What are your "Do's" and "Don't's" for Indy 5?

Raiders90

Well-known member
DO:
-Have the opening adventure not be tied to the main plot. KOTCS broke away from this cornerstone of the films, but it's a cool device that goes back to James Bond. Let's start off the film at the end of another of Indy's adventures

-Don't go out of the way to bash KOTCS.

-Have gunplay, have whip play. We haven't had a good shootout since TOD. Since Harrison/Indy is older, he can use his gun and whip more than his fists

-Make Indy an even dirtier fighter than in his youth. He's more clever as an older man. He can use things to his advantage younger stronger fighters might not.

-Give Indy a younger assistant, preferably female. Indy is best when paired with a woman.

-Have at best three scenes set in the US. Have the rest of the film take place someplace Indy hasn't gone yet. Africa? Vietnam? Ireland? Scotland (after all his dad was a Scot)

-Let Harrison have at least 50%-60% of the screentime

-Let Harrison be an active adventurer in this film. Don't make it where he is retired and reluctant to go out into the field.

-Use practical effects as much as possible

-Try to emulate the look of the first three films as much as possible.

DON'T:

-Mention the 1960s too much

-Don't make the film political. Given we'll be in the late 60s, this might be hard to resist.

-Don't make the female assistant outdo Indy or know more than him or take the spotlight away from him in the action department. Show her as intelligent and like Indy, but at the same time, not outshining him. Don't put feminism in an Indy film

-Use any sci-fi elements

-Don't use Russians again

-Don't make jokes about Indy's age. Preferably don't mention it, but if the film does, do it in a mature way, don't make him look like a doddering old fool.

-Keep mention of Hippies and/or 60s counterculture to a VERY bare minimum

-DO NOT refer to Indy as "Henry Jones, Jr." Ever. At all.
 
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Walecs

Active member
Raiders112390 said:
Have the opening adventure not be tied to the main plot. KOTCS broke away from this cornerstone of the films, but it's a cool device that goes back to James Bond.

To be fair many James Bond PTSs are tied to the film's main plot, with few exceptions (arguably Octopus*y's PTS is the only one with absolutely no ties to the main plot). But I agree with your point.

EDIT: Lol, I can't believe the movie title is censored!
 

FordFan

Well-known member
Pale Horse said:
Do bring back this:
2a567d0841bd3dd8f64fd24d6f9031b5.jpg


and this:
file_569935_raiders-of-the-lost-ark-8.jpg


and this:
indianajonestempleofdoom5.jpg


and so much less of this:
indy-4.png

That's kind of an unfair comparison. KOTCS had a lot of interesting silhouette shots.
 

FordFan

Well-known member
Do: Have Indy shoot and kill someone.

The only person he shoots in KOTCS is that Russian who got shot in the foot, 10 minutes in. I believe the only person he kills is that guy with the poison dart. A movie with absolutely no grit needs to be redeemed with part 5.
 

Toht's Arm

Active member
Raiders112390 said:
Don't put feminism in an Indy film

I think you're forgetting how unique and impressive of a character Marion was in Raiders. To suggest that there was nothing feminist about her introductory scene in a 1981 film is crazy...

Which is why ToD was such a massive step backward with Willie. But we all know why that was...
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
I will go to bat for Willie. At least she has an actual arc, while Marion is just her spunky self the whole way through. And while The Spoiled Rotten Star may be a cliche, It's not like The Spitfire Old Flame is any less of one. The dimension of these characters is in the performances.

And for the record, Marion gets kidnapped more than Willie.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Toht's Arm said:
I think you're forgetting how unique and impressive of a character Marion was in Raiders. To suggest that there was nothing feminist about her introductory scene in a 1981 film is crazy...

Which is why ToD was such a massive step backward with Willie. But we all know why that was...

Okay, I'll clarify: Don't put crazy third wave feminism in the film where Indy looks like a doddering idiot compared to his sidekick who knows everything and can do everything better than he ever could because she's a female. Basically, don't put a Rey or Rey-like character in the film. Don't have Indy lectured by said female sidekick about changing times. Don't belittle the character.
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Walecs said:
To be fair many James Bond PTSs are tied to the film's main plot, with few exceptions (arguably Octopus*y's PTS is the only one with absolutely no ties to the main plot). But I agree with your point.

EDIT: Lol, I can't believe the movie title is censored!

Goldfinger? The pre-title sequence to that one is about Bond stopping a heroin smuggling ring in Latin America. The only bridge between the two stories is that Bond is then sent on holiday to Miami.

In Indy though:

Raiders - pre-adventure is about golden idol. Connection to main story is Belloq.

TOD - Pre-adventure is about the Peacock's Eye diamond. Connection to main story is Willie and Shortround

LC - Pre-adventure is about Indy first discovering the Cross of Coronado in 1912, then finally recovering it in 1938. No connection to main story except for a cameo by an unseen Henry Sr.

KOTCS breaks with this in that we don't even SEE the pre-adventure, it's only mentioned. It feels off.
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
What's particularly weird about Crystal Skull breaking the tradition of a self-contained teaser is that it would have worked way better that way. The Roswell alien really has no bearing on the rest of the plot (they awkwardly have Spalko dismiss it as "a distant cousin, perhaps" in the tent scene), and being less explicit about the aliens so early might have preserved some sense of intrigue. Mac would have been better off killed in the prologue considering that the movie proved to have no material purpose for him for the rest of the movie.
 

