Indiana Jones Jumped the Shark?
Really now? Let's see.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Indy and company use mad-archaeology to find the Ark of the Covenant. That's right. Like, from the Bible. When the Ark is opened, spirits come forth and kill all the bad people. This is all either totally believable or it is reasonable fantasy fun.
Temple of Doom (1984). Indy et al. find themselves fighting against a cult that practice Black Magic. At one point, there is a human sacrifice where a man's beating heart is removed. The heart continues to beat until the man is lowered into some lava. Then the heart bursts into flames. Later in the movie, Indy invokes the name of Shiva to make some magic rocks glow. Again, all of this is either totally believable or reasonable fantasy fun.
Last Crusade (1989). Indy et al. go on an adventure that ends up with him finding the Holy Grail. Indy uses the grail's magical powers to return someone to life. Oh, and by the way, a bad dude who drinks from one of the wrong grails dies immediately. Also, there's this old crusader dud hanging out. It's unclear whether he's got the gift of long life or if he's part of some underground society. Regardless, all of this is either totally believable or it is reasonable fantasy fun.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Indy et al go on an adventure that leads them to a temple filled with ancient artifacts from around the world. Along the way they find a crystal skull that seems to have some sort of magical power. In the end, we find out that the artifacts were gathered by interdimensional beings (that bear a striking resemblance to "grey" aliens from pop culture). After returning the skull to its place, one of these beings talks to the group, and then leaves in a flying saucer. All of this is stupid nonsense and shows that the franchise had jumped the shark. Also, George Lucas is insane.
Wait, what? We're willing to accept magical artifacts from Christianity. We're willing to accept black magic from strange tribal religions. But interdemensional beings? Flying saucers? No freaking way. That's just stupid.
No sharks have been jumped. Indy movies are just as silly as they've always been. There have always been ridiculous feats of surival. There have always been fantastic stories of magic. Perhaps this latest installment is a bit more over the top than the first 3 (surviving a nuclear blast in a refrigerator, flying saucers), but the change from the original three is not nearly as severe as people would have you believe. When someone goes on and on about the franchise "jumping the shark," I find myself wondering how long ago they saw their last Indy movie before Crystal Skull.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Indy and company use mad-archaeology to find the Ark of the Covenant. That's right. Like, from the Bible. When the Ark is opened, spirits come forth and kill all the bad people. This is all either totally believable or it is reasonable fantasy fun.
Temple of Doom (1984). Indy et al. find themselves fighting against a cult that practice Black Magic. At one point, there is a human sacrifice where a man's beating heart is removed. The heart continues to beat until the man is lowered into some lava. Then the heart bursts into flames. Later in the movie, Indy invokes the name of Shiva to make some magic rocks glow. Again, all of this is either totally believable or reasonable fantasy fun.
Last Crusade (1989). Indy et al. go on an adventure that ends up with him finding the Holy Grail. Indy uses the grail's magical powers to return someone to life. Oh, and by the way, a bad dude who drinks from one of the wrong grails dies immediately. Also, there's this old crusader dud hanging out. It's unclear whether he's got the gift of long life or if he's part of some underground society. Regardless, all of this is either totally believable or it is reasonable fantasy fun.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Indy et al go on an adventure that leads them to a temple filled with ancient artifacts from around the world. Along the way they find a crystal skull that seems to have some sort of magical power. In the end, we find out that the artifacts were gathered by interdimensional beings (that bear a striking resemblance to "grey" aliens from pop culture). After returning the skull to its place, one of these beings talks to the group, and then leaves in a flying saucer. All of this is stupid nonsense and shows that the franchise had jumped the shark. Also, George Lucas is insane.
Wait, what? We're willing to accept magical artifacts from Christianity. We're willing to accept black magic from strange tribal religions. But interdemensional beings? Flying saucers? No freaking way. That's just stupid.
No sharks have been jumped. Indy movies are just as silly as they've always been. There have always been ridiculous feats of surival. There have always been fantastic stories of magic. Perhaps this latest installment is a bit more over the top than the first 3 (surviving a nuclear blast in a refrigerator, flying saucers), but the change from the original three is not nearly as severe as people would have you believe. When someone goes on and on about the franchise "jumping the shark," I find myself wondering how long ago they saw their last Indy movie before Crystal Skull.