What are KOTCS's best action scenes?

Cagefighterkip

New member
I'm sorry if there is a thread devoted to this already:

* The Hangar 51 Chase/Doomtown sequence ("Not as easy as it used to be!")
* The college/campus motorcycle chase ("Get that greaser!")
* The cemetary warriors attack ("You're jumping at your own shadow!")
* The QuickSand pit scene (not really action but still... "Why didn't you making him finish school?")
* The jungle chase/sword duel ("You fight like a young man, eager to begin - quick to finish!")
* Ants! ("Big damn ants!")
* Three waterfalls ("Three times she falls!")
* The escape from Akator ("I've got a bad feeling about this!")

Well?
 

MaxPhactor23

New member
I didn't care much for the ants originally, but on second viewing they were easily my favorite part. Strange how it grew on me.
 

Dr._Jones_Jr.

New member
The ants. That fist fight between Indy and Dovchenko was redic!!! I never seen two people punch eachother in the face so many times. That double punch that indy throws...love it! Those movies always have the best punch sounds.
 

MaxPhactor23

New member
Dr._Jones_Jr. said:
The ants. That fist fight between Indy and Dovchenko was redic!!! I never seen two people punch eachother in the face so many times. That double punch that indy throws...love it! Those movies always have the best punch sounds.

You mustn?t watch many action movies?
 

Darth Vile

New member
MaxPhactor23 said:
You mustn?t watch many action movies?

Whilst I agree that the action scenes in KOTCS certainly didn?t raise the bar (or indeed meet the bar) set by some of the exceptional action set pieces from the previous movies, I thought they were fine within the context of an Indy movie. Indeed, I preferred the majority of KOTCS action scenes to anything in Iron Man, The Hulk, The Mummy 3 or even TDK. If only they could perhaps exorcise the ?Tarzan swing?, I?d gladly push the jungle chase up in the rankings of Indy moments?
 

muttjones

New member
MaxPhactor23 said:
I didn't care much for the ants originally, but on second viewing they were easily my favorite part. Strange how it grew on me.

i just wish they were real though! A better CGI thing i reckon would be to have piranhas in the water. Then the boat-car-thing would ride down the river earlier and Indy and Dovchenko would fight on the boat. Then Indy would punch Dovchenko into the water and he would be eaten alive by the piranhas. Just my idea though:p
 

Darth Vile

New member
muttjones said:
i just wish they were real though! A better CGI thing i reckon would be to have piranhas in the water. Then the boat-car-thing would ride down the river earlier and Indy and Dovchenko would fight on the boat. Then Indy would punch Dovchenko into the water and he would be eaten alive by the piranhas. Just my idea though:p

Piranhas are in the novel I think... but as far as I can recall, they just take a nip out of Mutt when he's in the water (nothing too dramatic).
 

The Man

Well-known member
Is it considered 'haterly' to suggest that none of them pass muster? Ford was up to task - it was Spielberg who directed arthritically. There is nothing here to match any action-sequence in the original trilogy.
 

graz

New member
The Man said:
Is it considered 'haterly' to suggest that none of them pass muster? Ford was up to task - it was Spielberg who directed arthritically. There is nothing here to match any action-sequence in the original trilogy.

No, it would be considered your opinion (didn't Mark Haterly play for Rangers and England BTW? (y) )

I think the whole motorcycle chase sequence was great. Quite charming, in an old fashioned way.
 

Belloq

Member
Sorry to say this but I hated the Ants scene because they really looked too fake and belonged in George Lucas' new Clone Wars movie than the Indy film...

Best overall was the beginning scene in the warehouse where you see the Ark and the motorcycle scene through Princeton: "You want my advice, get out of the library!" :cool:
 

Darth Vile

New member
The Man said:
Is it considered 'haterly' to suggest that none of them pass muster? Ford was up to task - it was Spielberg who directed arthritically. There is nothing here to match any action-sequence in the original trilogy.

Again - whilst I agree that none of the action scenes in KOTCS surpass the standout scenes within the original 3 movies, KOTCS better action pieces (the warehouse, bike chase, jungle chase, ants) could easily transpose into those movies without looking too much out of place. It's just that they could not improve upon classic action such as the truck chase, the rope bridge or tank chase. An impossible task most would agree.
 

agentsands77

New member
Darth Vile said:
Again - whilst I agree that none of the action scenes in KOTCS surpass the standout scenes within the original 3 movies, KOTCS better action pieces (the warehouse, bike chase, jungle chase, ants) could easily transpose into those movies without looking too much out of place.
Stylistically, yeah, they're largely in keeping with the originals.

Darth Vile said:
It's just that they could not improve upon classic action such as the truck chase, the rope bridge or tank chase. An impossible task most would agree.
Is it impossible? Nah, I'm not sure it is. Nor do they really come close to equalling it. Some sequences are better than others in KINGDOM, but all of 'em lack a bit of punch.
 

Darth Vile

New member
agentsands77 said:
Stylistically, yeah, they're largely in keeping with the originals.


Is it impossible? Nah, I'm not sure it is. Nor do they really come close to equalling it. Some sequences are better than others in KINGDOM, but all of 'em lack a bit of punch.

I think that's the point for me... The "impossible" bit is to keep it stylistically similar, but advance it. Personally - I don't think you can ever top the tank chase from LC. IMHO, that's one of the best action scenes from any movie ever (not involving CGI, blue screen etc). The only way they could really top that is to change the style and make the action more gritty/realistic etc. but then the Indy style would clearly be compromised.

Also - "lack a bit a punch" is a good a way of putting it as any I've heard. I don't disagree - But I think that derives from the fact that, as far as Indy movies are concerned, the situations are largely derivative... How many fight/chase scenes can you come up with before you have to re-invent how you do them? If KOTCS proved anything, it's that "stylistically" Indy has gone as far as he can go with that format (if you want to see something different that is).
 

agentsands77

New member
Darth Vile said:
The only way they could really top that is to change the style and make the action more gritty/realistic etc. but then the Indy style would clearly be compromised.
I don't know that it would compromise the style at all. It would modify it some, but the Indy style has been stretched in the previous two RAIDERS sequels, but in the opposite direction.

Darth Vile said:
But I think that derives from the fact that, as far as Indy movies are concerned, the situations are largely derivative...
I think it comes from the execution, more than anything.
 

Darth Vile

New member
agentsands77 said:
I don't know that it would compromise the style at all. It would modify it some, but the Indy style has been stretched in the previous two RAIDERS sequels, but in the opposite direction.

I think the fact that Raiders, TOD and LC were released with comparatively short periods in between mitigates the impact of their derivative nature i.e. even though they harkened back to older movies, they were still contemporary. That said, even by the release of LC (for those that were just about old enough to remember), the Indy action scenes were becoming somewhat Passé. With a 19-year gap, and when the style is so closely mirrored, I think one can only feel nostalgic for that type of action or bored by it (as demonstrated by most of the views here).

agentsands77 said:
I think it comes from the execution, more than anything.

Perhaps. But again, I'm not sure what you can do to mix it up without changing that very light-weight/pulp style that has always been at the heart of the Indy action set pieces.
 
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