Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Mr Freeze

py2006 wrote: »

I watched the Last Crusade last night with the aul fella and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. He particularly thought Connery was great. He saw it with me back in the day but couldn't remember it.

I watched it again recently and its brilliant, its one of my favourite films ever.

BuilderPlumber

Someone said to me there is a new one coming out in 2018 or so. Hopefully this will happen as I enjoyed the others. I have yet to watch Crystal Skull though. Anyway, I think the first 3 were very good and Temple of Doom is probably my favorite. A quick review:

Raiders of the Lost Ark: of course this will be everyone's favorite and is the quintessential Indiana Jones film and the original. I love the film but prefer the first sequel but that does not take away from my love of this or the third one either. You have the right balance of action, humor, exotic locales and romance here and this was the first serious rival to James Bond in many many ways. The bad guys needed no introduction: greedy Nazis who met a violent end at the hands of god after trying to outwit Indy and his allies across the entire film.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Even better I feel. The plot combined Indiana Jones with that of a Mad Max classic or a classic Western like Shane or Magnificent Seven. Indy after escaping from bad guys in China and a plane crash ends up in a repressed Indian village impoverished by an ISIS-like cult. They practice voodooism and slavery and Indy is persuaded to help them and bring back treasures robbed from the village. Once the action starts, it is among the most exciting ever.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The third of the series is more like the first than the second. We get more evil Nazis and also some double crossing fellow archaeologists. The love interest this time is not like the ones in the first 2 and is actually an undercover Nazi. Her relationship with Indy is complex up until the end and she dies because of her greed.

Will get around to seeing The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this Christmas as I will get the DVD. Some mixed views regarding it for sure but still rated highly enough to be decent. There are many decent Bond films rated lower so I am sure this 4th Indy adventure will be good. Maybe not the best of the series but a good entry nevertheless.

Osmosis Jones

Don't watch Crystal Skull, don't hope for a new one, don't choose poorly.

Mariomaker

Avoid Crystal Skull. They should dump Spielberg as director 2. The Franchise needs new blood. Crystal Skull ruined my Indiana Jones it was that bad.

Ardent

Crystal Skull was beyond awful. When I think about it now I find it hard to believe it was actually released.

Avatar MIA

Not sure what everyone is on about, there were only ever 3 Indiana Jones movies... and no amount of contradiction will make me change my mind.

*mutters* swinging through trees like tarzan ffs!

AMKC

sugarman wrote: »

Its really not as bad as everyone makes out. Its an okay watch. Bad casting and a weak script is what kills it.

But its a bit like Star Wars and the prequels.

Agree I don,t think it was that bad and certainly not as bad as the Star Wars prequels. The acting them is terrible altogether.

Den14

There was little or no CGI in Indiana Jones movies until they made the Crystal Skull and it made it look shockingly bad and false. Killed the magic. One of the big ruinations of that film.

JoeA3

Den14 wrote: »

There was little or no CGI in Indiana Jones movies until they made the Crystal Skull and it made it look shockingly bad and false. Killed the magic. One of the big ruinations of that film.

Temple of Doom had some horrendous cgi. The scene where they escape the doomed airplane in an inflatable boat springs to mind. Granted it's 30+ years old but still.

My favourite by far is the Last Crusade. Definitely the one I'd reach for first for a rewatch. The Crystal Skull was awful. I've only seen it once start to finish whereas I'm sure I've seen the other 3 countless times.

TinCool

JoeA3 wrote: »

Temple of Doom had some horrendous cgi. The scene where they escape the doomed airplane in an inflatable boat springs to mind. Granted it's 30+ years old but still.

There was no cgi in Temple of Doom. They were either optical effects, blue/green screen or stop motion.

lawred2

I turned off crystal skull. Utter toss.

Aliens?

Ffs

lawred2

JoeA3 wrote: »

Den14 wrote: »

There was little or no CGI in Indiana Jones movies until they made the Crystal Skull and it made it look shockingly bad and false. Killed the magic. One of the big ruinations of that film.

Temple of Doom had some horrendous cgi. The scene where they escape the doomed airplane in an inflatable boat springs to mind. Granted it's 30+ years old but still.

You recognise that it was 30 years ago but still talk of CGI... Exactly what systems do you think were available for CGI in the mid eighties?

pumpkin4life

Is there any other action movie out there as perfect as Raiders of the Lost Ark?

Like the other two films are superb and Crystal Skull is bum but Raiders?

Top five movie of all time for de pumpkin.

