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Spoiler-Free Review of Indiana Jones

Following last week's sour review of Indiana Jones, Seamus123 links us to "A spoiler-free review of the brilliant new Indiana Jones film, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Much has been made of the revival of the series: is Harrison Ford too old, is Shia LeBeouf any good and can it live up to the three previous movies? All these questions — and some surprising answers — are found in Den of Geek's review." Personally I'll see it no matter what.

34 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Shia LeBeouf to Carry on the Franchise? by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I can deal with LeBeouf in this Jones movie but I've already heard (and I hate to sound like Entertainment Tonight) that Spielberg has asked LeBeouf to carry on as the main character in a string of potential sequels.

    Could this be good? Maybe. But I sure will lament the loss of Ford. In any event I hope to god that LeBeouf's character doesn't assume Indie's role or character or name directly in the coming movies. I haven't seen Crystal Skull yet so I can't say if they're setting us up for that the end (I hope not).

    You know, I love the attitude of Indiana Jones and everything about the character but I'm going to get tired of it if you keep rehashing it. You know, it's ok to try out new things and introduce new personalities. In fact, it's almost required for the audience not to lose their interests. Hell, I wouldn't even mind if Lucas kept stealing high level plot lines from Akira Kurosawa films--so long as I don't get the same thing in 6+ movies of a diluted film franchise.

    I joked with my roommates that we're not far from Lucas re-releasing a "Special Edition" of The Last Crusade where River Phoenix is superimposed with the image of Shia LeBeouf for continuity (a la Anakin Skywalker's apparition in Return of the Jedi). I know he's not the young version of Indiana Jones but I'm so sick and tired of that kind of stuff. Where's Drew Berrymore so she can step in and convince Lucas we should take this chance to replace all the scary whips in Indiana Jones with licorice sticks.

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Shia LeBeouf to Carry on the Franchise? by owlnation · · Score: 5, Funny

      I guarantee that in the Special editions Indy will whip first.

    2. Re:Shia LeBeouf to Carry on the Franchise? by samkass · · Score: 4, Funny

      Maybe they'll give the sword-swinging guy guns and have him fire a couple of shots at Indy before he gets shot...

      --
      E pluribus unum
    3. Re:Shia LeBeouf to Carry on the Franchise? by JosKarith · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Where's Drew Berrymore so she can step in and convince Lucas we should take this chance to replace all the scary whips in Indiana Jones with licorice sticks"

      Uh... I assune you mean Drew Barrymore. Drew Berrymore's a _completely_ different actress and trust me, she wouldn't be asking for any whips to be removed...

      --
      'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
  2. Meesa gonna see it too! by Rogerborg · · Score: 5, Funny

    Meesa no wait for poodoo reviews! Meesa gonna give bigsa clink-clink to franchise rightawaysa! What could go wrongsa?

    --
    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    1. Re:Meesa gonna see it too! by Mastadex · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Meesa no wait for poodoo reviews! Meesa gonna give bigsa clink-clink to franchise rightawaysa! What could go wrongsa?"

      I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of English teachers suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

      --
      A morning without coffee is like something without something else.
    2. Re:Meesa gonna see it too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's his sled. It's his sled from when he was a kid. There, I saved you two long, boobless hours.

  3. RIP Denholm Elliott by InvisblePinkUnicorn · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a shame there won't be a Marcus Brody role in this one, as the actor died a few years after the Last Crusade. One of the funniest scenes in the trilogy was from this one:

    Elsa: It's perfectly obvious where the pages are... he's given them to Marcus Brody.
    Henry: Marcus?! You didn't drag poor Marcus along did you? He's not up to the challenge.
    Donovan: He sticks out like a sore thumb. We'll find him.
    Indy: The hell you will! He's got a two day head start on you, which is more than he needs. Brody's got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see him again. With any luck, he's got the grail already.

    (next scene)

    (Brody disembarks from the train along with the other passengers, a cross-section of Arabs and Turks.)
    Brody: Is there anyone here who speaks English? Or maybe even ancient Greek?

  4. No matter what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Personally I'll see it no matter what.

    Then the terrorists have already won

  5. Spoiiler Free ...HA! by Hankapobe · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I don't know about you guys, but when I see the ending of this movie, I guarantee that I won't be surprised. Hollywood has become too predictable. The only time I've ever been surprised by a movie ending was "The Sixth Sense". Even "Crying Game" didn't surprise me because I recognized the actor from "Stargate".

    When I do know the ending from hearing it from others, it has no affect on my enjoyment of the movie. Great film making is great film making. Everyone knew the ending of "Titanic" but it is the biggest blockbuster ever.

    I want to know everything about the movie before I go a spend $10 on a ticket to see it. Nothing pisses me off more than going out with the wife and spending $20 on shit.

