Cinemassacre Defends KotCS

Dr.Jonesy

Well-known member
Paden said:
I agree that they went back to the Raiders formula in terms of story structure. Raiders and Crusade share the same "grand quest across multiple continents" framework, which gave the latter film a comfortable familiarity to fans of Raiders. However, some of the elements in Crusade, for myself, really detracted from the movie feeling as gritty as the first. For instance, the character of Marcus Brody goes from being one of Indy's respected colleagues to serving as comic relief, all the way up to the film's close. While I can accept Brody as something of a sequestered academic, his gross incompetence really seemed at odds with the man we met in Raiders. In addition, some of the action sequences (the plane in particular comes to mind) seemed more in keeping with the inflatable raft/mine cart sequences from Temple of Doom. So while I would agree that some aspects of Crusade hearkened back to Raiders, others definitely were more in line with the different tone begun in Temple.

Well said. Being one of the "mixed hardcores", I definitely came into my first viewing of KOTCS with a mixture of expectations and trepidations, all of which really detracted from the experience. Throughout the movie, I had an ongoing internal dialogue involving what I thought should have been done or what I thought should have been excluded. Needless to say, I left the theater with a bad taste in my mouth. Since then, I've made a concerted effort to enjoy the movie strictly on its own merits and have developed a much kinder opinion of it as a result. Even so, I'm still a die hard partisan of Raiders and to a certain extent, will always wish that all of the sequels had stuck closely to the tone of that first installment.

You're one of the first posters on this site that I have ever had a hard time disagreeing with.

I went into KOTCS the same way as you. And I remember people applauding as the lights went up and asking myself "What are they applauding for?" since I had such mixed and confused emotions about it.

It really saddened me back in May '08 how most everyone I knew loved the film or at least thought it was worthy and fun, and some ranked it above TOD (Some even LC) and I didn't care much for it. However, after my second viewing, I thought it was great. It just needed to digest. Sort of like the time I saw the last 2. I didn't love them from the get-go, either.

And I do think that the casuals do own this series in a huge way. They own the film business, because the ticket sales into the millions isn't the money of die hard film fans, they're of everyday people going to see a good movie and be entertained. There are alot more casuals than hard-cores and always will be. And the thing about the casual fan is that they can have a better time enjoying something and cherishing it. Whereas we have to pick it apart and know every fault and failure, and it detracts from our experience.

Casual fans and everyday movie-goers and Indyfans loved it. But people like us who take time to be on a message board and collect memorabilia, had a more diverse reception of the film.

Hell, I got 3 friends with KOTCS as their favorite. The other 2 friends live TOD, and the rest are into ROTLA or LC. And these people grew up with the series too. But they didn't live and breathe it. And that's what I think makes a difference. I never see a shelf of Indiana Jones films with many left. All 4 films have only 1 or 2 copies left. And that shows something.

And about the sequels, I think each Indy sequel takes what was before it and mixes it with its own new way. TOD took some of ROTLA's grit and combined it with horror/comedy, LC took ROTLA's formula and TOD's comedic touch with Marcus/Sallah (sadly), and KOTCS took some of ROTLA's grit, TOD's way of trying new things, and LC's family reunion feel and humor whilst adding its own Sci-Fi '50s twist.

They always take what was before them and mash it with what's new. And whilst like Paden says, I do wish they would've stuck with the ROTLA feel and grit. But that didn't happen. So I can either take 'em or leave 'em. And I'll take 'em, thank you!

:gun:
 

Gabeed

New member
Darth Vile said:
I personally don't get the bad rap that TLC gets over its portrayal of Brody and Sallah. Sure they both get a few more comedic moments/pratfalls in TLC but, IMHO, Marcus Brody is an infinitely better character in TLC... with some truly classic lines e.g. "I'd rather spit in your face" etc. Also worth noting who Spielberg/Lucas first had in mind to play Sallah in Raiders. That gives an idea of the way they originally wanted Sallah played i.e. more of a comic foil.

The jokes themselves aren't bad--the lie Indy tells about Marcus knowing every local custom and a dozen languages, and then the quick cut to Marcus being woefully lost in the Iskenderun train station is one of the funniest parts of the entire series. It is, however, just so woefully inconsistent with his personality in the first movie that it ultimately irks me. The dumbed down Sallah irks me as well. We go from a helpful digger who is able to offer a farsighted, cryptic warning on the balcony in Cairo in Raiders to a guy who calls a tank a "steel beast" in Last Crusade.
 

Darth Vile

New member
Gabeed said:
The jokes themselves aren't bad--the lie Indy tells about Marcus knowing every local custom and a dozen languages, and then the quick cut to Marcus being woefully lost in the Iskenderun train station is one of the funniest parts of the entire series. It is, however, just so woefully inconsistent with his personality in the first movie that it ultimately irks me. The dumbed down Sallah irks me as well. We go from a helpful digger who is able to offer a farsighted, cryptic warning on the balcony in Cairo in Raiders to a guy who calls a tank a "steel beast" in Last Crusade.

Yep... but how much screen time did Brody get in Raiders? Circa 5 minutes I'd guess at... he's a secondary character. To lock his personality down into that brief appearance in Raiders is to do his characters potential much injustice. I think TLC established rather well that 'in the field' Brody is like a fish out of water. He's much more akin to his character in Raiders in the college, Venice library and Venice apartment scenes (and even the scenes inside the Grail Temple he is pretty serious).

