(no subject)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
I've never actually seen any of the Indiana Jones movies. I've only played the Lucasarts point-and-click adventure game, visited the live action show at Disney World as a little kid, and otherwise felt the cultural impact through tangential, indirect means. I finally watched Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time, but boy, is it disappointing.
Muddled and incoherent. After a breathless opening sequence that blends tension, humour, and adrenaline, Raiders of the Lost Ark kind of goes downhill from there. The film's problems are hard to pin down, but it's got something to do with the uneven pacing, and a series of inexplicable, absurd moments that affect the flow of the film. Consider when a villain decides it's wise to grab a piece of smoldering metal, or when a roomful of strangers suddenly draw their guns on Indy, who is somehow saved by bunch of squealing children who materialize out of nowhere. There's a lot more of these weird moments, and they take you out of the movie every time. Also, the archaeological/mythological aspect of the film is superficial at best, and makes for an easy Macguffin and an ending deus ex machina that's far too convenient. Indiana Jones himself isn't even a particularly interesting or likable hero: his answer to pretty much every confrontation is to punch or shoot the other guy. (ONE AND A HALF out of five)
I started off wanted to be swept up in an exciting adventure, I wanted to be happy for Indy and Marion at the end of the movie. But at some point, after maiming and murdering its Nth Nazi and barreling its way through silted contrivance after contrivance, the movie just lost me.
I've never actually seen any of the Indiana Jones movies. I've only played the Lucasarts point-and-click adventure game, visited the live action show at Disney World as a little kid, and otherwise felt the cultural impact through tangential, indirect means. I finally watched Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first time, but boy, is it disappointing.
Muddled and incoherent. After a breathless opening sequence that blends tension, humour, and adrenaline, Raiders of the Lost Ark kind of goes downhill from there. The film's problems are hard to pin down, but it's got something to do with the uneven pacing, and a series of inexplicable, absurd moments that affect the flow of the film. Consider when a villain decides it's wise to grab a piece of smoldering metal, or when a roomful of strangers suddenly draw their guns on Indy, who is somehow saved by bunch of squealing children who materialize out of nowhere. There's a lot more of these weird moments, and they take you out of the movie every time. Also, the archaeological/mythological aspect of the film is superficial at best, and makes for an easy Macguffin and an ending deus ex machina that's far too convenient. Indiana Jones himself isn't even a particularly interesting or likable hero: his answer to pretty much every confrontation is to punch or shoot the other guy. (ONE AND A HALF out of five)
I started off wanted to be swept up in an exciting adventure, I wanted to be happy for Indy and Marion at the end of the movie. But at some point, after maiming and murdering its Nth Nazi and barreling its way through silted contrivance after contrivance, the movie just lost me.