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I thought the jungle cutter was pretty cool and I do wish it had been utilized a bit more. I thought it was cool the way that Indy destroyed it but having a fight on top of it or something first would have been neat too.
The Magic Rat said:I'm sorry, but that's BS and complete fan fiction.
Udvarnoky said:It's a good point. The only use it serves in the actual film is to explain how the Russians are getting through an unexplored rain forest...even though after it's blow it up they're all speeding through magical clear roads (which isn't something that would ever bother me in a movie like this, but I think the fact that the Jungle Cutter exists only as long as it takes for Indy to locate a bazooka makes it stand out much more). Or, maybe that gag where the spinning blade nonviolently bounces down the caravan was supposed to be worth it? Was Spielberg trying to make some environmentalist message, that the Russians were totally bad because they were decimating the Amazon? (Who cares within the context of a movie like this?!)
The simple matter is that they screwed up. To me "What ifs" become important when the missed opportunity is so huge, obvious, and distracting that it actually takes away from the enjoyment from the movie. As for why they didn't do anything with the jungle cutter? My disconcerting gut instinct is that Spielberg was opposed to the violence that would come out of it or worse, failed to think of it at all.
Darth Vile said:It doesn't help that there were several leaked pictures of it during production... and I think we all made a big assumption that it was going to be central to an even bigger set piece.
nitzsche said:The idea sounds like it would be awesome, but then you have to consider the motivation behind trying to hijack or destroy the vehicle. Why would Indy need to get to the jungle cutter?
nitzsche said:for Indy to try and commandeer the jungle cutter, there would have to be a narrative reason.
Udvarnoky said:Oh come on now. Everything in these movies is a big excuse to get some crazy set piece started. If Indy needs a reason to get on the Jungle Cutter (which, as you point out, is only one option), you give him one. Just like Raiders gave him an excuse to duke it out with a Nazi around a rotating plane with a giant propeller, or Temple provided mine cart tracks for the excuse of putting Indy on a rollercoaster ride.
And the tank chase in Last Crusade is equally arbitrary. Not because Marcus and Henry Sr. are in the tank, but because there's a tank in the first place. Why a freaking tank? (Even Indy observes it as kinda weird.) Well, to do an awesome tank chase, of course. Marcus and Henry Sr. were just the reason the screenplay concocted to get Indy involved, just like having the skull being in the hands of someone on the jungle cutter, or giving the Russians incentive to use the jungle cutter as a weapon against Indy's vehicle, or whatever, would have been perfectly fine excuses for the Indy4 screenplay to do with that giant, cool-looking, expensive what was obviously should have been done.
But now we're suddenly worried about "motivation" regarding elements within set pieces in a series where such things are established to be of little importance. Shouldn't we be more concerned about the motivation the movie supplies for actual story beats? Like, say, in the film's entire third act?
Attila the Professor said:How about the scenario in which Mac is actually a double agent, reveals such to Indy, and then finds his life threatened by the jungle cutter, because he's outlived his usefulness? Indy goes forth to rescue his old friend. Easy. And better writing across the board, besides.
Udvarnoky said:I don't think there was an alternate version, except maybe at a script level at some point. As for the Jungle Chase being used to its full potential having violence akin to the rest of the film, I really can't agree. Having a Russian end up falling into the blades, even if it happens offscreen, is way more violent than anything in the rest of the movie. Closest thing would be Dovchenko's fate, but it's simply not as visceral.
Udvarnoky said:Was it that big an assumption though? Wouldn't utilizing such a vehicle in a big way in an Indiana Jones movie seem head-slappingly obvious? Even if I'd never seen a leaked picture, I still would have been pretty taken aback in the theater by the fact that this giant destructive machine was blown up before anything could be done with it. It was plain distracting that it was handled that way. I just have a hard time believing that the same guy who directed the first three films could have let that idea slip past him. But then, I also wouldn't have believed it if you'd told me that Indy would go down three waterfalls with zero tension or that the head villain of the movie's fate would amount to some purple fire and quick transformation into dust particles.
Udvarnoky said:Oh come on now. Everything in these movies is a big excuse to get some crazy set piece started. If Indy needs a reason to get on the Jungle Cutter (which, as you point out, is only one option), you give him one. Just like Raiders gave him an excuse to duke it out with a Nazi around a rotating plane with a giant propeller, or Temple provided mine cart tracks for the excuse of putting Indy on a rollercoaster ride.
deckard24 said:Once again decisions on the part of Spielberg, Lucas, and Co., this time the poor use of the jungle cutter, say so much regarding the overall lackluster feel of KOTCS. As has already been mentioned numerous times, why include such a tremendous potential action piece, to only blow it up within minutes of its onscreen debut? The fact that no one even got injured, or at least appeared to by the flying wreckage of it, is beyond me! There was so much potential, but sadly it was wasted. How the same guy that directed the first three installments, as well as movies like Jaws, Close Encounters, and War of the Worlds failed to capitalize on such a great set piece is a mystery to me?!
It's just yet another reason that KOTCS feels tame in comparison to the other films!
Sad but true!WrathofGod said:a perfect opportunity for suspense and action, instead we get fencing lessons, monkey vine swinging and groin whacking jokes. Arg.
deckard24 said:Once again decisions on the part of Spielberg, Lucas, and Co., this time the poor use of the jungle cutter, say so much regarding the overall lackluster feel of KOTCS. As has already been mentioned numerous times, why include such a tremendous potential action piece, to only blow it up within minutes of its onscreen debut? The fact that no one even got injured, or at least appeared to by the flying wreckage of it, is beyond me! There was so much potential, but sadly it was wasted. How the same guy that directed the first three installments, as well as movies like Jaws, Close Encounters, and War of the Worlds failed to capitalize on such a great set piece is a mystery to me?!
It's just yet another reason that KOTCS feels tame in comparison to the other films!