Sklarker

Found a copy of Raiders last week on an old hard drive. Happy days. Great movie. Hadn't seen it in 10 years. Some dodgy CGI for sure but still great.

pumpkin4life

:D:D:D:D:D

AOH77A

Raiders is one of my favourite films ever, a classic. Loved Last Crusade also. Temple of Doom was my least favourite of the three films.

pixelburp

I'd sooner watch Crystal Skull than Temple, and that's purely down to Kate Capshaw and Short Round. And maybe the slightly embarrassingly crass Indian stereotypes throughout.

The series should be laid to rest of course, Ford is too old and the role too iconic to have anyone else step into it, but while there's a fandom pining for the series, there'll be producers feeling they can monetise our nostalgia. Whether it's on TV or films we have followed Indy from child to OAP.

As for the black sheep of the family, Crystal Skull ain't great, but it's nowhere near as apocalyptic bad as the hyperbole on the internet would make it seem. There are some legitimately good set-pieces and moments in there, such as the Area 51 & University chases, and even some of the quieter character moments hit the right beats. It definitely has its problems both in script and casting there's no question there, but honestly the worst I can say about it is that it was a misjudged, lukewarm return of a franchise that didn't need a 4th film.

I mean sure, some people are going to just hate it and that's their prerogative of course, but it feels like South Park and the rule of memes legitimised making it an easy target for fanboy / internet overreaction, all because Spielberg had the temerity to make another Indy film that wasn't great.

Avatar MIA

pixelburp wrote: »

I mean sure, some people are going to just hate it and that's their prerogative of course, but it feels like South Park and the rule of memes legitimised making it an easy target for fanboy / internet overreaction, all because Spielberg had the temerity to make another Indy film that wasn't great.

Nah, there's loads wrong with it. But, to regurgitate here would enable barely repressed flashbacks come back to mind.

kunst nugget

pixelburp wrote: »

I mean sure, some people are going to just hate it and that's their prerogative of course, but it feels like South Park and the rule of memes legitimised making it an easy target for fanboy / internet overreaction, all because Spielberg had the temerity to make another Indy film that wasn't great.

It was absolutely woeful in every aspect. You mention set pieces being good but I can't remember any that didn't make me cringe for my younger self and his love of the series. And it felt like the script was a join the dots exercise between 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if Indy did this next!' moments. And no, it wasn't cool having Indy escape a nuclear bomb blast in a fridge or having Indy meet aliens. I've always had a soft spot for Speilberg since my eighties youth but the direction in Crystal Skull was beyond poor. Awful, awful film…

FunLover18

pumpkin4life wrote:

Is there any other action movie out there as perfect as Raiders of the Lost Ark?

Well, Die Hard is the definitive action movie. Raiders is more adventure for me but it's still wonderful, I'm not really arguing with you.

The problem with CS is that there's no memorable set piece for me, at least not in a good way. Raiders has that iconic Indy climbs under the truck scene, Temple has the cart chase & the fight with the big lad on the conveyor belt, and Raiders has the fight on the tank, all moments where you're rooting for the hero and in the most part were done for real with a stuntman or double. Crystal Skull has swinging monkeys and a swordfight on a truck which is ruined by terrible cgi and green screen.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Crystall Skull was good.

It was good fun and I liked all the jabs about Harrisons Fords age.

The

fridge scene

is hilarious.

Dirty Dingus McGee

pixelburp wrote: »

I'd sooner watch Crystal Skull than Temple, and that's purely down to Kate Capshaw and Short Round. And maybe the slightly embarrassingly crass Indian stereotypes throughout.

The series should be laid to rest of course, Ford is too old and the role too iconic to have anyone else step into it, but while there's a fandom pining for the series, there'll be producers feeling they can monetise our nostalgia. Whether it's on TV or films we have followed Indy from child to OAP.

As for the black sheep of the family, Crystal Skull ain't great, but it's nowhere near as apocalyptic bad as the hyperbole on the internet would make it seem. There are some legitimately good set-pieces and moments in there, such as the Area 51 & University chases, and even some of the quieter character moments hit the right beats. It definitely has its problems both in script and casting there's no question there, but honestly the worst I can say about it is that it was a misjudged, lukewarm return of a franchise that didn't need a 4th film.

I mean sure, some people are going to just hate it and that's their prerogative of course, but it feels like South Park and the rule of memes legitimised making it an easy target for fanboy / internet overreaction, all because Spielberg had the temerity to make another Indy film that wasn't great.

Based on Jurassic World (which is the only thing I've seen him in) Chris Pratt would be perfect for it.

Joeface

Harrison ford would probably have to Die before the recast Dr Jones , Nathan Fillion was the fan favorite for this before Crystal Skull and could probably still do it , Does the whole confused look very well

Didn't like Crystal Skull but didn't hate it . It was hard to top the set pieces from the originals they were just right amount of Saturday Matinee about them

lawred2

A Christmas just isn't complete with Indiana Jones

Joeface

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBakZcaLnBo

Couldn't resist

MfMan

pumpkin4life wrote: »

Is there any other action movie out there as perfect as Raiders of the Lost Ark?

