(no subject)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
I originally wanted to catch up with the Indiana Jones trilogy in spirit of the summer release of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I haven't seen it yet, but eyewitness reports are grim.
For me, the real letdown were the original movies. I recently finished the last one, and boy, it's not good. Warning, minor spoilers ahead:
The Last Crusade is filled with the same kinds of things that made the previous two Indy movies so dissatisfying. There's the mythical Macguffin that drives the whole film, and the band of cartoony baddies to chase after it. There's the obligatory romantic interest, the annoying/endearing sidekick, the fake archeological lore and the weird attempts at humour. And then there's Indiana Jones himself, the swashbuckling, invulnerable hero who will invariably survive any adversary or obstacle the filmmakers throw at him, but goes through the motions of struggling with them anyways.
The action sequences are the most boring parts of the movie, because there's never any doubt whether or not Indy will come out on top. The manners in which he succeeds are often silly and hinged on chance, as well. (Consider the "seagulls" method.)
The best moments in The Last Crusade take place early on, at the German castle, because it's here when the plot makes some unexpected turns. This is also when Sean Connery first enters the picture. Connery's character is the filmmakers' attempt at providing both comic relief and emotional weight to the movie. He alternates between being charming and annoying throughout - and when Indy first meets him, in the film's earlier moments, he's mostly still charming. It just goes downhill from there, though, and the rest of the film feels rushed and incoherent. I mean, what, is Indy immortal by the end of the movie?
(ONE AND A HALF out of five)
Sigh. I think I'm going to go cry myself to sleep.
I originally wanted to catch up with the Indiana Jones trilogy in spirit of the summer release of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I haven't seen it yet, but eyewitness reports are grim.
For me, the real letdown were the original movies. I recently finished the last one, and boy, it's not good. Warning, minor spoilers ahead:
The Last Crusade is filled with the same kinds of things that made the previous two Indy movies so dissatisfying. There's the mythical Macguffin that drives the whole film, and the band of cartoony baddies to chase after it. There's the obligatory romantic interest, the annoying/endearing sidekick, the fake archeological lore and the weird attempts at humour. And then there's Indiana Jones himself, the swashbuckling, invulnerable hero who will invariably survive any adversary or obstacle the filmmakers throw at him, but goes through the motions of struggling with them anyways.
The action sequences are the most boring parts of the movie, because there's never any doubt whether or not Indy will come out on top. The manners in which he succeeds are often silly and hinged on chance, as well. (Consider the "seagulls" method.)
The best moments in The Last Crusade take place early on, at the German castle, because it's here when the plot makes some unexpected turns. This is also when Sean Connery first enters the picture. Connery's character is the filmmakers' attempt at providing both comic relief and emotional weight to the movie. He alternates between being charming and annoying throughout - and when Indy first meets him, in the film's earlier moments, he's mostly still charming. It just goes downhill from there, though, and the rest of the film feels rushed and incoherent. I mean, what, is Indy immortal by the end of the movie?
(ONE AND A HALF out of five)
Sigh. I think I'm going to go cry myself to sleep.