blueoakleyz
New member
I think he would have made a great character had they not made him a double crosser..
I actually liked Mac...
- Thread starter blueoakleyz
- Start date
blueoakleyz said:
I thought Ray Winstone did a pretty good job with the material. Some of his line readings are great. Loved the way he spins around to face Spalko and admits, "...just like Berlin."
The first time I saw it, I thought they had him switching sides too much. But after seeing it again, I realized he really only betrays Indy at the warehouse. Everything after that is just a guy following the money. He never really "reteams" with Indy, he just goes along with whoever has the upper hand.
The fact that Indy saves him at the end is perfectly in keeping with Indy's character. We are talking about a guy who inexplicably tried to save the Giant Thuggee and Elsa. I was also just re-reading Thunder in the Orient, and Indy even goes out of his way to save a villain at the end who has given him NO reason to do so. In the case of Mac, we at least know they have a history and Mac has saved Indy's life on several occasions.
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I think of Mac sort of the same way as Willie. At first they are good characters and they become more and more annoying until by the end, I now hate them both. But it starts over every time I watch the movie, I like Mac, then I don't like him as much, then the way he dies is shown and its completely stupid and Im like...yea.... I mean he could have been in the air being pulled a little longer, hes just laying on the floor, like "I'll be ok." It's really awful more so then the monkeys or nuke, it looks like a shot form an amatuer middle school video someone rushed for their AV class. At no time do you get the gist hes really being sucked into a portal about to die, it looks more like he had a big dinner and is just having trouble getting off the floor.
Its a shame because Ray Winstone is an awesome actor, I reccomend seeing him in Sexy Beast with Ben Kingsley.
Its a shame because Ray Winstone is an awesome actor, I reccomend seeing him in Sexy Beast with Ben Kingsley.
Michael24
New member
My only complaint, as I've stated elsewhere, is that I think they should have waited longer for Mac to side with the bad guys. They could have developed his and Indy's friendship a little bit more so than when he does finally turn against Indy, it has more impact. I think a good place to have had that occur would have been the cemetary. Mac could have accompanied Indy and Mutt to Peru and to the cemetary, where they find the skull, then he double crosses them when they come out in the morning and find the Russians waiting for them. As it is, we've only barely known Mac for, what, less than ten minutes before he turns on Indy.
Otherwise, I liked Mac well enough.
Otherwise, I liked Mac well enough.
starlings_id
New member
I had the same problem with Mac that I had with Elsa in LC... they used up their potential rather early in the film. With Elsa, it was revealed that she was a Nazi, and... there was really no where for her character to go. She wasn't redeemed, but she didn't make a very good villian either. I've always liked the actress and the idea behind the character, but I thought it was handled badly.
In this case, I did find Mac an enjoyable character for comic relief, but he hung around to long without any real purpose (other than to lead the Soviets to the group, which I always felt could have been compensated with Spalko's supposed "psycic powers", adding a new dimension to her character). He had many entertaining moments, but in the end he felt to me like a weak version of the Benny character from "The Mummy". I didn't care about him when he died, and to be honest, I forgot about him several times during the film.
Samantha
In this case, I did find Mac an enjoyable character for comic relief, but he hung around to long without any real purpose (other than to lead the Soviets to the group, which I always felt could have been compensated with Spalko's supposed "psycic powers", adding a new dimension to her character). He had many entertaining moments, but in the end he felt to me like a weak version of the Benny character from "The Mummy". I didn't care about him when he died, and to be honest, I forgot about him several times during the film.
Samantha
Agent Spalko
Guest
I bet you like Judas Calrissian too.
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Niteshade007
New member
James said:
But that is kind of what bothers me. Mac is completely drunk, yet has the foresight to leave a clue Indy think he is a double agent working for the CIA. And why? He wasn't a double agent at all. I can understand in the truck, because Indy has the upper hand, as you mention, but in the tent, where Indy clearly doesn't have a way of getting out, an inebriated Mac gives hints as to which side he is truly on. It just doesn't really make sense.
Deckard said:
I completely agree. His death was one of the worst in the series. Absolutely moronic. And his last line didn't help make it any better.
Niteshade007 said:
I just saw it as Mac following the money. He's not really a bad guy, in that he wants to see Indy hurt. This is later supported by the fact that he saves Indy from the skull interrogation.
So I took that moment as Mac trying to get Indy to play along with him- like they did when they were double agents. He knows the Russians need Indy's help to find the city, but he also wants to let Indy know he's only interested in the money.
I agree he wasn't very well-written, though.
Why?Salacious said:Mac = worst movie character EVER!
I honestly didn't mind him at all, and thought he would have been great to see in other adventures. Sadly he was underused and written off! Winstone did the best with what he had, and added some nice touches of dialogue to the film. His death scene was weak, as was his weirdly delivered line right before he bit it! But with more development Mac could have been a cool addition to Indy's sidekicks ie. Marcus, Sallah, Shorty, Wu Han, etc..
Agent Spalko
Guest
He betrayed Jonesy twice and he STILL tried to save his life! Why?!?!?
Agent Spalko said:He betrayed Jonesy twice and he STILL tried to save his life! Why?!?!?
Because that's what Indy does, as has been noted above, and besides, they apparently had <I>a lot</I> of history together during the war. It was clear enough that he was a weak guy with some crippling greed issues.
Of course, though, I'm basically of the opinion that Mac was the best thing about this movie, so...
Agent Spalko
Guest
I would have done what Arnold did to Sully...
"I let him go."
"I let him go."
Niteshade007
New member
Attila the Professor said:
That is a very sad statement on the film.
Mac isn't a bad character, but he's difficult for fans to embrace.
Mac was a new character, so there's no fond familiarity for the fans. We only got a very limited backstory in the opening scene that indicates that Mac & Indy have had a long friendship dating back to WWII. Then he immediately betrays Indy. Right there, I think most people dismissed him for the remainder of the movie. You don't really feel have any emotional reaction since fans didn't have any previous connection to Mac. You just figure he's another bad guy.
Now lets say that had been Sallah with Indy at the warehouse instead of Mac. People would have been blown away if Sallah had betrayed Indy because of their on screen history(although I will admit, the first time I saw Raiders, I kept having this nagging feeling that Sallah was a rat and was going to turn on Indy).
Mac was a new character, so there's no fond familiarity for the fans. We only got a very limited backstory in the opening scene that indicates that Mac & Indy have had a long friendship dating back to WWII. Then he immediately betrays Indy. Right there, I think most people dismissed him for the remainder of the movie. You don't really feel have any emotional reaction since fans didn't have any previous connection to Mac. You just figure he's another bad guy.
Now lets say that had been Sallah with Indy at the warehouse instead of Mac. People would have been blown away if Sallah had betrayed Indy because of their on screen history(although I will admit, the first time I saw Raiders, I kept having this nagging feeling that Sallah was a rat and was going to turn on Indy).
Agent Spalko
Guest
Sallah would never have betrayed Indy, even under duress. That's the problem, we don't have Sallah, instead we get a gambling junkie who would sell out his own mother to save his hide.
Why couldn't Sallah be in this film?
Why couldn't Sallah be in this film?