Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [use spoiler tags, please]

[Cadaverous Pallor]

To answer Ponine - I thought his name was Mud because it sounded like he said Mud. I did not notice his jacket.

[Ponine]

Ah. This makes sense.
next time, sit in the back row under the speakers to avoid drunk teenagers. Sound, is not an issue.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I loved it. I will probably love watching it again. Despite its flaws (and I agreed with the bulk of ism's assessment of those flaws), I enjoyed it immensely. Whatever The Temple of Doom had going for it (Short Round!), the story didn't interest me that much and I HATED Kate Capshaw. And I didn't hate her just because Karen Allen brought moxie to the love interest role and I adored her in Raiders (and Starman - hah!), but that did play a part.

And I really, really enjoyed The Last Crusade, and not just because I love it when Indy fights the Nazis, though I DO love it when Indy fights the Nazis. Heh. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as much as the 3rd Indy film, and I'm also pretty sure it's because it made me feel like a giddy elementary school kid while watching it. I could have done without some of the CGI effects (Tarzan, to name one), but didn't mind others (the waterfalls). But I loved the plot. I liked that it was made very clear at the beginning that this was the direction they were going to take, so I went with it. And it seemed perfectly tailored for an Indy flick, though I wish they showed less at the end. Too much information.

I especially loved the Red Scare / 50's paranoia sci-fi combo.

No, it cannot touch the goodness Raiders of the Lost Ark. Considering that Raiders might be my favorite movie next to Safety Last!, few movies can for me. But I was happy to have a 4th installment, and wasn't disappointed by what we were given.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Um, by the way, there was no cartoon action in Raiders of the sort on display in every one of the subsequent Indy movies. ... it was NOT cartoony on the order of Road Runner in the least

I must offer a partial retraction. There was one throw-away gag of total cartoonity in Raiders. During the attack on Indy and Marion in the streets of Cairo, Indy is about to get sword-stabbed, but jumps out of the way just in time ... leaving another atacker to be skewered instead. When they cut back to the two Arabs, it's shown that the stabbing apparently happened so fast that two mangos were also skewered in mid-air.

It's completely Road Runner. Not done to excess in that movie ... but it's there.

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I do believe that a bad sequel has the power to hurt the perception of the original.

I used to feel that way as well. But sequels have become so ubiquitous in society ... and along with that I've noticed a general understanding that sequels are usually pale shadows to the great original film which financially spawned them.

So I think the tables have turned. Now I'm of the opinion that crappy sequels serve mostly to highlight the brillance of the film they so poorly reflect.

But I see your point. Both effects are probably happening.

Originally Posted by Eliza Hodgkins 1812

Considering that Raiders might be my favorite movie next to ...

Is it possible I could fall even more in love with EH1812???

[Alex]

I especially loved the Red Scare / 50's paranoia sci-fi combo.

I would have loved to see this exhibited to a greater degree, but after the first 20 minutes did "50's paranoia" ever get even a nod? And same for the red scare. Other than having a Russian accent, there was nothing Russian or Communist about the threat and since the movie quickly moved away from anything resembling modern culture there was no Red Scare stuff either.

But after 10 days of living with this movie in my mind I've pretty thoroughly shed what enjoyment I had while watching it (which barely survived the closing credits anyway) so it is probably best that I just put it in a mental box and forget about it like I have National Treasure 2 (though this was much better than National Treasure 2; which might be like saying that drinking cat pee is much better than eating cat poop).

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Alex

Other than having a Russian accent, there was nothing Russian or Communist about the threat and since the movie quickly moved away from anything resembling modern culture there was no Red Scare stuff either.

Well, the thirteen crystal skeletons were referred to as making up a "collective" which I took to imply that they had red sympathies.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Originally Posted by Alex

I would have loved to see this exhibited to a greater degree, but after the first 20 minutes did "50's paranoia" ever get even a nod? And same for the red scare. Other than having a Russian accent, there was nothing Russian or Communist about the threat and since the movie quickly moved away from anything resembling modern culture there was no Red Scare stuff either.

I'f they'd delved into it too deeply, I would have been irritated. Cate B's "you'll wake up and be us without even knowing what happened" touched nicely upon Commie phobia, I think. I was pretty punch pleased.

[Ponine]

Originally Posted by Alex

I would have loved to see this exhibited to a greater degree, but after the first 20 minutes did "50's paranoia" ever get even a nod? And same for the red scare. Other than having a Russian accent, there was nothing Russian or Communist about the threat and since the movie quickly moved away from anything resembling modern culture there was no Red Scare stuff either.

First let me say, the cat anology... omg.. funny.

I wonder how much of this plot line is on the cutting room floor.
Since we knew why she wanted the crystal skull, yet much of the WHY we had to glean ourselves.
It wasnt laid out. Now, what I would think is that even had they TOLD us straight out, it wouldnt have moved the story along. hence, cut it out, and let us see the Tarzan scene.

What I want to know, was there a REASON we saw the ark?

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by Ponine

What I want to know, was there a REASON we saw the ark?

Couple theories on this:

a) Because it was cool

b) Because that whole warehouse scene was (per Sohrshah) a tribute to the matte painting that had been done for the first movie, which had over 30 seconds straight of screen time, and apparently this was something worth tributing - and the ark was being put away into that warehouse for that scene, so it was appropriate that we realize Indy was in the same warehouse.

I'm at least going with a

[Ponine]

I agree with both, truly.

Though I didnt know about B. It just seemed like it was so intentional there might have been a reason I missed.
Like I am sure there was something in the "cave of wonders" worth seeing.