Time: 11:40am (movie started at 12:05)
Party: 2 (my mom and I)
Review:
Introduction
I might one day go back and write about the other films in this series but for now, I’ll do my best to discuss this one without giving too much away.
In a world of franchises and remakes, there are two kinds of people. Those who hold a torch for the earlier/original films so any attempt at a modern interpretation will be met with low expectations and/or won’t be good enough. And those who enjoyed the older movies and enjoy the new ones anyway.
This has happened so far with the latest Star Wars trilogy and the Jurassic World trilogy. They have their naysayers and detractors but they still have fans.
Speaking from personal experience, our attitude about these movies has been the same. They might not live up to the hype or compare to the original films— but we’re just as happy to return to these fictional worlds anyway.
In the early years of my parents’ relationship, my dad took my mom to see the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. She’s has a fondness for them (and Harrison Ford) ever since while my dad jokes about regretting doing so. He makes playful jabs at us about our various fandoms but it’s all in good fun.
Obviously once this film was announced, it was a given that we’d go to a theater to see it. What we didn’t expect was finding the time to do it on opening weekend and the theater had plenty of openings.
In the Context of the Franchise
Was it as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark or Last Crusade? Probably not.
Was it better than the panned “installment hardcore fans considered so embarrassing they pretend it never happened” Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Probably…
I know most Indiana Jones fans hated the Crystal Skull for various reasons but we still enjoyed it.
It’s one of maybe two films in the series my sister will watch with us. For one of the reasons a lot of people wrote it off for.
For better or worse, this film did a couple of things as their not-so-subtle way of sweeping the Crystal Skull under the rug.
They not only wrote Shia LaBeouf out of the story but the fate of his character became the reason Marion wound up filing for a separation. Which is where we find Indy at the start of the film (after a lengthy flashback to the mid 40's).
In a world of franchises and remakes, there are two kinds of people. Those who hold a torch for the earlier/original films so any attempt at a modern interpretation will be met with low expectations and/or won’t be good enough. And those who enjoyed the older movies and enjoy the new ones anyway.
This has happened so far with the latest Star Wars trilogy and the Jurassic World trilogy. They have their naysayers and detractors but they still have fans.
Speaking from personal experience, our attitude about these movies has been the same. They might not live up to the hype or compare to the original films— but we’re just as happy to return to these fictional worlds anyway.
In the early years of my parents’ relationship, my dad took my mom to see the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. She’s has a fondness for them (and Harrison Ford) ever since while my dad jokes about regretting doing so. He makes playful jabs at us about our various fandoms but it’s all in good fun.
Obviously once this film was announced, it was a given that we’d go to a theater to see it. What we didn’t expect was finding the time to do it on opening weekend and the theater had plenty of openings.
In the Context of the Franchise
Was it as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark or Last Crusade? Probably not.
Was it better than the panned “installment hardcore fans considered so embarrassing they pretend it never happened” Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Probably…
I know most Indiana Jones fans hated the Crystal Skull for various reasons but we still enjoyed it.
It’s one of maybe two films in the series my sister will watch with us. For one of the reasons a lot of people wrote it off for.
For better or worse, this film did a couple of things as their not-so-subtle way of sweeping the Crystal Skull under the rug.
They not only wrote Shia LaBeouf out of the story but the fate of his character became the reason Marion wound up filing for a separation. Which is where we find Indy at the start of the film (after a lengthy flashback to the mid 40's).
What the heck did happen to Shia LaBeouf anyway? I never really got a straight answer... other than him being another Disney Channel alum that lost it and faded away into obscurity. Or at least became a walking punchline...
Movie Discussion
In terms of writing, the movie was good. Maybe a little overblown and unbelievable at some points but what Indiana Jones movie isn’t?
If you spend enough time with these movies, you recognize a pattern and the cliches that are bound to follow. It might take a little away from the suspense but ultimately it’s best to buckle up and enjoy the ride.
The titular object is an invention of Greek mathematician Archimedes.
For those unaware, that’s the same man who coined the term “eureka,” leapt out of his bathtub and ran to the king’s palace naked to divulge his latest discovery. The principle involved how objects of different masses displaced different amounts of water— not sure how true the rest of the story is but I always found it hilarious.
Anyway, the clock is essentially a Time Machine and the nazis (yeah, there’s always nazis in these movies…) led by Mads Mikkelsen want to find it to rewrite history.
This entourage has the typical cast of characters. The leader/mastermind. The trigger-happy sharpshooter. The strong man of few words (don’t think he had a single line in the whole movie).
The scene stealer was Mason (played Shaunette Renée Wilson). Her character deserved more screen time than she got- simply on the grounds that she was the moral compass of the group. Or at least the antithesis of Mr. “Shoot first ask questions later”.
Reminded me of Lally Hicks (Jessica Williams) from the latest Fantastic Beasts movie. There’s been a lot of demand for strong well-written black female characters and both are prime examples of that being done right.
One interesting thing that sets this movie apart from the others.
Typically Indiana Jones is a man of two worlds. He teaches archeology in college and he pursues archeological relics in his spare time. (Or is it the other way around?)
In this movie, the line separating the two realities blurs and vanishes. He’s actually confronted by the Nazis when he’s still in a civilian environment. Considering he doesn’t have his trusty fedora and whip on hand (plus he’s not as young as he used to be), he handles himself pretty well.
It was sort of like when a superhero is caught off guard by a villain when they’re not currently in their suit. Like Iron Man 3 or halfway through the original Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie.
