joelwatts
New member
Until now, I have been highly sceptical of the alien themed McGuffin in Indy 4. But I just came to a realization that it won't be as bad as I thought, and could very well be very good (assuming the McGuffin is handled as it was in the previous films).
What had me worried, and what would make the alien McGuffin bad, was the idea that there would be all this explanation surrounding it- a bunch of connections drawn between ancient civs, technology and aliens, etc. But in the previous movies, there is little to no explanation of the McGuffin, especially, after it's powers are discovered. The only explanation comes at the beginning, when it is introduced. Examples:
The Ark- chest carrying the commandments, power to level armies, invincibility, power of god, and some historical background on where it could be. No explanation of why ghosts come out of it, why it melts people faces, burns out their hearts, how it smolders out Nazi writing, or why if you close your eyes it won't hurt you.
Sankara Stones- Sacred rocks, if you find them you will be famous and rich, and some historical backround on where they might be. Is there anything else we are told about them, really? No explanation of removing men's hearts, the black sleep, etc.
Grail- Immortality, and some historical background on where it might be. No explanation of how it can heal a gunshot wound, sustain a knight of the crusade in hidden cave or exactly why and how you can't remove it from the temple.
Actually, this lack of explanation is one of the things that makes Indy great. The filmmakers beleive that the audience is smart enough to figure things out from what they see, without being told. It's that mistake that movies like National Treasure make by having a dialogue explaining everything.
If Indy 4 is done like the previous installments, then I think we can expect to be told this: what kinds of powers it has and some historical background (fictional or otherwise) on where it might be. Anything else about it will be inferred from what we see.
If they don't do this and end up explaining everything as they discover it, I will be disappointed.
What had me worried, and what would make the alien McGuffin bad, was the idea that there would be all this explanation surrounding it- a bunch of connections drawn between ancient civs, technology and aliens, etc. But in the previous movies, there is little to no explanation of the McGuffin, especially, after it's powers are discovered. The only explanation comes at the beginning, when it is introduced. Examples:
The Ark- chest carrying the commandments, power to level armies, invincibility, power of god, and some historical background on where it could be. No explanation of why ghosts come out of it, why it melts people faces, burns out their hearts, how it smolders out Nazi writing, or why if you close your eyes it won't hurt you.
Sankara Stones- Sacred rocks, if you find them you will be famous and rich, and some historical backround on where they might be. Is there anything else we are told about them, really? No explanation of removing men's hearts, the black sleep, etc.
Grail- Immortality, and some historical background on where it might be. No explanation of how it can heal a gunshot wound, sustain a knight of the crusade in hidden cave or exactly why and how you can't remove it from the temple.
Actually, this lack of explanation is one of the things that makes Indy great. The filmmakers beleive that the audience is smart enough to figure things out from what they see, without being told. It's that mistake that movies like National Treasure make by having a dialogue explaining everything.
If Indy 4 is done like the previous installments, then I think we can expect to be told this: what kinds of powers it has and some historical background (fictional or otherwise) on where it might be. Anything else about it will be inferred from what we see.
If they don't do this and end up explaining everything as they discover it, I will be disappointed.
