Foxy..
Proud Member
I feel the need to write down my thoughts about seeing this film since the franchise has been my favorite and most treasured since I was a child. I grew up watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade, and so I have been feeling like a child setting his eyes on a double chocolate fudge sundae with whipped cream for the very first time!
Now as I am older, I have become a student of film, and I have to owe it to movies such as the original Indiana Jones masterpieces. Considering this, I had to make sure I saw the film on the night it was released and so, what better place to share my review than with everyone here at MJJCommunity. I hope we have some Indiana film fans out there!
Obviously, I went into this film with high expectations, yet I was open minded in how the director chose to approach the gap in time and what new mystery and settings I could feast my eyes upon. From the opening I was impressed with the immediate recognition of how the time had passed, a group of teenagers speeding along a Nevada desert road playing Elvis Presley's Hound Dog on full volume surely enough told me that this film was set in the 1950's.
Where I was hoping for a story which would be similar in realism yet enjoyably unreal as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, the story unfortunately descended into an uninteresting and unbelievable scenario, similar in hindsight to The Temple of Doom, which in my opinion is the worst of the films.
Something else that was missing from this film which was present in its three predecessors, was witty and dry humored dialouge. Unfortunately, maybe because of age or lack of dedication, the script was bitty and unfunny where it was obviously trying to be, with hardly any jokes taking off in the cinema, leaving the room silent when laughs should have erupted. Although there were a couple of moments I let out a giggle, I was in no way as entertained by the script as I still am by the third film; The Last Crusade.
The visual effects and stunning set pieces were however mind blowing, in classic Indie style the action never fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. Car chases, boats, bendy trees, waterfalls, killer ants, scorpions, quicksand, sword fights, all classic pieces of Indiana Jones magic. However, although visually impressive, the central storyline does not hold water in being fun to watch, unrealistic to the extreme it doesn't allow the audience to relate to what is happening. Where in the first and third films there was a sense of grittiness where you cared about what Indiana Jones was fighting for, the classic yet unique in execution 'good vs evil' scenario, which although present in this installment, I did not find the rivalry interesting, believable nor worth the seats snapping in audience anticipation.
As a huge Indiana fan, I left the cinema on the fence, was I disappointed or was I just expecting too much because of the love I have for the original trilogy? I think that my problem was a mixture of both my own preconceived notions on how I wanted the narrative to unravel and the narrative relying too heavily on the audience having to enjoy it because of its preceding trilogy.
All in all, I believe that if the script was ripped up and rewritten, keeping in the glorious action sequences this could have been a masterpiece and added to the other films rather than having the 'Terminator 3' feel. I do however feel it is better than the second film in terms of enjoyment and engagement. It is definitely worth seeing if you are a fan or not of the trilogy, but don't go into the cinema with high expectations of the other films.
My Score - 7/10
Ranking of the franchise in order:
The Last Crusade
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Temple of Doom
Now as I am older, I have become a student of film, and I have to owe it to movies such as the original Indiana Jones masterpieces. Considering this, I had to make sure I saw the film on the night it was released and so, what better place to share my review than with everyone here at MJJCommunity. I hope we have some Indiana film fans out there!
Obviously, I went into this film with high expectations, yet I was open minded in how the director chose to approach the gap in time and what new mystery and settings I could feast my eyes upon. From the opening I was impressed with the immediate recognition of how the time had passed, a group of teenagers speeding along a Nevada desert road playing Elvis Presley's Hound Dog on full volume surely enough told me that this film was set in the 1950's.
Where I was hoping for a story which would be similar in realism yet enjoyably unreal as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, the story unfortunately descended into an uninteresting and unbelievable scenario, similar in hindsight to The Temple of Doom, which in my opinion is the worst of the films.
Something else that was missing from this film which was present in its three predecessors, was witty and dry humored dialouge. Unfortunately, maybe because of age or lack of dedication, the script was bitty and unfunny where it was obviously trying to be, with hardly any jokes taking off in the cinema, leaving the room silent when laughs should have erupted. Although there were a couple of moments I let out a giggle, I was in no way as entertained by the script as I still am by the third film; The Last Crusade.
The visual effects and stunning set pieces were however mind blowing, in classic Indie style the action never fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. Car chases, boats, bendy trees, waterfalls, killer ants, scorpions, quicksand, sword fights, all classic pieces of Indiana Jones magic. However, although visually impressive, the central storyline does not hold water in being fun to watch, unrealistic to the extreme it doesn't allow the audience to relate to what is happening. Where in the first and third films there was a sense of grittiness where you cared about what Indiana Jones was fighting for, the classic yet unique in execution 'good vs evil' scenario, which although present in this installment, I did not find the rivalry interesting, believable nor worth the seats snapping in audience anticipation.
As a huge Indiana fan, I left the cinema on the fence, was I disappointed or was I just expecting too much because of the love I have for the original trilogy? I think that my problem was a mixture of both my own preconceived notions on how I wanted the narrative to unravel and the narrative relying too heavily on the audience having to enjoy it because of its preceding trilogy.
All in all, I believe that if the script was ripped up and rewritten, keeping in the glorious action sequences this could have been a masterpiece and added to the other films rather than having the 'Terminator 3' feel. I do however feel it is better than the second film in terms of enjoyment and engagement. It is definitely worth seeing if you are a fan or not of the trilogy, but don't go into the cinema with high expectations of the other films.
My Score - 7/10
Ranking of the franchise in order:
The Last Crusade
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Temple of Doom
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