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So. Indy. For the most part, rollicking fun. It's not as good as the classic trilogy, of course, but it doesn't bring shame to the franchise, either.
Some thoughts:
- They should not have done aliens. Seriously. I get why they did it--1957, Area 51 era, aliens are a natural tie-in. But it would have been much more successful as a movie in this genre if they'd done South America the same way they did India in Temple of Doom--respectful of the gods of the other culture. I would have much preferred to see some mythology of actual pre-Columbian people than the aliens. Although the El Dorado was a natural place to go, too.
- You have to suspend your disbelief with these movies anyway, just to accept (for example) that a prolonged fistfight can take place on the hood of a car speeding through a jungle. Adding aliens pushes the suspension of disbelief right over the top. Should not have done aliens. Or whatever the fuck, interdimensional beings. Aliens.
- Can I tell you how excited I am that I need to argue with the archaeology of this movie? I mean, Indy's been my archaeological hero since I was like 3. But the Maya didn't live in northern Peru--the Maya only spread as far south as El Salvador and Honduras. Nobody who eventually became the Maya lived in northern Peru. Therefore, the art/iconography found painted in a cave in northern Peru would not look that much like Maya art/iconography, and would not involve Maya hieroglyphs. You know who did live in northern Peru? The Inca. Who didn't have a writing system at all, not with any kind of hieroglyphs. Or art that looked remotely Mayan. Also, Indy, if you're translating from an ancient language of Peru, it would not make sense to run it through ancient Mayan. Quechua, maybe. Although Indy did earn points for speaking Quechua to a random Peruvian at the airport. Overall, though, Inca and Maya cultures? Not that closely related. In fact quite different, and separated by probably hundreds of miles of jungle. I checked myself on this. I looked it up. On maps. The writers should have done this also, as should the set designers.
- I did not hate Shia LaBoeuf. I was completely expecting to, so this was a pleasant surprise.
- Major points for bringing back Marion. Awesome. She looks good, too. Although her adventurous spirit came through more as crazy-ladyness in this movie, but hey. Woman drives a boat off a cliff and into a tree and lands it safely in the water, she's okay by me.
- I do not want to die by being eaten by giant ants. Just for the record.
Some thoughts:
- They should not have done aliens. Seriously. I get why they did it--1957, Area 51 era, aliens are a natural tie-in. But it would have been much more successful as a movie in this genre if they'd done South America the same way they did India in Temple of Doom--respectful of the gods of the other culture. I would have much preferred to see some mythology of actual pre-Columbian people than the aliens. Although the El Dorado was a natural place to go, too.
- You have to suspend your disbelief with these movies anyway, just to accept (for example) that a prolonged fistfight can take place on the hood of a car speeding through a jungle. Adding aliens pushes the suspension of disbelief right over the top. Should not have done aliens. Or whatever the fuck, interdimensional beings. Aliens.
- Can I tell you how excited I am that I need to argue with the archaeology of this movie? I mean, Indy's been my archaeological hero since I was like 3. But the Maya didn't live in northern Peru--the Maya only spread as far south as El Salvador and Honduras. Nobody who eventually became the Maya lived in northern Peru. Therefore, the art/iconography found painted in a cave in northern Peru would not look that much like Maya art/iconography, and would not involve Maya hieroglyphs. You know who did live in northern Peru? The Inca. Who didn't have a writing system at all, not with any kind of hieroglyphs. Or art that looked remotely Mayan. Also, Indy, if you're translating from an ancient language of Peru, it would not make sense to run it through ancient Mayan. Quechua, maybe. Although Indy did earn points for speaking Quechua to a random Peruvian at the airport. Overall, though, Inca and Maya cultures? Not that closely related. In fact quite different, and separated by probably hundreds of miles of jungle. I checked myself on this. I looked it up. On maps. The writers should have done this also, as should the set designers.
- I did not hate Shia LaBoeuf. I was completely expecting to, so this was a pleasant surprise.
- Major points for bringing back Marion. Awesome. She looks good, too. Although her adventurous spirit came through more as crazy-ladyness in this movie, but hey. Woman drives a boat off a cliff and into a tree and lands it safely in the water, she's okay by me.
- I do not want to die by being eaten by giant ants. Just for the record.
