Mickiana said:
Time and distance will not reduce the faults in KotCS for me. I'd like to know how that could happen for anyone. A fault is a fault is a fault, now and forever. I'm now hoping Indy5 will have less faults than its most recent predecessor.
Darth Vile said:
So would you believe that every movie viewed in a positive light is faultless? Do the flaws that TOD and TLC contain make them pariahs of 20th century movie making (in modern audiences eyes)? And would you describe your favourite movies as empirically “perfect”?
Speaking generally, issues that exist within a movie continue to exist ad infinitum, but their relevance decreases over time. As KOTCS is a high concept action/adventure period piece, I think it’s got a good chance of aging relatively well. I really don’t think people will be switching it off in 20 years time because of CGI gophers, fridges and monkeys.
I would agree with Darth Vile on this, based on personal experience.
1) For a start, is there such a thing as a 'faultless movie'? Somebody is bound to find a fault somewhere, since all art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
2) Films are designed to entertain or inspire (or both!) whilst making money for their producers. It depends on how you want to view a movie, whether faults bother you greatly.
To me, all the Indiana Jones films represent the comic book brought to the screen.
Historical faults aren't a problem because IJ lives in an alternate universe, where history takes a slightly different path.
Also, in this alternate universe physics are a little different. It's like accepting that Batman can leap from buildings without fear of death (he can't fly and he doesn't possess any super powers - he's the world's greatest detective at the peak of human physical fitness). He's sure he will take hold of something before he plummets to his death, and he's sure he won't rip his arms out their sockets.
In a comic book things look more possible than in real life. So, Indiana Jones is able to do things in his world that would put him in a coffin if he tried them in ours. Who in their right mind puts their arm under a falling stone door just to retrieve their hat? Indy does, because he has comic book surety that he'll get away with it (just as Batman does).
3) All the IJ movies were designed for entertainment - they're high on action and comedy, but they also present moments of pathos, and deal with larger issues. Indy is also an interesting character to follow.
I don't watch them as historical documents of the 1930s or 1950s, but rather as expressions of a fantastical pulp universe that never was.
I don't see KOTCS as being vastly different from the first three. The monkeys in KOTCS reflect the intelligent monkey in Raiders. The fridge is an extreme example of every other implausible cliffhanger Indy faced. Aliens are no more implausible than gods and other paranormal events.
4) Lastly, based on personal experience, I can't say for sure whether I will hate a movie forever. Sometimes something else triggers your interest in it, and you return to re-evaluate the thing you once thought banished. Then, you may begin to appreciate or even like the movie for what it is. That's just my view, and I realize not everybody is a fickle as me, though I can be very stubborn about some things!