Current Events > Looking back at Indiana Jones 4, why did the _ bother people so much? (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Aliens.

Indy 1 had weird murder ghosts.
Indy 2 had all that heart ripping, poessesion, mind control voodo shit.
Indy 3 had weird grail ghosts and magic death cups.

They're all fantasy movies really that embrace magic.

But with Indy 4 everyone was like "UGh that's sooooo unrealistic. Stupid shark jumping"

Would the Crystal Skull belonging to a weird Christian ghost wizard really be any less absurd when you think about it?

The movie wasn't great, but stuff like that didn't bother me as much

Indy surviving a goddamn A-bomb test by hiding in a fridge was far worse
>_>

UnfairRepresent posted...

Would the Crystal Skull belonging to a weird Christian ghost wizard really be any less absurd when you think about it?

Yes, but you knew that.

HylianFox posted...

Indy surviving a goddamn A-bomb test by hiding in a fridge was far worse
>_>

honestly, I've seen weirder shit happen in movies. I'm not going to sit there and start complaining about how unrealistic something is, especially when I watch movies with religious psychic swordsmen.

DeadBankerDream posted...

Yes, but you knew that.

Lmao no it wouldn't. Aliens are infinitely more realistic than anything in religion or ghosts.

dameon_reaper posted...

honestly, I've seen weirder shit happen in movies. I'm not going to sit there and start complaining about how unrealistic something is, especially when I watch movies with religious psychic swordsmen.

But it's WAY too over-the-top, even for a movie

Like, yeah, okay, the fridge had lead-lining. But he'd still be smashed into a bloody pulp from the force of the explosion

I think the movie was not needed, the 3 movies are good and the 4th is just there.

It didn't bother me at all. It was going for a 50s B-Movie vibe, as opposed to a 30s/40s vibe, so it seemed in keeping. I actually don't mind the fridge shield for the same reason.

If there was anything I would actually expect the internet to be cross with, it would be the moral that if a woman learns too much she catches fire.

Realistic things in Indiana movies...
Indy survives hundreds of miles underwater clinging to a Nazi submarine.
Indy survives after using a raft as a parachute.
A guy survives getting his heart ripped out of his chest before being lowered into molten lava.
A 700-year-old knight guards the Holy Grail.
Indy is somehow stuck to a German tank because of the leather strap to his bag.

Indiana Jones 1 - 3 tended to slowly build to the more fantastical elements, with the first few acts being an adventure pulp, slightly more grounded till a reveal.

4 got rid of any pretence of grounding, even before any fantastical reveal. It was just gratuitous and silly.

Tom Clark posted...

that if a woman learns too much she catches fire.

I don't think that was because she was a woman

Elsa didn't die in 3 because a woman wanted the grail

RiKuToTheMiGhtY posted...

I think the movie was not needed, the 3 movies are good and the 4th is just there.

Well yeah

I feel like the aliens and the fridge stuff are low on the list in terms of why the movie wasn't so good. It just felt sort of sterile and less gritty than the rest. It felt like a SW prequel version of IJ or if Disney did an IJ sequel if that makes sense. RLM/Mr. Plinkett explains it better in his review if one cares to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zphhfHon_I

UnfairRepresent posted...

I don't think that was because she was a woman

That wasn't an entirely serious comment.

HylianFox posted...

The movie wasn't great, but stuff like that didn't bother me as much

Indy surviving a goddamn A-bomb test by hiding in a fridge was far worse
>_>

I definitely use "nuke the fridge" as the new "jumped the shark" term.

HylianFox posted...

But it's WAY too over-the-top, even for a movie

Like, yeah, okay, the fridge had lead-lining. But he'd still be smashed into a bloody pulp from the force of the explosion

I'm no apologist but I still feel like there's so many movies that ARE over the top. I've seen t.v. shows where people fall from somewhere and land on something hard and that should have put them in a hospital and they just had an owie.

Southernfatman posted...

I feel like the aliens and the fridge stuff are low on the list in terms of why the movie wasn't so good. It just felt sort of sterile and less gritty than the rest. It felt like a SW prequel version of IJ or if Disney did an IJ sequel if that makes sense.

Yeah. Mr Plinkett did a whole review based on this idea

UnfairRepresent posted...

Yeah. Mr Plinkett did a whole review based on this idea

Damn, you beat me to my edited post. Plinkett/Mike really has a good eye for stuff like that.

If it was JUST aliens people would probably handle it a bit better, but it was poorly explained and inconsistent aliens. In the older movies, you KNEW how the arc worked and where it came from and why it was where it was. You KNEW what the stones were and how they worked and why they existed. You KNEW what the holy grail did and where it came from and why it was where it was.

The skulls aren't nearly as fleshed out. Why did the aliens come down? Was it 1 alien that split into parts? If not, why did they merge at the end? If so, why did they split in the first place? Were they just sitting in their circle chamber and one of their heads fell off, causing the others to turn into crystal? Why did they fill their ship with random crap from around the world?

You can do "complete unknown" well (see: Roadside Picnic), but the aliens in Indy 4 suffer from being half-explained. Without the historical context of the mcguffins in the previous films we're left with these big gaps in understanding, but rather than play off that uncertainty it all comes together in a very tangible way that just creates questions rather than mystery.

The monkey swinging scene did it for me.

Indy 4 was just a dogpile of stupid and weak plot points.
Not a terrible movie, but your forehead is going to get rubbed raw by all the facepalming.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

The monkey swinging scene did it for me.

