| Zen Peckinpah |
05-21-08 08:53 PM |
Just rewatched all three over the past few days, meaning I won't feel left in the dark by any continuity, and heading to a sold-out midnight show soon.
Revisiting the first three, I still enjoy them in the same order (Raiders, Last Crusade, Temple of Doom), but had some new insight having not seen them in some time:
Raiders is a flawless film. Along with the original Die Hard and Lethal Weapon films, it's the definitive modern action film: the action is nonstop and always enthralling, the balance in humor and drama is dead even, and...well, there really isn't much to say because it's so damn good.
Temple of Doom is still a great movie, but I say it lightly. I wouldn't call it schizophrenic (like my gripe with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which starts out 40 times more badass than the first two but ends up going down the toilet halfway through), but there's two issues I have with it, neither of which is Willie or Short Round. One, I didn't remember the complete isolation from the university and Brody in particular, and I found that off, meaning it took the first 20 minutes to accustom myself to the feel; the way that it opens right in Shanghai without establishment was bewildering. Not that I mind not having this, but I expected a little more depth. My other complaint is that the darkness is a little overboard; however, this enables Spielberg to enter the territory he explored with Jaws and Poltergeist a bit, as some moments I found genuinely scary now that I didn't at a younger age. Why I can't complain about Willie is technical: the editing is priceless whenever she annoys, as you can tell Indy is less than interested in her shenanigans, given why he doesn't seem to care, which adds a rather funny subtlety to the events. And Short Round, best kid sidekick in an 80's movie, him and Newt. He's the epitome of why Indiana Jones was such a hero in the first place: he gets to live the experience of someone we all wish we could.
Last Crusade is a few notches below Raiders, not the straight-up perfection that Raiders was, but Sean Connery is an absolute blast, and the humor that was so subdued in Temple of Doom becomes more forefront. Getting Brody and Sallah back was also a plus. Action is far faster paced than the previous film and, in turn, better, I'd say the horseback-tank chase is on par with some of Raiders' best moments, and the flashback opener is a very nice touch of character development. If I have a complaint about this one, it's that the villains don't feel rich enough to be memorable. I'll admit I completely forgot about the Martin Donovan character, and a lot of the Nazis were just disposable stock falling prey to the adventure.
If Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is at least on par with Temple of Doom, I'll be happy.
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