Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[meganbmoore]

Short version:  While the Star Wars prequels aren't the crime against nature some pass them off as, they could have been much better than they were.  While the 4th Indiana Jones movie isn't nearly as good as the originals, it's probably the best movie it could have been.

In a way, the alien angle is absurd and out of place in an Indiana Jones movie, but in another way, it makes sense.  The Indiana Jones movies are send ups to the pulp adventures of the 30s.  Fast forward 20 years, and the popular pulp fiction isn't treasure hunting adventures, but aliens, and the movie tries to combine the two.  It went to far, though, in showing the actual spaceship and the living alien.  It should have just shown the skeletons combining as Indy and the others were hoofing it, showing a little of what the structure really was, then left us wondering what was going on inside while they were escaping/watching the temple collapse.

Mutt was inoffensive and actually pretty likable, though they were too obviously pushing the possibility of more movies with him.  That he was Indy's son was pretty obvious from the start.  If his choosing to call himself "Mutt" wasn't a clue, then the fact that his mother's name was Marion should have been.  Thankfully, the movie was blatant about it from Mutt's second scene, instead of trying to be clever about it.

Also, I'm very glad that Indy finally married Marion.  That Marion Ravenwood was only in one movie is one of my great childhood disappointments.  Some people wanted Jo and Laurie to get married.  Others wish Wesley had decided he'd rather have sex with Inigo than with Buttercup.  (Don't know why they bothered watching the movie.)  I wanted Marion Ravenwood and Indiana Jones to go on adventures.  I've always felt that I was later given the second Mummy movie as an apology from the universe.

I'm sure, though, that the Indiana Jones fandom is busy throwing a hissy fit at the idea of Indiana Jones being married.  Very frankly, if the idea of a character settling down makes you go "eew, no" or your response to canon saying they did is to say "sure, but he ran off to have adventures with my favorites and left her home"  then I assume you have issues.  And if you say "but she can't go on adventures now because there's a kid" then I assume the REALLY have issues, because if she could before she then damn well still can, and if you say otherwise I will shove my Mummy movies and Amelia Peabody mysteries in your face and make you memorize every word. I will also introduce you to a woman named Huang Rong who once rescued all the silly young heroes while nine months pregnant, then said she was "helpless".  I might change my opinion on the subject if ever presented with a case where it makes the remotest sense for the characters.  I've only ever seen it once where it made any sense for one side, and never anything resembling both.  (Kaoru in Rurouni Kenshin staying home makes sense for her, but if you think he's going to be leaving her home and running off to have adventures, then I assume you didn't pay attention to 2 words of the series, as the entire point was him putting his past behind him and finding a home.  There's a reason most fans of the manga hate the second OVA series.)

Irina Spalko was great, which is really just to be expected, as she's played by Cate Blanchett.  The glare between Spalko and Marion during the chase was a "clear the continent, things are about to get messy on an epic scale" moment.  

The lack of a whip was disappointing, but probably the result of Harrison Ford objecting when they wanted to use a CGI whip, instead of a real one.

We will not discuss that unfortunate Tarzan scene, or Mutt using a snake to pull Indy and Marion to safety.  We will merely sigh over the fate of Ray Winstone's character being ripped off from The Mummy.

Comments

[xiaobellsa.livejournal.com]

Good point, I was lamenting over the fact it wasn't as good as the originals but you're right- it was the best movie it could have been I think.
The best bit for me was the opening sequence, and I loved the fact that the Paramount mountain in the beginning was a gopher hill;-)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the beginning was great. (Come to think of it, the fact that the crate that broke had the Ark in it was another huge hint for Mutt.)

[sora-blue.livejournal.com]

I thought it was damn fine for what it set out to be... which is namely, entertainment. Someone mentioned to me they objected to Indy getting old and settling down and I sort of went "uh, that's life." Clearly the marriage made him happy, and why object to Indy doing what makes him happy?

