kongisking said:
Well, I'll admit the film did crawl at points (sorry, Koepp, but too much exposition). But in my mind, the film's high points (the Hangar 51 teaser, Indy VS Dovchenko Round 1, the fridge escape, the motorcycle chase, "Part-time," the argument in the back of the truck, Mutt and Spalko's duel, the ants, Indy VS Dovchenko Round 2, the saucer's takeoff, the wedding and Indy snatching the fedora) are so damn cool that I'm willing to forgive its flaws and accept it for what it is: an entertaining adventure flick with an awesome Harrison Ford.
Some of those I definitely agree with. There are scenes that save KOTCS, and if you watch them in isolation you could point them out as being 'classic Indy'. It's frustrating now, when if I watch the movie in it's entirety, to see the points where the creators appeared to lose control of their material and it's potential.
I can forgive George's indulgent return to '50 hot rodders, because it's tempered by the Russians murdering the American soldiers at the gate. The exuberance of care-free youth is balanced by a callous slaughter.
The reveal of older Indy was brutal, as they threw him from the trunk onto the ground, and then his reveal in silhouette was a nod back to his appearance in The Raven.
The hangar action sequence was well handled, and the humour on the ball. ("I thought it was closer!") There is a great progression then to the first battle with Dovchenko (which is even better in the novel), which leads directly to Doom Town and the best paced sequence of the film.
The scrub down was a funny high point, followed by the interrogation where we realize that in this film Indy is onthe back foot: first captured by the Russians, then disebelieved by his fellow countrymen.
From this point on the film loses momentum for me. The high points are sporadic, and Indy is now almost constantly pushed against his will down a pre-set route.
In ROTLA Indy was a go-getter, initiating the action.
In TOD it was his change of heart that lead him to go to Pankot.
In TLC it was his concern for his father that spurred him on.
In KOTCS Indy is a victim: of the Russians; of McCarthy's paranoia; of his own more mature years; of Marion's reveal that he had a son and therefore a hitherto unknown responsibility; of Mac's double-crossing; of Oxley's inability to help; and finally when the skull spoke to him, he was compelled to follow it's instructions.
This is the movie that heaped everything onto the character. Indy under pressure was a great angle for exploring the limits of his character, though it was off-set by some mis-judged, overblown cliffhangers, that instead of helping to keep the thrill-rate up, help to raise the blood-pressure as I ask myself, "what the....?"
It looks like Lucas and Spielberg feared that the old gags and cliffhangers weren't enough to satisfy the youngsters of the day, so they made them bigger.
As you wrote, kong, there was too much exposition. Or rather, the exposition was poorly delivered.
KOTCS is like one of old Indy's tall-stories from
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (like his halloween story about Dracula, which may or may not have happened as he told it). I could see KOTCS re-edited as a lower-key movie, with better dialogue and more engaging characters, and that would be what really happened to Indy. (Unfortunately we might also discover that he never took the fridge ride that he claimed - so that great Doom Town sequence would have to have a different cliffhanger ending).