Last night we went to see Indiana Jones & The Crystal Scull. That's right--opening night at midnight. Along with the hundreds of others who packed the theater, we were excited, expectant and the room was abuzz with anticipation. Applause burst forth at the popular summer movie previews. Then the movie began....and the applause stopped (except for two moderate claps for what I will only clue you in as "the hat scenes")
I'm not sure what it was. Maybe George and Steven had made us simply wait too long so our expectations were out of proportion. Maybe our memory had dimmed of what an Indiana movie is all about. Yet even as we checked off the elements--outrageous chase scenes, man-eating ants, labyrinths of creepy caves, the Russians with guns, goof ball humor, clever one-liners and a mysterious magnetic skull, something was still missing.
One might be the special effects. When the Indiana films first released, the special effects were fantastic. But it looked like Spielberg & George used the same equipment leaving string of hokey, unbelievable, poorly done scenes. At one point, rocks are falling from the sky as the land gives way, and all I was thinking is, "I haven't seen a scene that bad since the 80s or that Saturday I was caught sick in bed watching a Lifetime movie!"
Then there was Shai. Think about it. Sean Connery. Harrison Ford. Shai LaBeouf. One of these is not like the others. I'm not really sure what casting was thinking. Any Indiana Junior has some pretty big shoes to fill, and Shai's footsize (while growing) is still somewhere between a 7 and 8.
And then there was the unbelievability of the premise. Now all Indiana films are over the top. That's why we love them. But sometimes you have to draw a line. And aliens, well, that's my line.
I'm not sure what it was. Maybe George and Steven had made us simply wait too long so our expectations were out of proportion. Maybe our memory had dimmed of what an Indiana movie is all about. Yet even as we checked off the elements--outrageous chase scenes, man-eating ants, labyrinths of creepy caves, the Russians with guns, goof ball humor, clever one-liners and a mysterious magnetic skull, something was still missing.
One might be the special effects. When the Indiana films first released, the special effects were fantastic. But it looked like Spielberg & George used the same equipment leaving string of hokey, unbelievable, poorly done scenes. At one point, rocks are falling from the sky as the land gives way, and all I was thinking is, "I haven't seen a scene that bad since the 80s or that Saturday I was caught sick in bed watching a Lifetime movie!"
Then there was Shai. Think about it. Sean Connery. Harrison Ford. Shai LaBeouf. One of these is not like the others. I'm not really sure what casting was thinking. Any Indiana Junior has some pretty big shoes to fill, and Shai's footsize (while growing) is still somewhere between a 7 and 8.
And then there was the unbelievability of the premise. Now all Indiana films are over the top. That's why we love them. But sometimes you have to draw a line. And aliens, well, that's my line.
Hower, the movie did do a great job of incorporating themes and lines from previous Indiana films and weaving them throughout the script. Indiana aged well (go Harrison!). The ants rocked. And the relationship between movies was consistent.
On the way out of the theater, I heard one colorful young man say, "Bleepity-bleepity bleep" to which a friend answered, "It wasn't that bleepity-bleepity-bleep bad."
I have to think that maybe too high of expectations are to blame. We all wanted to be amazed and mesmerized. And many were (current rating on Rotten Tomato is 80%). But even Hershey only gave it one paw up (and part of that was because he didn't have to stay home). Leif gave it a half paw, because the powers of the crystal skull are inconsistent throughout the movie. And I gave it a mostly paw up because, well, it did help keep me awake until nearly 3am and that does say something about those action scenes.
Survival Guide for seeing Indiana:
1. Lower your expectations.
2. Take an Indiana refresher course by watching the earlier films before you go.
3. Grab a matinee, or gulp, don't feel bad if you end up waiting until DVD. (I can't believe I just said that aloud).
I'm sure I'll get some Rotten Tomatoes thrown at me my blog for this review....but I'm ready to take them.
www.margaretfeinberg.com
On the way out of the theater, I heard one colorful young man say, "Bleepity-bleepity bleep" to which a friend answered, "It wasn't that bleepity-bleepity-bleep bad."
I have to think that maybe too high of expectations are to blame. We all wanted to be amazed and mesmerized. And many were (current rating on Rotten Tomato is 80%). But even Hershey only gave it one paw up (and part of that was because he didn't have to stay home). Leif gave it a half paw, because the powers of the crystal skull are inconsistent throughout the movie. And I gave it a mostly paw up because, well, it did help keep me awake until nearly 3am and that does say something about those action scenes.
Survival Guide for seeing Indiana:
1. Lower your expectations.
2. Take an Indiana refresher course by watching the earlier films before you go.
3. Grab a matinee, or gulp, don't feel bad if you end up waiting until DVD. (I can't believe I just said that aloud).
I'm sure I'll get some Rotten Tomatoes thrown at me my blog for this review....but I'm ready to take them.
www.margaretfeinberg.com
8 comments:
You know, I heard that. Good to know before we go out to the super new, cool DLP projection theater in our town and drop 20 bucks on the movie.
Still midnight shows are super fun. :)
I think what was proved is that George Lucas can't write a good story to save his life at this point in his career.
I thought Harrison was as good as he has ever been.
I thought Speilberg did a great job with what he was given.
I thought that Lucas' story was the dumbest idea he has come up with since Phantom Menace. But at least it didn't have Jar Jar or a bunch of Senators arguing.
Saw the Indiana Jones film tonight. Both Mary and I think that the story itself has little "magnetism." Prince Caspian is the movie to see this weekend.
Since the Star Wars prequels sucked, I didn't think The Crystal Skull would be good either.
I'd agree with your review Maragaret.
Some of the film was entertaining and funny; however, the alien was just plain lame. Overall, I was glad to see our favorite archaeologist back on the silver screen.
No film could live up to the hype that preceeded this one, that's for sure.
awwww, now, it wasn't that bad. the alien theme just went along with the crazy theories out there.
ok, it was a little kookie. i was too sleepy to notice the cinematography defects. we went to the opening, too.
raiders was amazing - doom was dumb - crusade was inspiring and had Bond, James Bond!
crystal skull was very entertaining, but to enjoy, it required some heavy suspension of disbelief -
i saw it opening day in a huge theater in Seattle - the audience was electric before, during and after the film. Applause at opening credits; cheers, screams and shudders during the film; and lots of applause after as well.
It's all about who you're with - in my exprience, midnight showings draw many late-night depression-prone critic types and the mood can be stifled by their negativity and unrealistic expectations -
My rating is 3 out of 4 - it entertained, it interested, and it satisfied this life-long indiana jones fan.
and his name is Shia - not Shai !
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