DVDizzy Forum

Goliath wrote:Well, let me say this on The Last Crusade:

It was a complete rehash of the first film's plot, only weaker and dumber. Search for long lost Biblical artifact? Check. Nazi's looking for it, too? Check. Going from clue to clue to clue to find said artifact? Check. Nazi's defeated by the very same thing they wanted? Check. It's the same film all over again, only the nazi's are turned into clowns (Indy getting Hitler's autograph? Really?) and so is Indy's sidekick Marcus (who was a smart guy in the first film but is a buffoon in this one). Sean Connery as Indy's father is possibly the worst about the film. It results in corny jokes and stupid endless bickering, which effectively kills all the excitemint in every supposedly dangerous situation. And don't even get me started on that worthless beginning with the young Indy, where he picks up all his current habits and character traits in less than 10 minutes...

A long time ago in a thread not so far away, Escapay wrote:Temple of Doom is far from the weakest of the trilogy. Sure, it took unused concepts of Raiders and gave the franchise a darker turn, along with a female companion that's too annoying for words, and a kid who is unnecessary to the story (but is a great way for viewers to live vicariously with Indy, as we all imagine that we could be Short Round). But it's a lot more enjoyable than Last Crusade, which I feel is the weakest, it suffers from the following:

-Not Enough Action - yes, there are some memorable sequences, and no, a film like Indy Jones doesn't have to be action after action. But when compared to Raiders and Temple, Last Crusade is surprisingly lighter.

-Too Many Nazis - almost sounds like the name of a really bad musical, doesn't it? But the Nazi concept was already done in Raiders and while it *just barely* works in Last Crusade, the Nazis didn't need to be used *again*. Especially since they're empty villains here (who pretty much are the lackeys of Donovan), compared to the real threat they were in Raiders.

-It's Raiders 2.0 - back to the Nazis again. Their incentive for getting the Grail, and Indy's incentive to stop them, is essentially Raiders, but you substitute an Old Testament relic with a New Testament relic.

-Indy Doesn't Get The Girl - I know it would have been cliched if Elsa lived and turned good. But that's exactly what the story needed, because the Indy movies are based on the old serials where you expect a happy ending. The reconciliation between Indy and his dad is satisfying, but not satisfying enough because it's pretty much an action/adventure movie staple for the guy to get the girl.

-The Dumbing Down of Marcus - for a guy who appears to be very "with it" in Raiders, they've turned him into a buffoon that serves as comic relief for the few scenes he's in. <strike>Also, with the whole prologue showing that Indy and Marcus are near the same age, it is suddenly very jarring now to see Indy and Marcus when they're adults, as Marcus has always been visibly older.</strike> I later was told it's not Marcus, but a friend named Herman Mueller. All this time, I thought it was Marcus. Silly Scaps!

-The Prologue - I love the prologue, I really do. It's a great way to showcase Indy's beginnings (especially since the TV series wasn't conceived yet), and has a great performance from River Phoenix (who played Harrison Ford's son in The Mosquito Coast - hey, that's another film to add to your list, Panfan!). But beyond establishing the tense relationship Indy had with his father, as well as where he got the hat, the whip, and the scar, it's really not necessary to The Last Crusade, at least not as one large chunk in the beginning of the film. Had they spread it out into "flashbacks" Indy has (perhaps along with additional material beyond that one brief adventure), it might work better. But it's otherwise just filler.

There's probably a few more reasons why I'm not fond of The Last Crusade but I think those cover the main stuff. And made this post longer than necessary.

Escapay wrote:I still need to get the Young Indy DVDs, but they're mad expensive and unfortunately, not often to be found in stores anymore, so I'd have to order them online.

albert

Barbossa wrote:

Escapay wrote:I still need to get the Young Indy DVDs, but they're mad expensive and unfortunately, not often to be found in stores anymore, so I'd have to order them online.

albert

I was lucky enough to get all three sets. I agree, they are hard to find in stores now.

My biggest gripe with Crystal Skull was the jungle chase sequence - too comically over-the-top - and that includes the monkey swinging, fencing between vehicles etc. C'mon, they could've put that jungle cutter to much better use by wood-chipping a Ruskie Fargo-style. A guy got taken out with a propeller in Raiders, a rock crusher in Temple, and a tank in Crusade (or decapitated by a skil saw blade). Skull lacked a gruesome bad guy exit.

SmartAleck25 wrote:

Barbossa wrote:I was lucky enough to get all three sets. I agree, they are hard to find in stores now.

My biggest gripe with Crystal Skull was the jungle chase sequence - too comically over-the-top - and that includes the monkey swinging, fencing between vehicles etc. C'mon, they could've put that jungle cutter to much better use by wood-chipping a Ruskie Fargo-style. A guy got taken out with a propeller in Raiders, a rock crusher in Temple, and a tank in Crusade (or decapitated by a skil saw blade). Skull lacked a gruesome bad guy exit.

I'm thinking death by evil army ants, and making someone's head explode.

Jilted wrote:I think Indiana Jones lost their charm with the last movie....a future one is just sad in my opinion...

HarryCanyon wrote:How about also ignoring the events of Indy 4?

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2010, the actor, who was 23 at the time, said he and director Steven Spielberg "dropped the ball" on the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." That interview did not sit well with the director or Shia's co-star Harrison Ford, who later called LaBeouf "a f--cking idiot." Ouch. Two years later, Shia revealed that he "deeply regretted" making those comments and that Spielberg gave him a talking to: "He told me there's a time to be a human being and have an opinion, and there's a time to sell cars. It brought me freedom, but it also killed my spirits because this was a dude I looked up to like a sensei."