Indiana Jones IV Title Revealed...

[Asbestos Bill]

This movie started out terrible but by the end it leveled out to meh. Before someone fires off an indignant "No fair! You have to lower your expectations!" let me say that it has nothing to do with the plot or any of the action sequences not including monkeys. The first half was just really badly made and the last half was...well I guess it was only as badly made as Raiders...

But most of the movie was Speilburg showing off which just didn't work out in the first half. I cringed at the incredibly cheesy shot where the Russian kneels to tie his shoe and the guys behind him jump into dynamic poses around him to shoot (and then of course Spielburg had to throw in one of those ironic shots of signs he's so fond of with "Use of deadly force authorized")

Then there was some crappy dialog that sounded like Lucas wrote with things like "This isn't as bad as that one time we were in [place]." "We were younger then."

I was about to leave the theater after seeing the refrigerator tumble EXCESSIVELY after the completely unrelated and superfluous nuclear test. But then the shot of the mushroom cloud actually made up for it.

Then there were several more intensely Spielboigy shots/sequences (such as when Mud "brought a knife [long pause while Spielburg sets up the shot] to a gun fight [close on *gasp* A GUN]") But then it levels out and is fairly enjoyable once they get out of the country.

But of course Spielburg had to include his other obsession: cars in trees. I think the chase would have ended better with them just careening over the cliff and being fine just because there's water below them, but instead they use the convenient tree-elevator... whatever

There were a few good scenes like the dry sand pit and some awesome special effects such as at the end, when the aliens are destroying all evidence of the knowledge and artifacts they meticulously stockpiled, but the end result was meh...

[mrbasehart]

But most of the movie was Speilburg showing off which just didn't work out in the first half. I cringed at the incredibly cheesy shot where the Russian kneels to tie his shoe and the guys behind him jump into dynamic poses around him to shoot...

Yeah, I thought that bit was irredeemably silly.  They were more like synchronized dancers than Russian military.  I would've preferred the end to take place at Area 51, rather than the beginning.  And have Indy trying to "rescue" some of the artifacts from the US goverment.

[Fortis]

I'm with Imrahil...sure it was cheesy, slapsticky, but it was a fun movie. I even liked the CGI...I thought it was better than Transformers CGI. I think this could be a case slightly attributed to fanboyism. Just a small case...because lets all remember, every single Indiana Jones movie, has been campy, cheesy, turn your brain off adventure. That is what this is.

So stop hating...Indiana Jones isn't supposed to be some perfect artful movie like Citizen Kane, or Casablanca, this is Indiana Jones. You are going to have to turn your brain off, and you are going to have to sit back and watch a movie that makes your heart race at the right moments, has a pretty good soundtrack, and some fun action sequences.

We can debate how stupid it was till the ends of the Earth, but I could do the same with ever other Indiana Jones movie. So yeah, Pak and Imrahil I think have the right Idea with this movie. It was FUN! Go see it. And for those that have, stop being disappointed, it was a fun movie. Implausible, campy, and stupid...but when has that not been the case when it comes to Lucas and Spielberg?

[mrbasehart]

So stop hating...Indiana Jones isn't supposed to be some perfect artful movie like Citizen Kane, or Casablanca, this is Indiana Jones.

I'm certainly not comparing this to Citizen Kane or Casablanca, I'm comparing it to the other Indy movies and I found it lacking.  I'm not trying to be arrogant or disdainful of the movie, but I truly think it won't hold up to repeat viewings like Raiders or Last Crusade does. 

[Cosmic Muse]

I'm with Imrahil...sure it was cheesy, slapsticky, but it was a fun movie. I even liked the CGI...I thought it was better than Transformers CGI. I think this could be a case slightly attributed to fanboyism. Just a small case...because lets all remember, every single Indiana Jones movie, has been campy, cheesy, turn your brain off adventure. That is what this is.

So stop hating...Indiana Jones isn't supposed to be some perfect artful movie like Citizen Kane, or Casablanca, this is Indiana Jones. You are going to have to turn your brain off, and you are going to have to sit back and watch a movie that makes your heart race at the right moments, has a pretty good soundtrack, and some fun action sequences.

We can debate how stupid it was till the ends of the Earth, but I could do the same with ever other Indiana Jones movie. So yeah, Pak and Imrahil I think have the right Idea with this movie. It was FUN! Go see it. And for those that have, stop being disappointed, it was a fun movie. Implausible, campy, and stupid...but when has that not been the case when it comes to Lucas and Spielberg?

But here's the problem...I didn't have fun during 60% of this movie because of the cheesiness. It left me feeling hollow inside afterwards. I guess I just like Raiders too much which was better put together and didn't feel like an excuse to rake in the cash.

[BBQ Platypus]

I saw it yesterday.  I liked it okay.  The action was good, and I actually didn't mind the campiness or the weirdness.  Hell, Temple of Doom was campier and weirder, if you ask me.  However, while the movie was a reasonably entertaining couple of hours, I just didn't feel as engaged or thrilled by this movie as I was by Raiders or The Last Crusade.

Anycrap, it wasn't as good as the first and the third ones, but it was better than the second one (the fact that Short Round isn't in it certainly helps).  The fanboys are overreacting, methinks.  They mistake a passable action film for a terrible one.  ** 1/2 (out of ****), sez I.

[torgosPizza]

We can debate how stupid it was till the ends of the Earth, but I could do the same with ever other Indiana Jones movie. So yeah, Pak and Imrahil I think have the right Idea with this movie. It was FUN! Go see it. And for those that have, stop being disappointed, it was a fun movie. Implausible, campy, and stupid...but when has that not been the case when it comes to Lucas and Spielberg?

