Suspenseful enough?

SwingingMonkey

New member
For me, the most suspenseful part was when the nuclear bomb was about to go off.

I didn't find the Russians as threatening as the Nazis were. I was expecting Cate Blanchet to be more creepy but she was quite lovely. It might have been better if Indy almost got decapitated by the tribe... I also think it would have been a good idea to replace the ants with a panther or two....it just reminded me of 'Mummy Returns' towards the end and I am really not happy about that.

Gee whiz, I have so many ideas and I think I could direct the next one.
If only life was that easy!
 

MolaRam2

New member
Perhaps the movie's biggest flaw was the lack of suspense. For a director of Spielberg's caliber not to pack Indy 4 with suspense isn't only flat out lazy, it is an insult to the audience.
 
From what I recall, Last Crusade was sorely lacking in the suspense department. It was all about Ooooh, look! It's Sean Connery!
 
At least in Temple of Doom you could feel a sense of urgency in the spike chamber when he yells "This is SERIOUS!"

Talking about the viscosity of quicksand while sinking in it has zero suspense.
 

theneogon

New member
The most suspenseful part for me was in Area 51 when Indy was using gun powder to find (what I thought at that time) the Ark.
 

Kernunnos

New member
MolaRam2 said:
Perhaps the movie's biggest flaw was the lack of suspense. For a director of Spielberg's caliber not to pack Indy 4 with suspense isn't only flat out lazy, it is an insult to the audience.

Spielberg didn't write the script.

Suspense wasn't really a pivotal factor in this film anyway.
 
I never especially felt Indy was in much danger. However...I felt more suspense here then during Last Crusade. I think the Russians just severely lacked character and venom. I really wish we'd have seen Spalko up and kill someone. I'd have enjoyed it being Mac. She did a heck of a lot of threatening...but that was about it.
 

MolaRam2

New member
Kernunnos said:
Spielberg didn't write the script.

Suspense wasn't really a pivotal factor in this film anyway.

He worked with Koepp on the turd know as the script. Also there were moments for potential suspense like racing down the stairs in the Temple of Akator, but Spielberg didn't stage those moments so they would come off as suspenseful.

Last Crusade wasn't as suspenseful as ROTLA and ToD, but the scene where Indy has to take a 'leap of faith,' is more suspenseful than the entirity of KOTCS.
 

Salacious

New member
Not exciting or suspensful enough.

The ants were ok, but I felt the main fight between Indy and that tough Russian guy could have been alot better. They should have incorporated that jungle cutter thing somehow.

The rest of the movie was a meh. I dont get excited seeing 3 waterfall drops. I dont get excited seeing Shia Labeuf swinging like Tarzan. I dont get excited seeing Shia Labeuf doing the splitz between 2 jeeps getting canned by foliage as he swordfights the villianess.

Just....not good enough.

No booby traps. Not enough danger in the last 20 mins. Not enough Indy...too much focus on other characters. I think this should have been an Indy and Marion movie...no other sidekicks.

I felt that the best part of the movie was the opening adventure. The rest kinda felt flat after that.
 

James

Well-known member
Aside from the tank chase, I never really thought Last Crusade had much suspense. The entire bi-plane sequence where Indy and Henry survive one threat after the next is literally like watching a cartoon.

So I'd say Kingdom easily had as much suspense as Crusade. The Doom Town scene was one of Lucas and Spielberg's best cliffhangers, the ants were the first creepy crawlies since Raiders to actually present a threat, and the temple provided the requisite booby-trap.
 

MolaRam2

New member
Perhilion said:
Ya know, everybody says that, but there were just as many as in ToD: one. And I don't hear anyone complaining about that.

Well the spike room scene is the greatest booby trap scene of all time.
 

HellofaSandwich

New member
Perhilion said:
Ya know, everybody says that, but there were just as many as in ToD: one. And I don't hear anyone complaining about that.

That's because the spike chamber was extremely memorable. What was the booby trap from "Crystal Skull"? Honestly, I forget.

On balance, while I did enjoy the movie a lot, it didn't match the other three in terms of thrills. However, I did say "holy s**t" under my breath when Indy discovered the mannequins in Doom Town and you realized what was going on. I don't care what anyone says, the fridge was AWESOME!
 

The_Joker7895

New member
I think the suspense was most prevalent in the cradle of Orellana scene. In terms of peril/danger to Indy, the film had something lacking. It wasn't that it was totally without a sense of danger, but at times it felt like he never really defied death like he does in the first three (mostly Raiders). I think the lack of booby traps played into this. One of the most perilous scenes in Indy canon is the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark (gee, who could have guessed? :whip: ). Mostly because you always feel that Indy (and Alfred Molina) are just one false step away from death. There were parts of Indy involving peril, like the ants, the jungle chase (despite Mutt of the jungle killing the atmosphere), the bomb, and the opening warehouse shootout. But they never came close to the tension of Raiders or even the spike ceiling or Grail booby traps int ToD and TLC respectively. Again, I blame the lack of booby traps.

That being said, I still loved the film, but could have done with way more booby traps :hat:
 

davejames

New member
HellofaSandwich said:
On balance, while I did enjoy the movie a lot, it didn't match the other three in terms of thrills. However, I did say "holy s**t" under my breath when Indy discovered the mannequins in Doom Town and you realized what was going on. I don't care what anyone says, the fridge was AWESOME!

You know, of all the ridiculous moments in the film, the one I have the EASIEST time forgiving is the fridge-- just because the Doomtown scene as a whole was such a cool and original concept.

I just loved seeing this dusty, bedraggled figure of Indy walking through this bright, sparkling clean housing tract straight out of Leave it to Beaver. It's a classic Spielberg scene, and about the only time the movie feels new and fresh unfortunately.
 

MolaRam2

New member
davejames said:
You know, of all the ridiculous moments in the film, the one I have the EASIEST time forgiving is the fridge-- just because the Doomtown scene as a whole was such a cool and original concept.

I just loved seeing this dusty, bedraggled figure of Indy walking through this bright, sparkling clean housing tract straight out of Leave it to Beaver. It's a classic Spielberg scene, and about the only time the movie feels new and fresh unfortunately.

If Indy was Indy in that scene, he would have lassoed the back of that car with his whip, instead of giving up and hiding in a fridge.
 

davejames

New member
MolaRam2 said:
If Indy was Indy in that scene, he would have lassoed the back of that car with his whip, instead of giving up and hiding in a fridge.

Actually, and I'm sure this has been brought up somewhere already, I was surprised that he didn't even TRY to start one of the other hundred cars lining the street.

It would be a long shot, but considering there were apparently working radios and TVs, maybe one of those cars would have worked too. Of course, it looked like that one escaping car got incinerated, so maybe it would be a moot point anyway. lol
 
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