This is my first time watching this movie, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.
One of the Youtube videos I mentioned that showcase how tight Spielberg's direction is on the Raiders of the Lost Arc: https://youtu.be/ItbCLh4Auoo.
In the video, I also mention how I suspect this movie is more overt about the politics of Nazism because Indiana Jones punching Nazis became a leftist meme years ago. For an example of that discourse, see here and here.
Addendum: In the video, I mention that, for all its faults, this movie is much better than Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But upon reflection, I'm not so sure. I may have been a bit hasty in making that pronouncement. I'm now thinking that maybe Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a bit cheesier, but on the other hand it was also possibly better paced and more fun to watch than Dial of Destiny. Although I don't really know--I'd have to re-watch both movies to really decide.
Roger Ebert woke up from his cancer operation and wrote a positive review for Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull. Readers were surprised but he defended it -- "I want more monkeys." I didn't love the movie but Roger clearly did. I took all his reviews with a grain of salt, but so it goes.
ReplyDeleteI will probably skip this movie but will admit I'm curious about the new Mission: Impossible movie. I'm also curious about the new Martin Scorsese flick. Life is short, dude!
I think the thing with Indiana Jones movies is we have to accept that they aren't all going to be masterpieces. Lucas and Spielberg had 3 masterpieces in them. Then they ran out of ideas. So it goes, as you say. Audiences were hungry for more, of course, and you can have more, but then you have to accept that it's not going to be perfect every time. This isn't on par with the original trilogy, but it's still a fun night out at the movies. I'm glad I saw it. But... it's not a must see. You could totally skip it if you wanted to.
ReplyDeleteI think once Spielberg directed Schindler's List it was "Game Over" for Indiana Jones and Nazis. Just my humble opinion, of course. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think he's on record as saying that after Schindler's List, he didn't want to do another movie with Nazis as just stock villains.
ReplyDeleteThe guys at Red Letter Media had an interesting retrospective on Temple of Doom recently, https://youtu.be/vAPOojRLY2U , in which they made the point that Temple of Doom was done as a prequel in a deliberate attempt to try something besides fighting Nazis. Indiana Jones wasn't a Nazi fighter, he was just generic adventure man who had adventures all over the world. But Temple of Doom didn't work, and so the Last Crusade was back to fighting Nazis.
By Dial of Destiny, it's getting a bit silly. The movie takes place in 1969, and Indiana Jones is still fighting Nazis. Although I largely forgave it, because I had just gotten done reading a collection of 1960s era Captain America comics, in which Captain America was still fighting Nazis into the 1960s, so I figured it was a pop culture trope. But still, it's a pity the angle of generic adventure man didn't work better.
I saw Temple of Doom back in the day and can remember being bitterly disappointed. Still am, actually. I also saw Raiders of the Lost Ark when it first came out, but that's another story or two.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, we've debated Temple of Doom before, haven't we? I do admit to nostalgia influencing my opinion. (I can easily imagine that if I had an adult's brain when these movies were coming out, I might have been disappointed by Temple of Doom as well.) But, I do think that if you ever happen to see Dial of Destiny, it'll raise your opinion of Temple of Doom.
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