The other films have been implausible and campy, yes - but not cartoonish. I think that's the distinction I'd like to make here. Indy flying hundreds of feet through the air in a refrigerator and not dying is far more cartoony than anything from Temple. Yeah, I get the argument that you should "turn your brain off" - but I've always found that to be a weak argument. I don't really think the Indy movies were ever from that stripe. Personally I don't like it when movies insult my intelligence, campy or not.

Speaking of...

has a pretty good soundtrack

One of the other problems I had was the constant refrain of the main theme, as if to remind us "Hey! You're watching an Indiana Jones movie!" I call it Jurassic Park 3 syndrome: if your movie is sub-par, remind the audience that they are watching an installment of an overall, much better franchise. In JP3, the composer felt the need to throw in variations of John Williams' original theme, rather than come up with new passages. Crystal Skull had the same problem: at some of the strangest moments (a knowing glance from Indy to Marion), there would be the cue.. Duh duh-dun duh, dun-duh duhhh! That sort of bugged me not because they did it, but because they overdid it. I can understand tying the movies together thematically with it, but to force it at every opportunity is a bit much.

Anyway, that's my rant. I still enjoyed the flick, but it was definitely different in tone (cartoony is not equal to campy)...I get the feeling that people who didn't like Indy 4 didn't like it for the same reasons they didn't like Mikey Bay's transformerrs, such as myself. It's not that the movies are that bad as a whole - there are just aspects of them I wish hadn't come to fruition.

[Fortis]

Yes the fridge was rediculous...I'll give you that. But I thought it was fun seeing Mutt swordfighting against whats-her-face in two different cars.

And the soundtrack was better than I thought it would be, I'm getting kind of sick of John Williams, and I actually kind of liked how he played around with the theme until the very end when he finally played it in full. I was waiting the entire movie to hear the theme, and I found it fun that I only heard little bits and pieces till the end.


And yes, the "turn your brain off" is a stupid argument....but you have to with almost every single movie nowadays. It shouldn't have to be an argument. I hate movies that assume the audience is stupid. But hollywood thinks everybody is stupid, so I'm getting used to it.

[torgosPizza]

And the soundtrack was better than I thought it would be, I'm getting kind of sick of John Williams, and I actually kind of liked how he played around with the theme until the very end when he finally played it in full. I was waiting the entire movie to hear the theme, and I found it fun that I only heard little bits and pieces till the end.

Now that you mention it, that actually makes sense. I had forgotten that, during our 40-minute wait outside in the AMC steps, we had been "treated" to basically the entire theme song. So I suppose that hearing the whole theme before getting to see the movie said theme was from might make one a little .. put off.

[doggans]

Indy flying hundreds of feet through the air in a refrigerator and not dying is far more cartoony than anything from Temple.

I don't know, I was more willing to buy the fridge thing than the whole jumping-out-of-a-plane-and-sledding-off-a-cliff-with-an-inflatable-raft thing from Temple. But that's just me.

[Thrashalla]

Indy flying hundreds of feet through the air in a refrigerator and not dying is far more cartoony than anything from Temple.

I don't know, I was more willing to buy the fridge thing than the whole jumping-out-of-a-plane-and-sledding-off-a-cliff-with-an-inflatable-raft thing from Temple. But that's just me.

I think this is another one for the Mythbusters.

[Asbestos Bill]

I get the feeling that people who didn't like Indy 4 didn't like it for the same reasons they didn't like Mikey Bay's transformerrs

Exactly! Except that I didn't dislike IJ4 and I loathed Transformers. But, yeah, I was thinking of Transformers when I watched Crystal Skull.

[Fortis]

And the soundtrack was better than I thought it would be, I'm getting kind of sick of John Williams, and I actually kind of liked how he played around with the theme until the very end when he finally played it in full. I was waiting the entire movie to hear the theme, and I found it fun that I only heard little bits and pieces till the end.

From what I heard of the soundtrack, it was the one part that really disappointed me. It was just a patchwork of the earlier scores, really; I didn't hear much in the way of original, new material written for this movie.  I've ordered it from Amazon, should arrive this week, and I'll know more then.

I'm a huge John Williams fan, but he hasn't had a ton of great scores lately.  Jurassic Park was good, and then...well, Harry Potter 3 was excellent.  But yeah, I'd say he peaked in the mid-80s.  His last really excellent score is probably Empire of the Sun.

Harry Potter 3, will always remain my favorite John Williams score...But I'm more of a James Newton Howard fan

[a pretty girl is like]

Indy flying hundreds of feet through the air in a refrigerator and not dying is far more cartoony than anything from Temple.

I don't know, I was more willing to buy the fridge thing than the whole jumping-out-of-a-plane-and-sledding-off-a-cliff-with-an-inflatable-raft thing from Temple. But that's just me.

I'm with you on that one.

[AmandaGal]

I just hated how they did the whole "aliens were the fathers of our civilization" thing that is so popular now.  That was my biggest gripe.  I guess the other Indy movies have been as ridiculous with their historical documentation, but to me that was just silly. Why even go back to teaching archeology now? History is a sham Dr. Jones.

I actually knew from the second they unearthed the artifact from Roswell that it was going to be stupid, but I halfway thought Indy would find some kind of this worldly thing.

Don't tell me I was the only who thought "God bless Stephan Speilburg" when the UFO took off.