Indiana Jones Trilogy, revisited

Above: Silver Snail, May 2008

Earlier this year I made a few notes on things I wanted to do to prepare for some of the film events for 2008. One of the biggest releases this year appears to be Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and as I have only seen the previous Indiana Jones films a few times each, I spent some time revisiting them. They may not have made the hugest impact on me considering when a friend mentioned a few years back they were set in the past, I had no recollection of that at all! A refresher was clearly in order.

We begin with Raiders of the Lost Ark, set in 1936 and this one holds up very well. An adventure film from start to finish with an intelligent and witty protagonist. One of the things I enjoyed about it was Karen Allen as the strong and savvy Marion. Action, adventure and humour are all there. I did notice this time around that the humour was a little campy, which surprized me. All and all it is a fun film, and anytime I'm in Uldaman it comes to mind.

Next up is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which all I really remembered from the first viewing was being scared. I believe I saw it for my brother's birthday and if my math is correct that would have make me 7 at the time. Too young (see below). There are oodles of creepy crawlies, and dinner sequence just freaked me out. My reaction this time around was strong, but for a completely different reason. I couldn't stand the female counterpart, Willie, yelling, whining, seducing, what have you for every moment she was on the screen it felt like the worst form of comic relief. At times, I left the room or was doing other things because I could barely stand it. I also found it a little less interesting due to the lack of a sense of adventure as they were in one place for the majority of the film. On the positive note, I enjoyed the character Short Round and the innovative and elaborate sets.

Lastly, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade which I know I enjoyed seeing at the time and was surprized I had never revisited it until now. Getting to see a more about Indy himself was a big treat, and it was a joy to was River Phoenix in the film. I also thought Sean Connery was fantastic and it was a great to see him and Harrison Ford play off each other. Great casting, interesting story and a return to true adventure this film was a whole lot of fun.

I am really glad I revisited these films before heading out to the fourth, even if only to be made aware that the humour is campy.