Darth Vile said:
I personally see more craft in KOTCS than I do in TOD... but I respect that you see it the other way. But my point was that I think it has little to do with 'craft' or 'commitment', I just think Lucas/Spielberg find it much more difficult (like anyone would) to reproduce/replicate the style of a movie they made 20/30 years ago.
What I'm trying to say is that when a team makes three movies within a decade, the craft, care and committment to the world of the character are more evident. The movies and the world depicted within feel more connected. To illustrate the point I'd cite Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings trilogy as an example. Or the original
Star Wars trilogy. From those, and from Indiana Jones I get a great sense that the creators knew that they were in on something special, and their pride shows.
When almost two decades pass that level of connectedness will have to be rebuilt. Add to that the compromises required to bring Indiana Jones back to the big screen and to a varied audience, where the original children who saw ROTLA may now be the parents of those now seeing the character for the first time in a cinema.
Through that compromise, no matter how much care and committment was put into KOTCS, it will remain separated from the original by some degree. In that it was too late in the day. This displays itself most through the often stilted dialogue, misplaced CGI animals, actors who weren't giving their best performances, and above all, a sense that the creators were aware of their influence and intending to play safe.
Agree to that also. Both are fine, but Kingdom came across as having paid more attention to detail. Kingdom was also much more of a new adventure, as opposed to Temple being a play-it-safe rehash of the first film. That has a lot to do with why I prefer it over Temple.
I would argue that
Temple was rare in second movies in that it took a very bold line, taking the character completely away from his base location, and from his friends and associates. It was also unafraid of showing the less than valiant nature of it's supposed 'hero', or of upping the violence and horror, despite aiming for a similar audience to ROTLA.
With 'craft' I also have in mind the innate skill of knowing what works. A craftsman with natural ability may see the final sculpture in a rough block of stone. I just don't feel that with KOTCS that they knew what that final sculpture should be. The result was a laboured exercise, rather than a natural product. Technically superior, yet missing some essence.