Someone watched that scene and gave it the ok. That person is still somewhere living their life like they didn't make the world a worse place

Questionmarktarius posted...

Not a terrible movie,

It was pretty terrible

Axiom posted...

Someone watched that scene and gave it the ok. That person is still somewhere living their life like they didn't make the world a worse place

That was probably George Lucas. From interviews, Steven Spielberg seems to have just had a "yeah, whatever" attitude and allowed dumb stuff. I'd bet he's to blame for a lot of the dumbness.

UnfairRepresent posted...

It was pretty terrible

"Magic potatoes" were a far worse macguffin.

I don't think realism was the complaint. More that using aliens didn't fit the same tone as the supernatural history that the other movies used.

When it comes to complains about the movie I wouldn't say that's a super high one though.

the realism aspect did bother me here and there because introduced elements that made me feel like i was watching a video game a lot more than the other three did, but that aspect of it was nowhere near as bad as harrison ford clearly not wanting to be there and that era's shia lebouf being one of the most aggravating actors ever

Foppe posted...

Indy survives after using a raft as a parachute.

This has always been rightfully shit on for its implausibility.

masterpug53 posted...

This has always been rightfully shit on for its implausibility.

It is the weakest film of the trilogy

Axiom posted...

Someone watched that scene and gave it the ok. That person is still somewhere living their life like they didn't make the world a worse place

And they're rich!

I didn't like how all the crystal guys changed into an actual alien at the end. The crystal guys looked cooler

Indy 4 was the equivalent of an alcoholic and a gambling addict going out for a night of drinking and gambling.

Steven: "I'll do Indy 4 if I can put aliens in it."
George: "I'll help you if you let me make everything CGI."
Steven: "Let's do this!"

FortuneCookie posted...

Indy 4 was the equivalent of an alcoholic and a gambling addict going out for a night of drinking and gambling.

Steven: "I'll do Indy 4 if I can put aliens in it."
George: "I'll help you if you let me make everything CGI."
Steven: "Let's do this!"

I think it was more

"Do you like money?"
"yes"
"me too"

Why does no-one ever realise that the ending of the first film proves the existence of God (Jehovah) as the Nazis are killed by LITERALLY the Wrath of God from the Ark of the Covenant?

God being a fact in the Indyverse from 1936 onwards should be more unbelievable to fans than aliens, but it's not referenced again.

Surely after witnessing Jehovah at work, Indy would convert to Judaism and the next film would be 'Rabbi Jones and the Wailing Wall'?

The Ark only proves that something most likely unhuman created it.
When people dont understand, they say that God did it.

Foppe posted...

The Ark only proves that something most likely unhuman created it.
When people dont understand, they say that God did it.

And thats my issue with the aliens. Its too damn obvious. They even spell it out.. another dimension, actually.

If they had left it more mysterious and let the audience fill in the gaps, it wouldnt be in the list of bad things in that movie.

The only part I liked was when he was getting dragged through a library and one of his students just deadpan asks him a question, and he answers it before continuing to be dragged. That was funny.

I don't love Crystal Skull but I actually like it better than Temple of Doom. >_>

Perksurx posted...

Why does no-one ever realise that the ending of the first film proves the existence of God (Jehovah) as the Nazis are killed by LITERALLY the Wrath of God from the Ark of the Covenant?

God being a fact in the Indyverse from 1936 onwards should be more unbelievable to fans than aliens, but it's not referenced again.

Surely after witnessing Jehovah at work, Indy would convert to Judaism and the next film would be 'Rabbi Jones and the Wailing Wall'?

The Ark doesn't prove God exists

in fact the implication is Indy and boobs would have died if they looked

it just proves something supernatural exists . Doom did the same thing and wasn't Christian

CGI sci-fi

Clashed with the original direction

Nobody seems bothered that Young Indiana met pretty much every bigname person at the start of the 20th century when he was young, and even killed Dracula.

I wonder what the supernatural element will be in 5?

indica posted...

I wonder what the supernatural element will be in 5?

Should be Lovecraftian or Multiversal, no?

Following the trend?

#theme(())

Xethuminra posted...

Should be Lovecraftian or Multiversal, no?

Following the trend?

#theme(())

Lovecraftian would be cool and works with the time period

indica posted...

Lovecraftian would be cool and works with the time period

Atlantis, anyone; ;}}

the bit where it becomes tarzan comes to mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbdaoAYveUA

Shia is such a cartoon character.

Clashes with the American Graffiti/StarWars grit Harrison brought to the table. He seems like a very no-no sense kinda guy. Shia is the opposite. I guess they were going for like an Uncharted dyanamic between them? Anyway. I liked the movie. Cate Blanchett is hot! Hot Nazi-Soviet whatever thing.

Anyway....

How about the Arctic?

the easter egg was canon
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/4/6/AARebuAACsw-.jpg

Indy 1 - religion
Indy 2 - religion
Indy 3 - religion
Indy 4 - scientology

loafy013 posted...

Indy 1 - religion
Indy 2 - religion
Indy 3 - religion
Indy 4 - scientology

They could incorporate the element of Indy being a professor around Scientology. Like, he has to investigate his colleagues after a murder on campus, something like that. Maybe a little Dan Brown'ish. Imagine Indie sneaking INTO his own office/classroom at night...

...as opposed to sneaking out during the day, as per his norm