Irina Spalko & Dovchenko

Dr.Jonesy

Well-known member
I love both.

Irina is a great femme fatale. Very '50s.

Dovchenko is awesome. The best replacement possible for the late Pat Roach as the 2nd in command.

Though, I think that Irina is as good as Donovan and Vogel, if not alot better than Donovan.

Belloq was great as the equal to Indy, who used the Nazis as a necessary evil.

Toht was just great. Really creepy and threatening.

Mola Ram is the all time best Indy villain. He's got charisma and threat.

Vogel was okay. Very smooth and snarky.

Donovan was kinda boring. Very bland.

So, all in all, Irina is pretty good.
 

Col. Detritch

New member
I just remembered that I forgot to put in my answer!:eek:
Well I think Irena and Dovchenco are awsome! they are evil and bent on getting what they want; as all villian in any movie should!
But the great thing about them is they realy suit the movie! I mean Belloq and the Nazis could have just as easily gone after the grail; though I much prefer the way it goes, and vise versa with Donovan. But with Irena, and proberbly Mola Ram, they really could only do what they did in that particular movie, in that movie. In simple terms they would look a little out of place in any other situation!

They are excellent villians and a welcomed addition to the franchise!

The Colonel has spoken!:hat:
 

Agent Z

Active member
Irina and Dovchenko could have been more fleshed out and sinister, but understanding the comic book tone of the film, I think they kept the right approach with them.

In terms of comparing them to the other villains in the series, I will say that they are omong the most memorable and colorful. Some would argue, including myself, that they made them, especially Irina, almost too engaging and likeable...to the point that you regret seeing them meet their respective demises. :(
 

Morning Bell

New member
Agent Z said:
Irina and Dovchenko could have been more fleshed out and sinister, but understanding the comic book tone of the film, I think they kept the right approach with them.

This is a good summery and my thoughts are similar. They're certainly different from the other villains in the series, although I would have liked to see just a little more depth and a more sinister tone from them. However, all things considered, they worked quite well and made for a formidable duo.
 

Dewy9

New member
Spalko is probably my favorite Indy villian. She's a little over the top and very much in line with the comic book feel of the movie, as mentioned earlier. It's hard to think that Cate Blanchett played her.
 

wolfgang

New member
Yeah I really like them. I agree that Dovchenko feel in great Pat's shoes. As for Irina, I think she is quite simply my favorite villain now. Subject to change, but these are my top villains:
1-Irina Spalko
2-Elsa Schneider
3-Toht
4-Mola Ram
5-Vogel
5-Belloq
6-Donovan
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-The Maharajah kid. Just kidding.
Pointless trivia: Last Crusade is m favorite, and therfore has m favorite lots of things, but Donovan isn't one of them....oh well.
 

What Truck?

New member
Dovchenco was awesome!

"Bet you 500 dollars we get out of this....ohhh, let's call it a hundred."

Ahh, Dovchenko - what a great villain. Although he didn't get much screen-time in-between, both his entrance (the shoe tying) and exit (ants! ahh, not in the nose, not in the nose!) were classic. Despite his (intentionally) limited dialogue, he did have one keeper: I found his, "Oh, for love of God - shut the hell up!" particularly hilarious, especially because that's exactly what I was thinking the first time I saw the film.

On the music front, John Williams did not dissapoint with Dovchenko's thematic material - the arrangement for drums during the ants sequence is absolutely phenomenal. That fight scene gets my blood pumping every time; for me, probably the most "Indy" bit of the entire film, and I've got good old Dovvy to thank for that.

His little hat grudge against Indy (you toss my hat, I toss yours comrade!) is great, and I also like his signature knuckle-crack wind-up punch. Finally, Dovckenko gets +1000 nostalgia points for channeling both Last Crusade (Vogel chain choke in the warehouse sequence) and Raiders (Indy's famous four hit 'haymaker to the face' during the ants fight).
 
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wolfgang

New member
What Truck? said:
"Bet you 500 dollars we get out of this....ohhh, let's call it a hundred."

Ahh, Dovchenko - what a great villain. Although he didn't get much screen-time in-between, both his entrance (the shoe tying) and exit (ants! ahh, not in the nose, not in the nose!) were classic. Despite his (intentionally) limited dialogue, he did have one keeper: I found his, "Oh, for love of God - shut the hell up!" particularly hilarious, especially because that's exactly what I was thinking the first time I saw the film.

.

MAN! YES!!! I totally agree with you! I love AL Indiana JOnes movies, but I really hated when suddenly Indy and Marion turned into high school teenagers fighting about who didn't invite who to the prom. (Okay, wedding, whatever.). Its the only part that makes me go ARCK!' in the whole series. And then came Dovchenko and did the audience a favor. Shut them up, and THAT made me forgive the scene because of that! So yes. He is great!
 

James

Well-known member
Spalko is easily the best "champagne" villain since Belloq. I actually like the fact that she's a bit different, in that she isn't portrayed as entirely evil. She's somewhat like a mix of Belloq and Elsa in that respect.

If anyone was shortchanged, it was Dovchenko. He had to be both the "thug" (ie. Mola Ram; Vogel) and the "Pat Roach" villain. Even so, he still made for a memorable character and formidable opponent for Indy.
 

oki9Sedo

New member
James said:
If anyone was shortchanged, it was Dovchenko. He had to be both the "thug" (ie. Mola Ram; Vogel) and the "Pat Roach" villain. Even so, he still made for a memorable character and formidable opponent for Indy.

Mola Ram was on the Belloq or Donovan model, surely. He's the main villain who doesn't do any dirty work himself, he's got henchmen who do it for him.
 

James

Well-known member
oki9Sedo said:
Mola Ram was on the Belloq or Donovan model, surely. He's the main villain who doesn't do any dirty work himself, he's got henchmen who do it for him.

I always thought of Mola Ram as being a variation on the formula. Even though he's clearly the one in charge, Chattar Lal functions largely as the "champagne" part of the equation. He's the charismatic one that you could send out into the world to help the cause.
 

wolfgang

New member
James said:
Spalko is easily the best "champagne" villain since Belloq. I actually like the fact that she's a bit different, in that she isn't portrayed as entirely evil. She's somewhat like a mix of Belloq and Elsa in that respect.

A mixture of Belloq and Elsa?? I love looking at it that way! Nice! I found renovating the fact that the bad guys in this movie don't want to kill Indiana Jones so much as use him. Recruited by the government, by a village, by the love of his father and now, the bad guys say "HEY! This guy's good. Lets have him do this for us."
 

wolfgang

New member
Attila the Professor said:
Of course, so was Mac, with a bit of Sallah too.

Agreed! In fact I like his character very much. I would have preferred him not to be a "triple agent". But I guess it was necesary so he could die. Still, the instant he talked I said "Cool character." And yes, he did kinda remind me of Sallah.
 
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