Review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of the F'd Up Second Half - Spoiler!

[bzbatl]

So, at least I got half my money's worth.

Anyone else pondering spending $10 to see this, I'd say...

"Do you have anything else you'd rather do? Maybe putt putt golf?"

I'm a huge Indy fan (almost as big as Star Wars for me) and this movie was like a rollercoaster. But a shitty one.

The beginning was awesome. It made me say YAYYYY like the tard on Crank Yankers. Halfway through, with the one really long action scene in the jungle, I was still on the edge of my seat saying YAYYY!!

Then, it started going downhill. The always-pessimist reviewers were actually right for a change. It's like Spielberg did the first half, and Lucas took the reigns for the second half.

So yeah, I got half my money's worth. I guess. The ending left most of the audience looking like they just watched an episode of LOST: "WTF".

[coronadozx]

i heard the movie wasn't worth the 20 year wait. i'll wait for DVD.

thanks bro.

[Gimpdiggity]

I really liked it. Alot. But I'm finding that I'm definitely in the minority.

I see that many people are complaining about the "sci-fi" type idea behind the skull...but that just shows that they aren't really in tune with theories and stories from many ancient civilizations. In the scene in that tomb where they were saying things like "These are Sumerian...these are ancient Egyptian, these are Meszo-American...blah blah blah" those are all cultures that worshiped multiple gods. There are some pretty interesting theories out there that these "multiple gods" were actually alien beings that came to earth and showed these early people technology that they couldn't comprehend before hand. They are pretty interesting theories...and I find them fairly plausible. A big supporting factor for me is the fact that the Sumerians had accurate star maps of our solar system showing 9 planets AND the asteroid belt...all several thousand years before the first telescope. There's simply no natural way on earth that they could've known things like that.

So, taking that into account and a bit of knowledge about the legend of the crystal skulls in the first place, I was able to really enjoy the movie. If you take the idea that the alien/space/crystal skull/sci-fi thing is actually based in conventional mythology and legendry, it makes the movie seem less sci-fi and more "Indy," if you know what I mean.

I mean really, the idea that an ancient people had contact with extra terrestrial beings is probably more believable than finding a magic cup that some cult leader drank out of, or finding the Ark of the Covenant. It was just pretty unexpected.

With that said, I was VERY disappointed when the crystal skeletons merged. That part could've been avoided I think and I wouldn't have missed it. I can't go into more detail about WHY I didn't like that part without ruining part of the ending for other people...so I'll just say I was less than impressed with that part.

However, the writing and acting was superb. I liked it when Indy had gotten into the fight in the bar and Mutt was like "You fight pretty good for an old guy...what are you anyways, 80?"

I also have to say that I absolutely LOVED the very last seen of the movie. It brought back so many fond memories of the early movies. Simply fantastic.

I think it's definitely one of those movies that if people give it a second chance and watch it again (like on DVD) they would like it more than they did the first time. I know that I loved almost every minute of it. Other than the skulls merging and the heavy CGI in the jungle chase seen, I thought it was pretty damn awesome.

But to finish this off, I can definitely understand WHY some people aren't liking it. I would highly suggest going and reading just a bit about the legends of the crystal skulls and some of the ideas of aliens visiting these ancient peoples before you go...it will probably make the movie a bit better for you.

[Gimpdiggity]

Oh, I also loved the part with the giant snake. Simply great. Harrison Ford played that part so well. It had me cracking up.

[bzbatl]

"I mean really, the idea that an ancient people had contact with extra terrestrial beings is probably more believable than finding a magic cup that some cult leader drank out of, or finding the Ark of the Covenant."

Sooo, you're converting to Scientology, I see?

Actually, no. Believing either is about as ludicrous as the other. Leaving options open is acceptable in a scientific, evidence-based logical world... but calling it "believable" without evidence is pretty silly.

I was trying not to completely spoil the ending, but now that it's open, I guess it's fair game.

The ending isn't wack because it's aliens.

The ending isn't wack because of the possible plausibility of polytheists mistaking aliens for a group of deities.

The ending is wack because it was supposed to be 1957. Anything like that would have made all of them go HOLY SHIT and freak the fuck out. Even a grizzled veteran like Indy. It's also wack because of Ox saying: "Oh, it's a portal to another dimension."

