Boiling Point: Leave Them Alone

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

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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