Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > May > 14
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Let’s temper those Indy Jones expectations, OK?
The big day is more than a week away, and the air is thick with anticipation - and yes, dread over Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
(Phew, that title. I’m gonna have tendinitis by the end of June).
There’s no question whatsoever that the movie is going to have an enormous opening at the box office. One projection has it making a breathtaking $172 million in its first five days.
Ah, but here comes the important question: Will the movie be any GOOD?
Early reviews that have posted at Aint It Cool News and other sites generally have a tone of “Weellll, it’s not BAD, but…” That has sent some fans into convulsions, with some already berating George Lucas for ruining their lives yet again. Because if anything in the movie is bad, it MUST be George’s fault, even though he ah … isn’t the director of this series and never has been. These early reviews have even prompted a news story of dubious merit in The New York Times.
Lucas was so scarred over the beating he took on the Star Wars prequels, he’s already on the defensive about the new Indy, saying “Don’t expect the second coming.”
And you know what? He’s right. Besides, we’ve already had our less than great Indiana Jones movie. It was called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
I’ve never bought into the revisionist thinking that Temple of Doom is underappreciated. It has a great beginning and a great ending, but an extremely uneven middle section, with some uncommonly sloppy direction. Steven Spielberg is on the record as having more or less dropped the ball on that one.
So if Crystal Skull turns out to be another Temple of Doom, I’ll be disappointed, but I’m not going to slit my wrists. I’m hoping for something more on the level of Last Crusade - a movie that’s lots of fun, if not the equal of Raiders of the Lost Ark. (No action adventure is the equal of Raiders anyway.) If people are expecting Raiders-level thrills from Crystal Skull, they’re setting themselves up for months of depression.
You want a film that’s going to be this astounding, life-changing masterpiece? I suggest you stop looking. Why? Because you never see the truly revolutionary films coming. That’s why they’re revolutionary.
Agree/Disagree?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Coming Attractions