Did you know they spread a rumor than Mutt wasn't Indy's son via Entertainment Weekly? Yeah. That's how obvious it was. So obvious people knew before the movie even hit the screen. :D

And yes, Spielberg has said he might do Indy 5 with Mutt as the lead.

Second RK OAV was rubbish. Hurts my soul to see Kenshin old without Kaoru with him. :( (But I loves me some Kenji!)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I knew they'd give Indy a son as soon as I tarted hearing rumors of the movie.

The thing about Indy is that he isn't James Bond. He's not a manslut or a bastard, just commitment phobic. The first movie made it fairly clear that Marion was "the one" and it makes sense that, after screwing it up twice, he didn't try again until he was old and settled. That he wasn't letting her slip away a third time was obvious as soon as she showed up.

I don't care if you hate Kaoru or think Kenshin/Kaoru is the most boring thing ever. The entire point of the series was that he wanted to leave his past behind and find a home, and the entire point of his relationship with Kaoru(even before it turned romantic) was that she(and Yahiko, Sano and Megumi) gave him that home.

Yes, Kenji is love. As are grown Yahiko and the idea of Sano fighting a tiger. But Kenshin leaving Kaoru? One of the most depressing things ever.

[sora-blue.livejournal.com]

I think if the next movie had Mutt in lead with support from Indy like Indy and his father in The Last Crusade it could work really well.

Kaoru was the perfect match for Kenshin, and so much of that OAV was her being alone. I enjoyed seeing the TV series content done in the OAV style, but I find it nearly impossible to enjoy the non-flashback parts. :(

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Kaoru respresented everything Kenshin ever wanted: her school was all about fighting for peace and to protect people, which was his dream, she represented a home and a safe haven, a place of unconditional acceptance, and a way to be useful and contribute without taking lives. I think that he initially loved the idea of Kaoru more than Kaoru herself, who he was more asexually fond of in the beginning (given the age difference, this makes sense) but taking Kaoru from him literally destroyed Kenshin, to the point where even Sano gave up on him. Tomoe was his pain and loss(and, of course, it was mostly his fault to start with...), Kaoru was his hope and sense of belonging. Leaving her when he had no choice was already one of the hardest things he ever did, the idea of Kenshin deliberately leaving her for long periods at a time is unthinkable.

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Oh, amen to that! The animation is really quite beautifully done in those OVAs, and the flashbacks were excellent, but that framing device of them being separated just *did not work* for me.
I would have loved to have seen the Enishi arc properly animated. I didn't hate the third season of the Kenshin TV anime, but it wasn't a patch on what the manga was doing at that point.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Here's the thing. Indy wasn't really a player. There was never any real doubt that he thought Marion was the one, he just kept screwing it up and couldn't imagine giving up his adventures for a normal, prosaic life. Marion was the only woman capable of keeping up with him. It just took him a while to realize that settling down was what he wanted. And him settling down at this point makes PERFECT sense. He realizes he's older and he's already making comments about the people he cared for leaving him. With times changing and friends and family leaving or dying, it makes complete sense that he'd want to settle down with his favorite old flame (who had his kid even). It was more of him seizing the day. And why do people keep thinking him having a kid is awful? It's not like he's going to have to get a babysitter for Mutt everytime they leave the house.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It's like I said in a comment elsewhere: He's commitmentphobic, and that's about it. Lets face it, if he'd run in to Marion any time in the 20 years in between, the result would have been the same, but after screwing up twice...well, we already know how she took it the first time.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I was saddened by the lack of Nazis as villains; clearly Indiana Jones is much superior when he has to fight Nazis.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It's that pesky 20-years-later thing. It was that or recast.

We miss you on IMs...

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Will try to get back on IM soon, but am so far behind on work it's ridiculous... I haven't even watched any more Hong Gil Dong!

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Did anyone else have severe Stargate flashbacks when watching this movie? This probably would have worked really well as an episode of SG-1 *grin*