Toht's Arm

Active member
Udvarnoky said:
I will go to bat for Willie. At least she has an actual arc, while Marion is just her spunky self the whole way through. And while The Spoiled Rotten Star may be a cliche, It's not like The Spitfire Old Flame is any less of one. The dimension of these characters is in the performances.

And for the record, Marion gets kidnapped more than Willie.

Oh, I should add for the record that I love ToD. I also think that Capshaw is fantastic in the role. But they made it SO hard to like her. The moment she appears onscreen, she's belittling Indy, the guy we all love, with a lame joke about "mommies/mummies". And I'd argue she doesn't really get an arc. Come the climax, she's shadowboxing ineffectually behind Indy whilst he fights.

I agree that Spoiled Rotten Star was potentially a great foil, it's the writing that's off. Any part of the character that does work is down to Capshaw, IMHO.

I talk about this at length here: http://chatflixpodcast.com.au/ep-60-indiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-doom/

/end not-so-subtle plug :hat:
 

seasider

Active member
Do's

- Shoot the movie in foreign locales when it's feasible or practical to do so.

-Consider shooting the movie digitally like an Arri Alexa 65 or Red 8K. Spielberg has used digital in The BFG and Ready Player One.

-Find a Macguffin easy to understand and one that people care about.

-Give Indy sidekicks who compliment his skills but the focus should always be on Indy.

-Just let Indy have fun and hold nothing back.

Don't's

-Use CGI in places that end up being distracting and take you out of the movie. (e.g The CGI trees and leaves in the jungle scene which was filmed on location)

- Try too hard to be like Raiders. Raiders was its own movie and nothing will ever top it.

- Hold back on the violence. We're talking about a franchise where people have been chopped up with propeller blades, had a heart ripped out, heads exploding, etc.
 

AndyLGR

Active member
Dont:

Bring back Marion or Mutt.

Have too many sidekicks along for the journey.

Have Indy taking a back seat in some of the main action scenes.

Make jokes about age.

Be afraid of letting Indy use his gun.



Do:

Get back to basics of an Indy adventure with preferrably just one or two sidekicks.

Have a menacing villain.

Get back to the scope of previous films by using real locations around the world.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Do:

Make Indy the main focus. Keep the adventure party small and let Indy drive the adventure from start to finish.

Stick with a biblical or more common artifact that has basis in reality.

Include Sallah.

Have Indy use his gun.



Don't:

Make it political or push social commentary.

Use CGI any more than absolutely necessary.

Kill off Indy at the end.

Shy away from violence or intense images.
 

Face_Melt

Well-known member
IndyBuff said:
Do:

Make Indy the main focus. Keep the adventure party small and let Indy drive the adventure from start to finish.

Stick with a biblical or more common artifact that has basis in reality.

Include Sallah.

Have Indy use his gun.



Don't:

Make it political or push social commentary.

Use CGI any more than absolutely necessary.

Kill off Indy at the end.

Shy away from violence or intense images.


^ This 100%!
 

deepermagic

New member
IndyBuff said:
Do:

Make Indy the main focus. Keep the adventure party small and let Indy drive the adventure from start to finish.

Stick with a biblical or more common artifact that has basis in reality.

Include Sallah.

Have Indy use his gun.



Don't:

Make it political or push social commentary.

Use CGI any more than absolutely necessary.

Kill off Indy at the end.

Shy away from violence or intense images.

I agree with this. I'll echo the "Don't" for political/social commentary. That might be my biggest fear, that Disney will use this as an opportunity to highlight an agenda that has nothing to do with Indiana Jones. Placing it in the '60's makes me feel like a social commentary (either within the story or as a meta-narrative) is low hanging fruit. Here's hoping they avoid that temptation!

I'll add a "Do": Keep it pulpy!

Keep the tone in line with the pulp feel from the first three movies. Don't allow the era to dictate the tone. Far and away I think that might have been the main thing that hindered "Crystal Skull", leading to a million minor bad decisions.
 
I see this fear brought up a lot on here. The 60s was a pivotal time so if they want an accurate portrayal of US campuses, they may not be able to avoid the political landscape entirely but that doesn't mean it needs to be spun one way or another, or promote an agenda (whatever that may be). It will be there visually I'm expecting, but won't go beyond that. Seeing protests against the Vietnam war around campus as Indy leaves for the airport would be an accurate image of that time and shouldn't bother anybody expect those that don't like seeing protesters at all. These things happened and there's no denying it. Now Indy leading campus walk out and Abbie Hoffman as his sidekick? Okay, maybe not!

I think it would feel strange for campuses to look as though they did in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, unless it takes place in the early to mid-sixties. Social revolution stuff was really 1967 and beyond.

Jones is a humanities professor and has been in a campus environment all of his career. He's used to seeing changes in society and I doubt we'll find him wary of social movements if somehow a scene addresses it. We won't see him debating or preaching anything politically. If anything, he may punch out a racist like he did in the novels (Hallow Earth I think). Don't think we'll see feminism as wasn't that more a '70s movement? The series could use more female characters though. Every girlfriend I've watched Indy with likes the films but one called them a "sausage party." Fighting words, I know but she had a point.
 
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