As for Sallah... I think the line about being in "the belly of the steel beast" is quite poetic and in keeping with his persona from Raiders. Again, in Raiders, upon inspection, Sallah is only serious for a couple of scenes (key scenes I'd admit), but for the rest he's a bit loud and oafish.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Darth Vile said:
Yep... but how much screen time did Brody get in Raiders? Circa 5 minutes I'd guess at... he's a secondary character. To lock his personality down into that brief appearance in Raiders is to do his characters potential much injustice. I think TLC established rather well that 'in the field' Brody is like a fish out of water. He's much more akin to his character in Raiders in the college, Venice library and Venice apartment scenes (and even the scenes inside the Grail Temple he is pretty serious).

Good points, Darth. TLC is the first time we see Marcus out of his element, so we shouldn't really have a preconceived idea of how he should act.

Darth Vile said:
As for Sallah... I think the line about being in "the belly of the steel beast" is quite poetic and in keeping with his persona from Raiders. Again, in Raiders, upon inspection, Sallah is only serious for a couple of scenes (key scenes I'd admit), but for the rest he's a bit loud and oafish.

Before I read the comments about the "steel beast" line, it never occurred to me that it might have been out of character. Sallah was larger than life, so the line does have a poetic quality, as you note.

It's a shame that in KOTCS some of the characters seemed a bit flat in comparison, as though they got neglected while the search was on for the next big cliffhanger.
 

Gabeed

New member
Darth Vile said:
Yep... but how much screen time did Brody get in Raiders? Circa 5 minutes I'd guess at... he's a secondary character. To lock his personality down into that brief appearance in Raiders is to do his characters potential much injustice. I think TLC established rather well that 'in the field' Brody is like a fish out of water. He's much more akin to his character in Raiders in the college, Venice library and Venice apartment scenes (and even the scenes inside the Grail Temple he is pretty serious).

As for Sallah... I think the line about being in "the belly of the steel beast" is quite poetic and in keeping with his persona from Raiders. Again, in Raiders, upon inspection, Sallah is only serious for a couple of scenes (key scenes I'd admit), but for the rest he's a bit loud and oafish.

If you've seen Iron Man 2, you may remember Samuel L. Jackson's character, Nic Fury. He's on-screen for a short while himself, but the mood of his character is nevertheless established--he's rather no-nonsense, is urging Tony Stark to join his team, etc. If he were to become comic relief in a sequel to Iron Man 2, would that not be jarring? Keep in mind that I've never read a comic book in my life, so bringing up Nic Fury's backstory (whatever it may be) is irrelevant in this context--my conclusion is based on the movies alone. I have no problem with considerable development of a character like Marcus who was minor in a previous movie. I can see the potential humor of an academic being rather awkward out in the field. I just think they lathered it on a bit too thick. It's a stretch for me to consider the man who gives sage advice and states he would go after the Ark himself in serious tones in the beginning of Raiders is the same ungainly, confused, crazy man who yells out "FOLLOW ME, I KNOW THE WAY, HHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!" and starts to topple off his horse in the end of Last Crusade. All dignity gone. :(

And I don't buy the "poetic" explanation for the steel beast quote. You may see it that way, but I feel almost certain that the intention was "Stupid Sallah's never seen a tank before."
 

Darth Vile

New member
Gabeed said:
If you've seen Iron Man 2, you may remember Samuel L. Jackson's character, Nic Fury. He's on-screen for a short while himself, but the mood of his character is nevertheless established--he's rather no-nonsense, is urging Tony Stark to join his team, etc. If he were to become comic relief in a sequel to Iron Man 2, would that not be jarring? Keep in mind that I've never read a comic book in my life, so bringing up Nic Fury's backstory (whatever it may be) is irrelevant in this context--my conclusion is based on the movies alone. I have no problem with considerable development of a character like Marcus who was minor in a previous movie. I can see the potential humor of an academic being rather awkward out in the field. I just think they lathered it on a bit too thick. It's a stretch for me to consider the man who gives sage advice and states he would go after the Ark himself in serious tones in the beginning of Raiders is the same ungainly, confused, crazy man who yells out "FOLLOW ME, I KNOW THE WAY, HHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!" and starts to topple off his horse in the end of Last Crusade. All dignity gone. :(

And I don't buy the "poetic" explanation for the steel beast quote. You may see it that way, but I feel almost certain that the intention was "Stupid Sallah's never seen a tank before."

It's all about ones interpretation... but I don't think for a second Lucas/Spielberg were trying to turn Brody into some "crazy man" idiot. As already mentioned, watch TLC and count how many times Brody is being serious i.e. the college scenes, Henry Jones Seniors house, the entire Venice section, inside the Grail temple. He only gets to do some light weight stuff in the Iskenderun station scene, aboard the tank and the "follow me" bit at the very end. The character certainly gets more screen time in TLC, but I don't think it's spent establishing him as a bumbling incompetent.

As for Sallah... yes he's played a lot more lightweight (which is reflective of the movie in general)... but I think that they already establish him as a bit of a loveable fool in Raiders e.g. "holy smoke my friends I'm so pleased you're not dead" etc. And as already mentioned, remember who they wanted to originally play Sallah? The character was not conceived as being an intellect, but instead as a simple sidekick/comic foil.
 
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