The triggering incident is when his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up out of the blue and demands to know what he knows about the dial.
Apparently it was an object her father (Toby Jones) was so obsessed with that it drove him to madness and her ultimate goal is to make a load of money off it.
It just so happens he has half of it in his possession. Which is why the Nazis come after him— although they’re really after her because they know she’s been pursuing it. She’s gotten a big reputation for selling a lot of antiquities on the black market. Meaning she’s gained a lot of enemies.
This results in a multitude of wide goose chases spanning the globe. You never really know what side she’s on. Her only ally is Teddy (Ethann Isidore), a teenage pickpocket she picked up off the streets of Morocco. He fulfills a similar role to Short Round in "Temple of Doom" but today's P.C. culture ensures he's not just another stereotype.
In terms of writing, the movie was good. Maybe a little overblown and unbelievable at some points but what Indiana Jones movie isn’t?
If you spend enough time with these movies, you recognize a pattern and the cliches that are bound to follow. It might take a little away from the suspense but ultimately it’s best to buckle up and enjoy the ride.
The titular object is an invention of Greek mathematician Archimedes.
For those unaware, that’s the same man who coined the term “eureka,” leapt out of his bathtub and ran to the king’s palace naked to divulge his latest discovery. The principle involved how objects of different masses displaced different amounts of water— not sure how true the rest of the story is but I always found it hilarious.
Anyway, the clock is essentially a Time Machine and the nazis (yeah, there’s always nazis in these movies…) led by Mads Mikkelsen want to find it to rewrite history.
This entourage has the typical cast of characters. The leader/mastermind. The trigger-happy sharpshooter. The strong man of few words (don’t think he had a single line in the whole movie).
The scene stealer was Mason (played Shaunette Renée Wilson). Her character deserved more screen time than she got- simply on the grounds that she was the moral compass of the group. Or at least the antithesis of Mr. “Shoot first ask questions later”.
Reminded me of Lally Hicks (Jessica Williams) from the latest Fantastic Beasts movie. There’s been a lot of demand for strong well-written black female characters and both are prime examples of that being done right.
One interesting thing that sets this movie apart from the others.
Typically Indiana Jones is a man of two worlds. He teaches archeology in college and he pursues archeological relics in his spare time. (Or is it the other way around?)
In this movie, the line separating the two realities blurs and vanishes. He’s actually confronted by the Nazis when he’s still in a civilian environment. Considering he doesn’t have his trusty fedora and whip on hand (plus he’s not as young as he used to be), he handles himself pretty well.
It was sort of like when a superhero is caught off guard by a villain when they’re not currently in their suit. Like Iron Man 3 or halfway through the original Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie.
The triggering incident is when his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up out of the blue and demands to know what he knows about the dial.
Apparently it was an object her father (Toby Jones) was so obsessed with that it drove him to madness and her ultimate goal is to make a load of money off it.
It just so happens he has half of it in his possession. Which is why the Nazis come after him— although they’re really after her because they know she’s been pursuing it. She’s gotten a big reputation for selling a lot of antiquities on the black market. Meaning she’s gained a lot of enemies.
This results in a multitude of wide goose chases spanning the globe. You never really know what side she’s on. Her only ally is Teddy (Ethann Isidore), a teenage pickpocket she picked up off the streets of Morocco. He fulfills a similar role to Short Round in "Temple of Doom" but today's P.C. culture ensures he's not just another stereotype.
If there’s one big negative about this movie, it’s one too many chase scenes. It opens up with one that goes back to 1944 and it feels like 15-20 minutes before you’re allowed to take a breath. The visual effects that made Harrison Ford look the way he did in the Last Crusade (the events of which take place 5-6 years before this one) are really well done and we get a good introduction to the main bad guy and Toby Jones. But it was maybe a little too long.
And there were way too many Nazis on that train ride…
The older Indiana Jones movies probably had the same amount of chase scenes but they didn’t last nearly as long. At least I don’t think they did… might be worth looking into.
Part of the journey is tracking down the second half of the dial. This leads us to an underwater expedition led by Antonio Banderas. There’s no snakes but there are eels. It’s a funny moment where someone comments that eels are like snakes and Indy is like “no they’re not” in this whiny tone so unlike him.
What the Nazis plan to do with the device and whether they succeed… that’s part of the fun. Although I kept thinking about how much time is left and how far things would go before reaching that terrifying point of no return.
Let’s just say that they succeed… and then fail in a completely unexpected way.
Grade: A-
Trailers
1. Oppenheimer
Trailers
1. Oppenheimer
- I've spoken on this plenty of times already... it'll probably do really well at the box office and come award season
2. a 4th Expendables movie
- I hadn't seen any in this franchise so I can't say too much. But based on the first few seconds, Jason Stratham and Megan Fox being married and fighting each other-- I thought this was going to be another Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie.
3. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning part 1
- as if it wasn't enough in a previous MI movie, Tom Cruise was hanging off the side of a plane taking off. Now he's on a bike and diving off a mountain... and that's probably just the tip of the iceberg
4. Gran Turismo
- same preview I saw during Mario. Don't need to add further comment
5. The Marvels
- might see this when it comes out... they're making it out to be very humorous and light-hearted
6. Next Goal Wins
- another "based on a true story" sports movie about a coach taking on an underdog team. This time, it involves soccer
7. Haunted Mansion
- I never saw the Eddie Murphy version but I also can't help but wonder why this was being made again... although the special effects look good and Owen Wilson is always entertaining to watch. At least for me
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