    1. Re:Spoiiler Free ...HA! by houghi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When I do know the ending from hearing it from others, it has no affect on my enjoyment of the movie. Great film making is great film making. Everyone knew the ending of "Titanic" but it is the biggest blockbuster ever.
      I only partly agree. It depends on the movie. A film like the 6th sense rides on the surprise and thus gives you a different experience that you now will never have.
      Many other movies do not depend on the twists and turns of the story, like LotR. Many people enjoyed it even though it was clear what would happen.

      Many movies are just a trip from A to B, like LotR. You have a ring, you need to get rid of it and that is what happens. Other movies, like the sixt sense, the change of direction in the story is the goal of the storyteller.

      Yes, American movies seldom use the twist to suddenly point in a complete different direction. Most of the time they just sidestep a bit, or they go completely overboard and do more turns then a drunken balerina. One thing you often need not to do is think and that is what those plot twists need.
      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    2. Re:Spoiiler Free ...HA! by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As far as "woa" movies go. Arlington Road was probably the one that caught me the most off guard. But so did Fight Club. No one says you have to watch NEW movies. I'll hear about an obscure older movie and see if I can find it somewhere there are a ton of Independent Films that never got exposure because they predated the internet.

      One of my favorite movies is The Man from Earth. Simple, 0 CGI and it's a great discussion and there's even a small plot twist at the end.

    3. Re:Spoiiler Free ...HA! by Joe+the+Lesser · · Score: 3, Funny

      I so want to snigger... am I a bad person? Only for using the word snigger.
      --
      "I only speak the truth"
      Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
    4. Re:Spoiiler Free ...HA! by CrazedWalrus · · Score: 5, Funny
      There was only one death I wanted to see. The sight of Jack's cold, dead body sinking into that dark, shark-infested ocean made that entire interminable movie worth seeing. The only thing that would have made it better would be if the sharks had lasers to cook him first.

      Even more amusing is the IMDB entry:

      Jack Dawson was a character in the hit movie "Titanic" in 1997. His love was with Rose DeWitt Butiker, a first class rich person. Jack was third class. Jack got on the boat by winning a poker game with his two buddies. While Jack was on the Titanic, he was arrested as the boat began to sink, but Rose came to save him. Jack died on April 15, 1912, after the Titanic sank because of hypothermia.


      Apparently the Titanic sank because of hypothermia. Poor ship just needed a blanket and a Cup O' Noodles.

  6. CGI by qoncept · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "A conscious decision in production was made to steer clear of CGI effects when possible and perform stunts the old-fashioned way"

    Thank god. CGI made Star Wars 3 one of the worst movies I've ever seen. "This chair doesn't look quite right, can you paint it orange?" "I'll just make a quick 3d model of it instead. You know -- to ensure the movie doesn't look too real."

    --
    Whale
    1. Re:CGI by esocid · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wow, you took the words right out of my mouth. Well, the Thank god part.
      I really think directors need to stick to using "real" effects instead of cgi simulations. We can still tell the difference, so all it does is interrupt the movie and make me aware that I'm really watching a movie. The goal should be to immerse the viewer, no matter how outlandish the plot may be, and not to make him say 'wow, that looked so fake.' And while I'm at it, I'd rather see some sort of puppet/animatron than a cgi character to be completely honest, however, LOTR did a good job with Gollum.

      --
      Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
    2. Re:CGI by getto+man+d · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Indeed. When seeing the opening of Star Wars III it felt as though I was entering a poorly made space shooter.

      The move back to "the old-fashioned way" is a wise choice. I do not want a CGI Ford bouncing around like Yoda. Even Del Toro (for the Hobbit) seems to agree http://www.ifitsmovies.com/2008/04/28/guillermo-del-toro-talks-the-hobbit-plus-its-sequel/.

      And why not CGI? Well, look at Blade Runner, Alien, and the original Star Wars movies. They felt so real because the models were real.

  7. Spoiler by homer_s · · Score: 4, Funny

    Indiana Jones wins and the villain loses.

  8. Short -term memory syndrome. by owlnation · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have no doubt this movie will be a huge cash cow.

    However, I have absolutely no understanding why.

    Please can someone explain to me, why that when the 1st Star Wars Prequel was widely regarded as a crime against celluloid, and the 2nd Prequel proved, if anything, to be even worse that the 1st, that anyone at all went to see the 3rd Prequel.

    George Lucas is a filmmaker that has made an extremely large amount of money based on a very small number of good films made more than 20 years ago, while the majority of his work is very poor indeed. One might also say that for Spielberg too.

    If you have high expectations for this movie, then might I suggest that you are possibly suffering from amnesia, or are 5.

    1. Re:Short -term memory syndrome. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
      Please can someone explain to me, why that when the 1st Star Wars Prequel was widely regarded as a crime against celluloid, and the 2nd Prequel proved, if anything, to be even worse that the 1st, that anyone at all went to see the 3rd Prequel.

      Morbid curiosity.

    2. Re:Short -term memory syndrome. by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because The original Star wars trilogy were some of the most watchable movies ever (note not the best) and the prequels were constantly compared to them and were not as good.... but compared with the rubbish touted by the studios nowadays they were still very watchable ...

