|
And it was brilliantly plotted and scripted and directed and acted while the other ones were comparatively lame in every such department. Especially the scripts, which were clearly of sequel quality.
I watched Temple of Doom over the weekend, because mousepod says it's an homage to Gunga Din. Sure, I've always appreciated some of the elements ... they are serial chapter fun ... but they are assembled into a piece of crap.
There's only two minutes of actual plot ... where Indy is taken over by the Evil Twin spell / potion. The rest of the movie is moving from room-to-room inside Pankot Palace and having a set-piece occur in each room, with a thrill ride rollercoaster in a great room, and a cool swinging bridge bit in the back-yard. It's a theme park experience, and not a movie.
Yes, and as GC points out, the lighting and cinematography are all bright and crystal clear, so it looks 100% soundstage (which it is), and totally fake (which is fitting).
The Children-Are-The-Real-Stars sentimentality was pure anti-Raiders sickeningness. Kate Capshaw was supposed to be an annoying ditzy blonde, but she annoyed the hell out of anyone who saw the movie, and everyone wanted her to die. When people razz Indy for saving the girl, that's not a good sign.
The jeuvenilization of the humor in the 2nd movie is pure George Lucas M.O. Gak. I want to be ill.
There are great little parts. Short Round is a great little character. The movie completely sucks.
The third movie was better only in that it didn't completely suck. I was relieved. But it's almost unwatchable today. It's a pale shadow of Raiders of the Lost Ark ... which is still emminently watchable 27 years later, and I daresay will remain so forever.
It's a fantastic classic, one of my favorite movies of all time. I saw it 80 times in theaters during its unbelievable 18 months in initial release.
Find a movie nowadays that's in release for over 18 weeks. Most don't last 18 days.
It's my love of the first movie that has me lining up for all the sequels. I love Indiana Jones, and enjoy at least parts and bits of all the movies. At least the new one still stars Harrison Ford, so it's got a leg up over the cautionary tale of the horrid Star Wars "prequels" also released decades after the originals.
But George Lucas is still involved, and Spielberg has some horrible instincts that he can succomb to. The chances of this movie sucking are very high, but I remain retardedly optimistic and very excited.
I just don't know why.
|