’t that it was the greatest movie ever, just that I didn’t think it was nearly as bad as everyone said it was going to be. I realize that trying to survive a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge would most likely turn out badly. I’m aware that going down 3 consecutive 100+ ft waterfalls in a Russian duck would most likely result in a few more bruises than were sustained by Indy and friends (And btw, who the crap cares where the falls are located? Did you know that the mountains in Lord of the Rings are actually located in New Zealand? Go figure.). All I was saying was that I enjoyed it for what it was instead of being captain movie snob and tearing it to pieces like you seem to be. Do you hate Ghostbusters because 1000 ft marshmellow men aren’t real? It’s a friggin’ movie. It’s supposed to be fantastic and unreal. That’s why we go see them. If movies were all about realistic every day life, nobody would ever watch em.
So, in closing… take your movie snob comments somewhere else Ebert.