      --
      Puteulanus fenestra mortis
  9. honestly now by X_Bones · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Personally I'll see it no matter what.

    Why? Just because of the first two words in the title? That, frankly, is a piss-poor reason to see a movie.

    Yours is the exact attitude that causes movie studios to continue producing terrible sequels and re-makes instead of movies that are worth watching. Why innovate when you can imitate for cheaper and people will eat it up anyway, right?

    1. Re:honestly now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I am very sorry Mister Rossellini. I solemnly promise that from now on I will carefully choose movies to watch in order to educate my poor soul.

      Who cares that Hollywood spits out a ton of shit, there are quality movies in circulation anyway. But if I want to slip back in my 12 years old self I go and see 'crap' movies like this, or even Rocky VI. Why? Because.

    2. Re:honestly now by cvas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That, frankly, is a piss-poor reason to see a movie.

      How did you come to that conclusion? It is the fourth film in a franchise that has produced, at the very least, some entertaining movies.

      And if there is imitation going on, it is all the people from the first three imitating themselves. This isn't some Flavor of the Month franchise that they handed to a no name director because the guy that handled the first one moved on to bigger and better things. This is the team that brought us one of the most iconic action movies of recent times taking another stab at the character.

      In my book, that's a damn good reason to see a movie.

      Yes, even if it turns out to be crap. How am I going to know until I see it? Reviewers? (insert sounds of maniacal laughter)

      I understand what you are trying to say, and with almost any other sequel (hell, any other movie) released lately I would be agreeing with you, but in this case I think your ire is misdirected.

    3. Re:honestly now by Bonewalker · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I like you man, but you're crazy.

      If someone enjoyed the previous movies, then seeing the sequels just because of the name is a perfect reason to see them. What else should you base your desire to see a movie on? Critic reviews? BS. Friend's word-of-mouth? Even more BS. Budget size? BS. Director, Producer, Studio? Wrong again. They all have their own hits and misses.

      There is no better reason to see a movie than if you saw a first version and liked it, then of course you should see the next entries.

      That would be like saying I liked this can of Chicken Noodle soup, but I'm going to wait and see what Julia Child thinks of this next can before I warm it up.

      I'm not saying you have to automatically like the sequel, but it sure as hell is a good enough reason to see them.

  10. Re:Why couldn't they have just left this alone? by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You've been on /. this long and you're just now noticing that we bitch about everything?

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  11. My spoiler-free Review of Indiana Jones by Alzheimers · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dah-nuh-da-da!

    *whipcrack*

    *wisecrack*

    *swiiiiiiing*

    *punchpunchpunch*

    INDY!!!

    Dah-nuh-da-da!

  12. Review seems forced... by BobMcD · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it just me, or is everything WAY too positive in this 'review'? This is less a critique of the film and more of a plug for it.

    Things like -

    He's really old, but that's a GOOD thing!

    - just wear thin on me.

  13. That's not a review... by ghostdoc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    that's a vomit-inducing puff piece. I only managed to read the first three paragraphs before my gag reflex kicked in and I had to look away for a while.

    I can only take so much sugar in my reading material.

    --
    Business/App ideas are like arseholes: everyone's got one, they're mostly shit, but very rarely they contain a diamond
  14. Re:Shia The Cow by rho · · Score: 4, Funny

    You call him "Doctor Jones", doll!

    --
    Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
  15. Re:My review: by Creepy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most if not all of the Crystal Skulls are fake artifacts. All of the ones tested date to the 19th century.

        The most famous one, the Mitchell-Hedges skull has not been allowed to be studied, but it was reportedly found in Lubaantun in Belize (when it was British Honduras). The problem is, no one acknowledges the finder, Anna Mitchell-Hedges was at the dig, though later her adopted father said in his autobiography (I think) the skull was at least 3600 years old. I severely doubt that it is authentic and believe it is more of a money/attention grab, but it fits well with Indiana Jones since all of the movies have been about mythological objects that may or may not be real.

  16. Re:Memento by zippthorne · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Huh? The movie itself gave away the ending in the first ten minutes.

    --
    Can you be Even More Awesome?!
  17. Oh rally? by McNihil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "...Crystal Skull is an absolute triumph, and a picture-perfect tribute to one of cinema's great action franchies..."

    OMG by bullshit detector just exploded.

  18. Re:You *WILL* be surprised [spoilers] by Lars+T. · · Score: 3, Interesting

    [spoiler:] There's a damned giant flying saucer, that has nothing to do here and completely ruins the franchise. WTF? Did Spielberg run out of ancient culture to use as a historical background to Indy's adventure, so he was desperate to put some E.T. in there ? How is a UFO more unbelievable than a vengeful god who sends ghosts to turn Nazis aflame when you open a stupid trunk? The idea that these "gods" were actually ETs didn't start with Stargate.
    --

    Lars T.

    To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck