Boiling Point: Leave Them Alone

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 26, 2008

Boiling Point: Indiana Jones

After seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull I’m afraid I’ve come down on the side of “Not that good.” There has been a lot of nostalgic and apologetic praise for this flick, but a fair amount of honest criticism. I saw Indiana Jones but I’m not quite sure I saw an Indiana Jones movie. Now I’m going to try to keep my temper under control for this one, out of respect for Dr. Jones.

There are plans for Hollywood to return to many things, though this is nothing new. Sequels come and go and remakes pop up here and there, sometimes with many years between them. There were 8 years between Death Wish and Death Wish II for example and of course, both Rocky Balboa and Rambo came back a decade later. Now joining the list, Indiana Jones. Are any of these really necessary? No. But they can be good. Rocky Balboa was a legitimately good look into the life of a boxer well past his fame. Perhaps this is why I’m cutting them some slack. Perhaps when I re-watch Crystal Skull on DVD I’ll find some new appreciation for it, but I don’t know about that one.

Is it so hard for Hollywood to find original ideas? I know there are a million people who flock to the city of the stars every year hoping to sell their big idea. And even if 95% of those ideas sucked, that’s still thousands of fresh ideas waiting to be found. Or just slap your existing writers in the face and tell them to come up with something new.

I love the Indiana Jones movies. I was excited for the new one. But almost immediately on screen I felt a bit let down. I did enjoy bits of it, laughed a few times, liked a few of the chases, but really I would have wished Hollywood would have left it alone. Did we need a new Indiana Jones flick? No. Would I have been really happy with a great new flick? Of course. But Hollywood is notorious for doing it wrong. So many things are mishandled. It’s a tough balance – on one hand I want more, on the other, if it’s going to be a disaster, keep it.

So maybe most everyone really loves Crystal Skull, maybe most people want to see their favorite characters continue on, but me, I can’t say. I want more, but I want it to be great and if it can’t deliver, I don’t want it. Seeing some of my favorite movies in the world (Indiana Jones, Star Wars) get unsatisfying sequels just bums me out and brings me to a rolling boil. So please, Hollywood, if you’re not going to respect them, leave them alone.

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790

Robert, Its all about ratings vs profit these days.

One reason Pixar films allways bring in the bank is because there rated G or PG. Crystal Skull was a real good example of making alot money off a popular film franchise.
I enjoyed the film but did notice alot of scenes that were geared to keep the kids awake during the mostly adult subject matter.

I think if studios had a different mindset over profit vs ratings we wouldn't have this problem... And it is a ongoing problem for the fans.
Just recently Marvel claimed it wouldn't release any R, rated superhero films in the future.
Is this because they can't or they won't? Well the answer is obvious, Iron Man has allready made over 200+ mil. and you can factor in at least 90+ mil.because of the PG-13 rating.
That extra 90+ mil. makes it alot easier for the studios and directors to get mediocre reviews and bad buzz from irate fan demographics.

Its the fans that ultimatly suffer as was seen this weekend, as one of our favorite heroes was pasturized right before our eyes.
Just think how different this Indy film would have been rated R?.....

Steven

I feel your pain, Robert. I, too, was shocked by the sheer awfulness of Indy 4. Not only was it a terrible movie to make for this iconic beloved character, but forget the fact that it was an Indy movie, or a Speilberg movie, just think of it simply as a movie and you'll realise that it's still awful any way you look at it! No excuses.

It's not about original ideas. There are maybe 7 stories all together that Hollywood keeps telling us over and over again, variations on the same theme. So it's not about originality anymore but it's about doing something right and with Indy 4, they screwed up on every level.

Jim

I didn't like Indiana Jones either but I don't think it's necessarily Spielberg's fault. I blame it primarily on David Koepp for writing a bad script and George Lucas for approving that script while rejecting one written by Frank friggin' Darabont. I didn't like Iron Man either. I think that makes me one of maybe seven people on this earth who didn't like it. Check out my blog for reviews of both: www.zoom-in.com/blog/jim

Boiling Point: Leave Them Alone

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