Mind The Gap: Finally Watching All Of Indiana Jones
Despite loving movies for most of my life, and having a father who was determined to make sure I watched a lot of films he considered classics, there are a lot of gaps I’ve discovered in my movie knowledge over the past few years.
I didn’t see the Lord of the Rings movies until 2014, I still haven’t seen a majority of John Hughes flicks (and am not super encouraged after last month’s attempt at The Breakfast Club), I only saw Episodes V and VI of Star Wars roughly two years ago and last fall, I realized my only exposure to Indiana Jones was the stunt show at Disney. That last one is the one I decided to tackle first.
The Good
Despite some of the effects being obviously outdated, it was a joy to see all those scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark that are so familiar to anyone remotely adjacent to pop culture in general. Everything that makes Indy Indy was created within that film. It’s obvious to see why it was considered a classic, even as the world of adventure films change. Young Harrison Ford is always a delight to see, especially in roles such as this or as Han Solo. There’s such a level of charm to the first of the four films, and there are little bits here and there that you can recognize as inspiration for the decades of action films that came after.
The Bad
I wanted to love the second movie. I did. But wow, was it hard for me to find real things I enjoyed about Temple of Doom. The sidekick reeked of racism galore, the damsel in distress was so truly distressing that half the time I wished she would be left to die and, if I’m being completely transparent, every five minutes, I was cringing at something that was either disgusting or weirdly terrifying. So many things were cringe-worthy to me, and it almost made me consider stopping my watch after this one. I didn’t even find Indy nearly as charming as I did in the first installment. Needless to say, this was definitely my least favorite of the series.
The Surprisingly Great
The only thing I truly knew about The Last Crusade was that Sean Connery was in it, and that was enough to keep me going despite my distaste for the second Indiana Jones film. And it was definitely worth it. The relationship between Indiana and his father breathed new life into the series, helping avoid a slump that can befall later movies featuring the same characters. There are a lot of light touches that add another dimension to the never ending saga of ‘oh no, we are about to die’ moments. Ending it on a note about how Indy got his well-known moniker is actually what pushed this installment into first place for me.
The I’m Sorry…What?
It’s hard for me to even put into words what my experience was watching Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. At first, I was on board with the whole concept of this movie, but then it started getting crazier and crazier. I hadn’t heard anything about this movie except that Shia LaBeouf was in it, and it turned out to be a good thing I didn’t know any more than that. If you haven’t seen this movie, I can’t in good conscience recommend it, unless you are ready for the most insane acid trip of a movie that you could ever imagine. The only word I can offer to explain it is ‘aliens.’ And I still don’t completely understand how it all fits in. It’s legitimately baffling.
My plan is to - each month - comb the streaming services and see what holes in my movie knowledge I can fill. Whether it’s watching the Kill Bill movies or trying out the second Star Wars trilogy, I’m going to try to close up those gaps. Some may be more modern award winners I’m annoyed I haven’t seen (or critically acclaimed ones that got snubbed) and others may be ones that it’s almost embarrassing that I haven’t seen from decades past. If you have any suggestions of classic series or themes you’ve spotted available on streaming, please don’t hesitate to suggest them to me - I’m always open to ideas.