Matt deMille said:
I pray that Indy V is more of a return to Raiders in tone. The easiest way to do that is to have Indy kinda pissed off, do less talking (less joking), and more punching. Also, in order to keep Indy quiet, lose the tag-alongs. Give him one sidekick (Sallah), and have him go balls-to-the-wall after some relic he refuses to let slip through his fingers. Indy's at his best when he's a man-on-a-mission, rather than a teacher, father or lover.
I agree with almost everything you said regarding the tone of KOTCS (and, to a lesser, but still significant extent, LC). Those movies, KOTCS especially, are terribly far removed from the tone and sensibilities of "Raiders."
Unfortunately, praying for a return to that style of filmmaking for this franchise just isn't going to help.
They are not the same men they were 30 years ago. I don't think they're capable of making that kind of movie anymore.
This is the Lucas of Episode I and "Greedo shoots first" and the Spielberg of replacing the guns in E.T.
They have gone soft. They aren't hungry, ambitious filmmakers anymore.
To his credit, Spielberg did recognize the strength of Darabont's "City of the Gods" script, which really did strive to return to the more serious "Raiders" tone. Unfortunately, he was overruled and replaced by Company Man Koepp, who is never one to rock the boat.
Now, that's not to say they don't still have some life left in them yet, Spielberg especially. But they are too "mature" (read: fuddy duddy) to make a truly gritty, sweaty, dirty, bloody action movie anymore. Not like the old days.
Heck, the two of them often bend over backwards to disavow "Temple of Doom", which, despite some awkward humor and a few childish moments, has a wonderfully dark and sinister sensibility to it. They're just going to keep going in the LC-KOTCS direction - light-hearted, bloodless, silly, etc.
Which, frankly, is why I have zero interest in seeing the franchise further degraded by a fifth outing.