What the fuck? How the fuck does he know what a portal to another dimension looks like?

It's wack because aliens just took off in a fucking saucer and the only thing that is said is: "Just like erasing their footprints."

What the fuck? I'm sorry, but water doesn't wash away a fucking temple made of solid gold. What kind of shitty archaeologist is Oxley supposed to be?

It's also wack because Mutt has no real problem that HE JUST SAW FUCKING ALIENS TAKE OFF IN A SPACESHIP... but somehow is still adjusting to Indy being his dad.

And Spielberg did a better saucer scene 30 years ago. The CGI at the end of Indy was just shitty.

So to be perfectly honest, I'd say it was great a little more than halfway in. It was really just the last 20-25 minutes that were highly disappointing.

[bzbatl]

Oh, and yes, the cafe scene and the snake rope were great scenes.

The jungle scene was fantastic (even tied in the reason Mutt was so good with a sword) until... Mutt becomes Tarzan. Dopey.

[Gimpdiggity]

Wow man. You just totally recreated the whole ending for anyone that hasn't seen it.

All that I said was that it was tied to aliens and ancient races...which was easily interpreted in the previews: "It wasn't made by human hands."

[bzbatl]

Hehe. I'll edit the title.

[aggierider]

me and the girlfried were going to go watch it saturday, but ended up getting really full from eating out....so we went home...i still might give it a shot though.

[coronadozx]

Originally Posted by Gimpdiggity

I really liked it. Alot. But I'm finding that I'm definitely in the minority.

I see that many people are complaining about the "sci-fi" type idea behind the skull...but that just shows that they aren't really in tune with theories and stories from many ancient civilizations. In the scene in that tomb where they were saying things like "These are Sumerian...these are ancient Egyptian, these are Meszo-American...blah blah blah" those are all cultures that worshiped multiple gods. There are some pretty interesting theories out there that these "multiple gods" were actually alien beings that came to earth and showed these early people technology that they couldn't comprehend before hand. They are pretty interesting theories...and I find them fairly plausible. A big supporting factor for me is the fact that the Sumerians had accurate star maps of our solar system showing 9 planets AND the asteroid belt...all several thousand years before the first telescope. There's simply no natural way on earth that they could've known things like that.

So, taking that into account and a bit of knowledge about the legend of the crystal skulls in the first place, I was able to really enjoy the movie. If you take the idea that the alien/space/crystal skull/sci-fi thing is actually based in conventional mythology and legendry, it makes the movie seem less sci-fi and more "Indy," if you know what I mean.

I mean really, the idea that an ancient people had contact with extra terrestrial beings is probably more believable than finding a magic cup that some cult leader drank out of, or finding the Ark of the Covenant. It was just pretty unexpected.

With that said, I was VERY disappointed when the crystal skeletons merged. That part could've been avoided I think and I wouldn't have missed it. I can't go into more detail about WHY I didn't like that part without ruining part of the ending for other people...so I'll just say I was less than impressed with that part.

However, the writing and acting was superb. I liked it when Indy had gotten into the fight in the bar and Mutt was like "You fight pretty good for an old guy...what are you anyways, 80?"

I also have to say that I absolutely LOVED the very last seen of the movie. It brought back so many fond memories of the early movies. Simply fantastic.

I think it's definitely one of those movies that if people give it a second chance and watch it again (like on DVD) they would like it more than they did the first time. I know that I loved almost every minute of it. Other than the skulls merging and the heavy CGI in the jungle chase seen, I thought it was pretty damn awesome.

But to finish this off, I can definitely understand WHY some people aren't liking it. I would highly suggest going and reading just a bit about the legends of the crystal skulls and some of the ideas of aliens visiting these ancient peoples before you go...it will probably make the movie a bit better for you.

i saw the movie today and must admit i really liked it. there were some scenes that were just a little too much, but nothing unlike any other indy film.

i totally recommend it and will probably get it when it comes to dvd.

[acalliste]

Ok, I'm not reading any of these posts in detail, as I haven't seen it yet. All I will say is that I love Sci-Fi, and I love Harrison Ford and I love love love Cate Blanchett. So there is no way this film can disappoint me.

[coronadozx]

i tend to agree, it was very entertaining ... and isn't that what a movie is supposed to do?