I love Indy, and have loved Indy ever since I first saw the films when I was quite young (born in '85). Yes, I even love the much berated Temple of Doom, even though it took me a few years past the others to fully 'get' what was going on.
After seeing a new Indy appear, I was absolutely delighted, but after seeing the initial opinions, I held off just a tad, and finally saw it today.
Was it worth the money? Certainly. Would I see it again? Yes, I would. Is it the best Indy? No.
I, like many others, am sort of baffled at the quite Sci-Fi approach towards this film. At the beginning, I was completely hooked. I even bought the new Cold War Era Indy and was anxiously following the film almost the entirety of the film, laughing and smiling.
There were, however, a few parts which made even me, who had previously steeled himself with the reviews, sit and ask why they would put that in.
The first is a thankfully short sequence where LaBouf (who's really better as Mutt than I thought he would be) pulled a Tarzan act and, I wish I was joking, lead a group of monkeys through jungle treetops while swinging from vine to vine only defeat the villainess at a critical moment. It was simply not Indiana Jones-esquire... There was no lovable clumsiness, no hilarity, not even a dramatic moment, just Mutt swinging from vine to vine with his small gang of monkeys only to appear at a convenient moment.
The second could be neatly summed up as the last 5 minutes of the movie. I'll consider this one 'part', even though it's multiple sequences, because it's all so self-contained that it could almost be a completely separate movie. This is the infamous, "What the heck did they do to the film?" sequence that everyone else is rightfully bereft of praise for. If I thought LaBouf as Tarzan was a bit baffling, though still somewhat within my realm of suspension of disbelief, what happens at the end completely threw that line of suspension out the window.
It involves an alien, with a very heavily CG cut-scene of the "fully materialized" alien that was more confusing than anything else in the movie. I know what they were trying to do. They were trying to bring back the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" moment... But it came off as something that would fit better in a Babylon 5 episode.
Like everyone else, I have to say I am still baffled at why they thought that was a good avenue. It very handily strode across the lines of "plausible" to "fiction" to "I haven't seen this since Star Trek", and while Indy may have the touch of fiction/pseudo-fiction running through his veins, I agree with many that the ending was just a little too much.
However, with all this said, if you take out that utterly brow-raising scene, you have a solid and enjoyable action-comedy. A surprise re-appearance by another character certainly had me smiling, and while the one-liners could have been delivered better (or maybe the scenes could have been shot better to go with them), they were still very much Indiana Jones.
The rest of the story leading up to the ending is still within the realm of "fiction", and was quite enjoyable. Quite a few of the scenes had me focusing on the screen actively, and the brawls were still top-notch.
I did not find myself quibbling about the overly-Russian accent for the antagonist, I lapped it up, actually. LaBouf was surprisingly good, and made a wonderful Lil' Indy. Harrison Ford still had the quirky smile, the looks, and it was great to see him back in action.
All the rest of the elements were there, and everything felt appropriate for an Indy film set a few decades into the future from the previous. It was just that bum ending that had me scratching my head.
So, since it held my attention for the majority of it, I'm more than happy to give it an 8/10. If they had thought up an ending that didn't involve Quantum Theory and wasn't so rightfully absurd, I would be more than willing to give it a 9/10... But this is still a very solid film, and I'll certainly be getting it when it comes out on DVD.
If you like Indy, you'll love the film. Just go in knowing that the last 5 minutes require you to shut off the left half of your brain!
After seeing a new Indy appear, I was absolutely delighted, but after seeing the initial opinions, I held off just a tad, and finally saw it today.
Was it worth the money? Certainly. Would I see it again? Yes, I would. Is it the best Indy? No.
I, like many others, am sort of baffled at the quite Sci-Fi approach towards this film. At the beginning, I was completely hooked. I even bought the new Cold War Era Indy and was anxiously following the film almost the entirety of the film, laughing and smiling.
There were, however, a few parts which made even me, who had previously steeled himself with the reviews, sit and ask why they would put that in.
The first is a thankfully short sequence where LaBouf (who's really better as Mutt than I thought he would be) pulled a Tarzan act and, I wish I was joking, lead a group of monkeys through jungle treetops while swinging from vine to vine only defeat the villainess at a critical moment. It was simply not Indiana Jones-esquire... There was no lovable clumsiness, no hilarity, not even a dramatic moment, just Mutt swinging from vine to vine with his small gang of monkeys only to appear at a convenient moment.
The second could be neatly summed up as the last 5 minutes of the movie. I'll consider this one 'part', even though it's multiple sequences, because it's all so self-contained that it could almost be a completely separate movie. This is the infamous, "What the heck did they do to the film?" sequence that everyone else is rightfully bereft of praise for. If I thought LaBouf as Tarzan was a bit baffling, though still somewhat within my realm of suspension of disbelief, what happens at the end completely threw that line of suspension out the window.
It involves an alien, with a very heavily CG cut-scene of the "fully materialized" alien that was more confusing than anything else in the movie. I know what they were trying to do. They were trying to bring back the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" moment... But it came off as something that would fit better in a Babylon 5 episode.
Like everyone else, I have to say I am still baffled at why they thought that was a good avenue. It very handily strode across the lines of "plausible" to "fiction" to "I haven't seen this since Star Trek", and while Indy may have the touch of fiction/pseudo-fiction running through his veins, I agree with many that the ending was just a little too much.
However, with all this said, if you take out that utterly brow-raising scene, you have a solid and enjoyable action-comedy. A surprise re-appearance by another character certainly had me smiling, and while the one-liners could have been delivered better (or maybe the scenes could have been shot better to go with them), they were still very much Indiana Jones.
The rest of the story leading up to the ending is still within the realm of "fiction", and was quite enjoyable. Quite a few of the scenes had me focusing on the screen actively, and the brawls were still top-notch.
I did not find myself quibbling about the overly-Russian accent for the antagonist, I lapped it up, actually. LaBouf was surprisingly good, and made a wonderful Lil' Indy. Harrison Ford still had the quirky smile, the looks, and it was great to see him back in action.
All the rest of the elements were there, and everything felt appropriate for an Indy film set a few decades into the future from the previous. It was just that bum ending that had me scratching my head.
So, since it held my attention for the majority of it, I'm more than happy to give it an 8/10. If they had thought up an ending that didn't involve Quantum Theory and wasn't so rightfully absurd, I would be more than willing to give it a 9/10... But this is still a very solid film, and I'll certainly be getting it when it comes out on DVD.
If you like Indy, you'll love the film. Just go in knowing that the last 5 minutes require you to shut off the left half of your brain!