Like the other two films are superb and Crystal Skull is bum but Raiders?

Top five movie of all time for de pumpkin.

As iconic as Indiana Jones is, 'Raiders' was the only really very good one of the series, the rest for my money are exponentially inferior. As someone said, Kate 'constantly screaming' Capshaw and token cute kid nearly sank 'Temple', not even Roshan Seth could redeem them. The interplay between Ford and Connery was lively in 'Crusade' and Julian Glover is always worth a look but the plot was nearly throwaway, Denholm Elliot's character changed from gravitas in 'Raiders' to stupidly comedic and there's a massive onscreen vacuum whenever our Alison appears. As for the other one...

Ryaller

pixelburp wrote: »

As for the black sheep of the family, Crystal Skull ain't great, but it's nowhere near as apocalyptic bad as the hyperbole on the internet would make it seem. There are some legitimately good set-pieces and moments in there, such as the Area 51 & University chases, and even some of the quieter character moments hit the right beats. It definitely has its problems both in script and casting there's no question there, but honestly the worst I can say about it is that it was a misjudged, lukewarm return of a franchise that didn't need a 4th film.

I mean sure, some people are going to just hate it and that's their prerogative of course, but it feels like South Park and the rule of memes legitimised making it an easy target for fanboy / internet overreaction, all because Spielberg had the temerity to make another Indy film that wasn't great.

Well said.

JoeA3

lawred2 wrote: »

You recognise that it was 30 years ago but still talk of CGI... Exactly what systems do you think were available for CGI in the mid eighties?

Ok pedantic Pat, but I think you know what I mean. There were several scenes in the older films that clearly didn't look "real". Green screens / CGI, whatever.

BuilderPlumber

Interesting views here. Catching up on them there seems to be mixed views on Crystal Skull. Will give it a go as I will have all 4 DVDs. I had the the three originals on VHS and thought it was time to get the DVDs. Reacting to some of the themes:

Crystal Skull: A lot of the criticism revolves around the computer generated stuff. I can live with this and it has become a fact of life in modern action films. With regard to the aliens theme in it, I would have no problem. Indiana Jones has always been about the supernatural and forces from beyond our world. I briefly saw the end of it one year and that's all I ever saw of it. The end was clearly based on Raiders and Last Crusade.

Temple of Doom: I think it is a great film. I agree that Short Round does not add much and the woman is a bit too snobby but these are only minor faults. There is great action and the film is not just a remake of Raiders either. Raiders and Crusade are more similar but both are excellent too.

Action, thriller, adventure?: I have heard the series called all of these. I think that the series is all of these and does all of these well. While they are not comedy films, they can use comedy elements well too. While they are not strictly pure science fiction films, elements of this are key to the plot in all of them.

Series revivals: Hard to know when a series needs or suffers from one or more sequels too many. Some film series have gained a new sequel and it turned out the right move. Mad Max Fury Road is an example. Other film series go up and down and reinvent themselves. Bond is an example and every decade has given us at least 1 classic universally praised Bond film. For me I feel there is massive scope to make numerous Indy films as well. You could have him looking for lost treasures in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Greece, Rome, etc. and bring him to places like France, the UK, etc. too.

The one issue of course is who plays Indy. So far it has always been Harrison Ford and he has become so linked with the character that the two are synonymous. Age ruled Roger Moore out of doing Bond by the mid 1980s and age was also a factor why Mel Gibson did not return as Mad Max. I have a feeling that Crystal Skull may be the A View To A Kill of the Indy films: hated by many but actually quite good. That's how I feel about Roger Moore's last Bond film. Harrison's portrayal of an older Indy will be key.

So far, the series has not been rebooted. It could be tempting for someone to reboot it and set it in the current times. Would that ruin it is the other question? Unlike say Bond, which was never set in any given era per se, the 1930s settings of the original series and the Nazi villains were part and parcel of what we came to expect.

Christmas with Indiana Jones: I agree that these films along with Bond films are as much part and parcel of Christmas as turkey, cake and wine are. Growing up, I remember often looking forward to watching them for the first time. The premier of them was always a big event.

Jan_de_Bakker

+1 on Crystal Skull ... it is a terrible terrible movie, mixes two genres that should just never be mixed.

The cinema near me is showing the Indiana Jones Trilogy over Christmas

He is showing them on separate days and then one marathon session of 3 on new years day.

http://www.phenomena-experience.com/evento/727/.html

Love the way he snubs Crystal Skull ..