The very first "Indiana Jones" movie I ever watched was actually "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." I wasn't allowed to watch the earlier three landmark movies as a kid because they were feared by my parents to be too violent and to cause nightmares. Perhaps that is true, but what I lost from not being able to enjoy these cinematic masterpieces is that of a hero. Oh-so typical of an idea, a fictional hero helps the evolving youth we were develop into what we are today. We need standards, ideas, and I still have such desires in my life. They truly just don't make movies like Speilberg did anymore.
"Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" received a fairly lukewarm reception, only being liked by few, loved by even less, and the object of disappointment by everyone else. You have to understand the movie like I did, stepping into the franchise fresh and new. What Indiana Jones shows all of us is that you need not gain a 6-pack and be able to lift a small house to be an action hero; all you really need is intelligence and mild physical stamina. Yes, Harrison Ford is in great shape (you can tell by his shirtlessness throughout all four films), but what makes him just so irresistible and what gives me the desire to be him are the moments that are just human.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is an action/adventure masterpiece. His female counterpart, Marion Ravenwood, is simply a wonderful creation. She can be described by many words such as intelligent, driven, bull-headed, and determined. Her sweet alto voice makes her occasional obligatory whining comedic and realistic at the same time (not an easy feat by any means). "Raiders" allows Speilberg to attack the Nazis, show us who an action hero really should be, thrill and excite us, and teach us a valuable lesson about dabbling where we shouldn't. The climactic scene where Indiana and Marion are tied to a pole while the Ark of the Covenant is opened is timeless, plain and simple. The pacing, music, and dialogue all work together to create this wonderful tapestry juxtaposing the supernatural, philosophy, logic, and pure horror. It's sensationally scary and altogether fascinating.
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" keeps its focus on Asian and Indian culture. The tribal rituals shown are disturbing in their matter-of-fact flow by those performing aforementioned rituals. The heroine was something that seems like a cliche now, but at the time of its creation was entirely new and original. Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw, Speilberg's wife) was a singer who unwillingly gets drawn into the messy, disgusting, creepy-crawly, and altogether un-feminine journey with Jones' young sidekick, Short Round. She and Jones fall for each other in scenes as delicate and choreographed as a classic ballet and as comedic as a Charlie Chaplin routine. You get the best of a sequel wherein you receive just want you want and are given more in the areas where you want more, put in the most elementary way possible. In the end, there is a child worker uprising, a long, heart-stopping mine cart chase, some PG-13 violence, and the looks of another sequel. This was my least-favorite of the four, but let's face it- it's still a head and shoulders above most anything else.
The final of the first three (and the last I watched) would be "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Adding Sean Connery into the mix, plenty of humor was added, letting the energy constantly stay high despite there not being many major chase scenes like the other three films have. Indiana Jones ventures to find the Holy Grail (yes, THAT Holy Grail) after his father (Connery) goes missing. I don't really know what I could possibly tell you about this movie except for the golden line, 'He chose...poorly.' The femme fatale is a nice addition, defying the formula and not turning Indiana Jones into the womanizer James Bond is. To be honest, in my opinion, Marion Ravenwood has yet to be topped as the female counterpart to a male hero (and this does include all Bond girls), so it was wise of Speilberg to let the chemistry of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery to exist rather than be undeveloped.
Perhaps there is a flaw in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" being released so many years later, and (minor spoiler) truth be told, I enjoyed the plot development about extraterrestrials. It may feel out of place, but if you think about it, Indiana Jones movies serve to balance good old-fashioned action/adventure with something supernatural. The first contained the Ark of the Covenant, the second had Asian/Indian tribal rituals, and the third followed The Bible, so what was there next? Aliens do seem to fit in (in my eyes at any rate), so why not? I advise you to just roll with it and not throw too much logic into the movie- it is a popcorn movie, not the action classic the originals were.
I say that the fourth is a popcorn movie and the first three are classics yet I give every movie four stars...why, oh why? The popcorn movie is an essential in our lives; this time of year, that's what we want to see. We want action, comedy, fun, and periods of illogic while the whole isn't composed solely of pieces that don't make sense. The movie does actually make sense in its storytelling, but I doubt the same characters would just happen to run into each other, things would happen as they do, and all that unnecessary crap. As movies go, I feel that the fourth doesn't rape Indiana Jones (in the words of Trey Parker and Matt Stone) but instead place the hero in a context typical for a summer blockbuster. If the character names had been different and had some other developments, I'm sure the movie would have been one of my favorites of the year. Because it happened to fit into an Indiana Jones adventure made it even better for me.
My finale will basically just say that if Stephen Speilberg hadn't been a filmmaker, we would live in a very sad world today. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a movie I just re-visited tonight, and I would never change or update a single moment of it. "ET: The Extra Terrestrial" has already been updated, and although it is still a masterpiece, some of its charm of its time was lost in the translation. It was great for some of these old-school graphics to be updated for our further enjoyment, but I'd stop after that. "Saving Private Ryan" is an immortal film of unmentionable power and is something that is studied in film classes by those wishing to ever make a great movie. "Schindler's List" is Speilberg's only movie to win Best Picture (if I'm wrong, I will correct that statement immediately) and is a drama worth study by all, not just film students. "Jaws" is every bit as tense and horrifying as it was when it was created. "Jurassic Park" opened a whole new world of fantasy for teens and adults alike. "Munich" was an exceptional dramatic thriller with a profound political statement. I could go on to talk about "Minority Report," "Catch Me if You Can," "The Terminal," "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence," "Amistad," and the "War of the Worlds" update, but the last few are the only ones that seemed to contain any flaws in filmmaking, as believed by a fraction of their viewers.
Indiana Jones serves to me as a beacon of hope, like that treasured toy everyone had as a kid. You were able to understand its creative function, but what you did with it was quite different. You could take your Matchbox Cars on trips across the world, picking up your friends, doing good, or just being awesome. Barbie could live her life as a glamorous woman with everything she could ever have and just be happy. Where Indiana Jones fits into this little rant is that the character as well as his journeys teach us many life lessons, but I can never settle for enough. As long as Speilberg is thinking and making movies, I want him to take me to another world, show me the one of the past, or critique the one of the present. I can never get enough of this guy.
Buy them here.
All 'Indiana Jones' movies are rated PG-13 for adventure violence, mild language, and the like.
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