Comments on: A Jones Worth Jonesing http://www.thejaouen.com/2008/05/a-jones-worth-jonesing/ Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:03:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rob http://www.thejaouen.com/2008/05/a-jones-worth-jonesing/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Rob Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:09:46 +0000 http://www.thejaouen.com/?p=34#comment-29 I really wanted to like the movie. I read this review before going and many others that were less than positive. (Nick still encouraged me to go, after all it IS Indiana Jones on the big screen). After seeing the movie. I have to agree that some of the situations were beyond absurd. Not because of the fantastical nature of the situations (which are indeed in all of the movies), but the fact that they have no meaning to the overall plot. The whole refrigerator situation... what was the point? There was no purpose to this scene and it only served to what... show how tough he is? I just didn't jive with that. Dude ripping hearts out of people's chest is "fantastical" but served the overall plot. Surviving a nuclear blast... not so much. I can suspend my disbelief, but that was over the top, even for Indy. The other problem I had with the movie was the lack of sleuthing. All the other movies had an element of discovery, of problem solving melded into the adventure. Not so with this film. All the answers were there. Even finding the skull and the place to return it were... very "easy." I didn't feel that suspense or sense of discovery that the other movies offered. In the end I'd have to agree that this movie was, though not horrible, a piss-poor addition to the trilogy. My biggest fear now is that we will see Indy the 3rd movies..... I really wanted to like the movie. I read this review before going and many others that were less than positive. (Nick still encouraged me to go, after all it IS Indiana Jones on the big screen).

After seeing the movie. I have to agree that some of the situations were beyond absurd. Not because of the fantastical nature of the situations (which are indeed in all of the movies), but the fact that they have no meaning to the overall plot. The whole refrigerator situation… what was the point? There was no purpose to this scene and it only served to what… show how tough he is? I just didn’t jive with that. Dude ripping hearts out of people’s chest is “fantastical” but served the overall plot. Surviving a nuclear blast… not so much. I can suspend my disbelief, but that was over the top, even for Indy.

The other problem I had with the movie was the lack of sleuthing. All the other movies had an element of discovery, of problem solving melded into the adventure. Not so with this film. All the answers were there. Even finding the skull and the place to return it were… very “easy.” I didn’t feel that suspense or sense of discovery that the other movies offered.

In the end I’d have to agree that this movie was, though not horrible, a piss-poor addition to the trilogy. My biggest fear now is that we will see Indy the 3rd movies…..

]]> By: Airek http://www.thejaouen.com/2008/05/a-jones-worth-jonesing/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Airek Wed, 28 May 2008 15:59:10 +0000 http://www.thejaouen.com/?p=34#comment-26 Jaouen, you must have taken off those rose covered glasses you wore for the first three movies when you went and saw the newest addition to the Indiana Jones franchise. All of the plots have been absurd and slightly fanciful, that's why we loved them. As a proclaimed atheist J, I thought you would be more receptive to a plot where aliens are responsible for the advancements of early society than the unapologetic Judeo-Christian themed plots in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘Last Crusade.’ Why can't aliens coexist in a fictional universe where a 500 year old Knight Templar protects the Holy Grail, from which a single drink can heal a fatal bullet wound? You lost your imagination J-dazzle (now officially J-fizzle). What of the magical stones that help a cult of blood thirsty/human sacrificers enslave the children in a region of India? Part of the lure of the Indiana Jones' world is the junction of the possible and impossible. You have college professor Dr. Jone's who is grounded in academia and the need for quantitative proof in his findings and yet he encounters so many unbelievable phenomena. I will cede to you several points on your critique. George Lucas should stay away from scripts. He's an idea guy, a big picture guy, but damn if doesn’t fuck up the details. The dialog wasn't much better than a weekday afternoon soap, but I didn't come to the theater to watch a character driven drama, so it wasn't a huge sticking point for me. You are right, the storyline isn't as fluid as it could be, Mutt (Shia LeBeoulf) is forced upon us for some convenient reason that is all too obvious and Merian and Indiana too quickly reconcile (once again showing how little Lucas knows of romance-can you say Padmae and Aniken.) Plus, I hated the damn Tarzan scene, utterly lame and completely unnecessary. However, I thought the chase scenes and much of the action sequences were fun and in general well executed, but it never quite reached the level set by the tank scene in the Last Crusade (cinematic magic). In general J, you may have suffered from what I like to call getting old. You may have lost that spark of imagination that allowed you to enjoy the original three. Jaouen, you must have taken off those rose covered glasses you wore for the first three movies when you went and saw the newest addition to the Indiana Jones franchise. All of the plots have been absurd and slightly fanciful, that’s why we loved them. As a proclaimed atheist J, I thought you would be more receptive to a plot where aliens are responsible for the advancements of early society than the unapologetic Judeo-Christian themed plots in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘Last Crusade.’ Why can’t aliens coexist in a fictional universe where a 500 year old Knight Templar protects the Holy Grail, from which a single drink can heal a fatal bullet wound? You lost your imagination J-dazzle (now officially J-fizzle). What of the magical stones that help a cult of blood thirsty/human sacrificers enslave the children in a region of India? Part of the lure of the Indiana Jones’ world is the junction of the possible and impossible. You have college professor Dr. Jone’s who is grounded in academia and the need for quantitative proof in his findings and yet he encounters so many unbelievable phenomena.

I will cede to you several points on your critique. George Lucas should stay away from scripts. He’s an idea guy, a big picture guy, but damn if doesn’t fuck up the details. The dialog wasn’t much better than a weekday afternoon soap, but I didn’t come to the theater to watch a character driven drama, so it wasn’t a huge sticking point for me. You are right, the storyline isn’t as fluid as it could be, Mutt (Shia LeBeoulf) is forced upon us for some convenient reason that is all too obvious and Merian and Indiana too quickly reconcile (once again showing how little Lucas knows of romance-can you say Padmae and Aniken.) Plus, I hated the damn Tarzan scene, utterly lame and completely unnecessary.

However, I thought the chase scenes and much of the action sequences were fun and in general well executed, but it never quite reached the level set by the tank scene in the Last Crusade (cinematic magic).

In general J, you may have suffered from what I like to call getting old. You may have lost that spark of imagination that allowed you to enjoy the original three.

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