5/26/08

Indiana Jones Texas style!

Why Texas style, well we went to Canadian in Texas to see this at the beautiful restored old movie theatre. Seeing as we can't seem to get through a night without yet another tornado watch, a matinee seemed a safer bet and sure enough we are again tonight! Canadian itself is an old historic town about 50 miles from home and the cinema is just wonderful and full of authentic features, like the ticket kiosk below.

So onto the long awaited Indiana Jones fourth adventure, directed and produced by Spielberg and Lucas after a 19 year break. I know alot of people haven't seen it yet so I am not going to give any specific details or spoilers. Firstly let me say we both found it highly entertaining and I didn't want to have to miss a moment to visit the loo, always a good barometer of a movie!

Harrison Ford is as good as ever, I love that they have let him age and it shows, but he has lost none of his charisma and humour as Dr Jones. He is also surrounded by a strong cast and a one new character in particular, that the ending suggested may represent the possible future of this franchise? The action sequences and special effects are as good as they ever were, there are 2 chase scenes in the movie that have you on the edge of your seat. The enemy is played by Cate Blanchett and she made a good rival, although slightly OTT for my taste. It was good to see three great British actors in leading roles with John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent all acting their socks off.

My disappointment though was in the underlying plot, which for me was just too far fetched. I came out feeling like Spielberg/Lucas had tried to combine their two most successful franchise 'themes' but they just don't work together! As a result the movie ends like a fantasy adventure and Indiana Jones basic plots were always at least somewhat believable in the past. I am not going to say anymore than this as it will give too much away, but I will be interested to know if others felt the same way?

But I can't deny we were entertained and enjoyed it, I just came away feeling letdown by the plot. Over dinner we discussed it and agreed we want to get the boxed set of the original movies, but this one we will pass on probably. We both feel that when the original movies were made they were different for their time, but the 'National Treasure' franchise has successfully stolen the style of Indiana Jones. We both preferred National Treasure 2, but we'd still highly recommend this if you enjoyed the originals, as it's undeniably good entertainment.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

We just got back from watching it (at the new Warren Theater in Moore, which has an awesome "Grand Auditorium").

I have to say that our family's reaction after the movie was pretty darn close to yours. In fact, I think your review was spot on. Sarah and Ashley (our daughters, for those who may not know) also were distracted by the far-fetched portion of the plots.

As much as I love Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones, I think they should have left well enough alone with the trilogy. The last movie was the perfect sign-off -- Spielberg said as much in his interview on Good Morning America.

I enjoyed it, but was also less than enthused with the basic storyline. The brilliance of Harrison Ford and of Spielberg's film-making made it worth watching.
_

P.S. You are under a Tornado Watch -- again!

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

I agree with you on the plot but did enjoy it and found myself laughing through a lot of it.

We have the boset of the trilogy - mum is a fan of Harrison Ford!!

Victoria x

Janet said...

I haven't seen the movie,yet.

It was interesting to see the theater you visited, as I have just written an article about a local theater that has been completely restored to it's 1929 grandeur.

Pam said...

what a gorgeous theater! reminds me of the kind we went to when i was a kid. none left in okc with that kind of atmosphere. and thanks for the movie review, we may have to wait for pay-per-view now!!! :) wishing you no tornados today!

Anonymous said...

Ditto on what Brad said. I liked it because let's face it, it was Indy. But like you, the plot did nothing for me. The plot was the main thing that made me only like this, and not love it.

Unknown said...

Well I'm glad we weren't alone thinking the plot was a bit absurd, still an entertaining 2 hours though.

Yep we are under YET another tornado watch, but it all seems to be sliding south of us right now. The emergency bag is in the cellar and the wind is unreal!

dabrah said...

I loved the film. Yes, it was far fetched, but the cars, the clothes, and the unreal story made it entertaining.

Vickie said...

I did like watching the new Indiana Jones movie and will go back to see it on my own to catch what I missed for various reasons. My 'good movie' sign is not checking my Indiglo watch to see how much longer we have to go.....nary a peep at the watch for this one.
I really liked National Treasure 2, probably even more than the first.
Lovely theater you attended!

Rhea said...

We went and saw the movie over the weekend and really enjoyed it! I also love how they let Harrison Ford's age show, how they brought back old characters (Marion) and kept the general Indy theme going. The kids really loved it.

The theater you went to looks gorgeous! What a fun place to see a movie. I haven't seen National Treasure 2 yet, but I loved the first one.

Mmm said...

Really? National Treasure 2? I loved that too but talk about far fetched If this Indy movie is worse thatn that I'm not sure I could handle it but Lavinia's blog post has me intrigued.

Love the old cinema!