Discuss Chapter 2 - The Warehouse (DVD chapter by chapter discussion)

[James]

I really liked the gunpowder bit, as it was one of two scenes that felt very much like a pulp comic to me. (Indy staring into the skull's eyes was the other.)

The discovery of the crate- all the way up to the alien's reveal- feels very much like vintage Spielberg.

My only complaint during this chapter is that Indy whipping the gun wasn't edited very well. It's far more impressive in the outtakes, where you see Harrison actually hitting the gun in one shot. But I do love Indy's confidence as he aims the gun at Spalko. It's really not much of a plan, once you stop to think about it. But I love the way Indy is pleased with himself.

 

[WeAreGoingToDie]

My only complaint during this chapter is that Indy whipping the gun wasn't edited very well. It's far more impressive in the outtakes, where you see Harrison actually hitting the gun in one shot. But I do love Indy's confidence as he aims the gun at Spalko. It's really not much of a plan, once you stop to think about it. But I love the way Indy is pleased with himself.

Ah ha! But that doesn't happen until chapter 3! Though I can understand why you'd mention this as the icon in my chapter 2 description can mislead those to think that moment is in this chapter.

 

[James]

Ah ha! But that doesn't happen until chapter 3! Though I can understand why you'd mention this as the icon in my chapter 2 description can mislead those to think that moment is in this chapter.

No, I just got ahead of myself after describing the alien's reveal. Clearly, I have no complaints for this chapter.

 

[WeAreGoingToDie]

Clearly, I have no complaints for this chapter.

I think I'll begin rating each chapter, and at the end of all this see what my like/dislike of the film is as it progressed.

Thus far:
Chapter 1: 9/10
Solid opening marred only by the jolt of seeing a giant CG prairie dog. Loved the gag, but it was still a shock.

 

[martinland]

No, I just got ahead of myself after describing the alien's reveal. Clearly, I have no complaints for this chapter.

I enjoyed the warehouse sequence all five times in movie theater. One thing though: The finger pointing by Spalko and the grimasse of Indy I had to get used to the first two times around...

Ah, and another: The music was a bit to repetitious for my taste, note for note quotations of whole score sequences in Raiders, etc. Now I see it as hommage to the other movies.

Otherwise it's tremendous fun.

Boy, something else just popped into my head:

Now that I read the book I would like to have seen two extra bits, which would have increased the tension and danger of the whole scene:

Mac's head being threatened to get crushed by the army jeep's wheel and the machine gun getting caught by the whip and mowing down one of their own in the process (this one is in the documentary as a B camera shot).

Oh well.

The ark was a really nice bit and throw-away moment.

Funny, now I remember guys lamenting the footage in the trailer in which the four (?) guys get caught up in this huge explosion of crates flying everywhere as "being obviously CGI". Now we see in the documentary that EVERTHING in that shot was real, except for a couple of cables that got removed digitally, if I'm not mistaken.

Now you've done it - I think I'm going to project the movie proper...

Bye,
Martin

 

[Darth Vile]

Similar to Raiders (as in the start of the movie)... The Warehouse scene is the best part of the movie for me. That's not to say I don't like the rest of the movie (as I do), it's just that the tone is almost pitch perfect and quintessentially 'Indiana Jones' for that first 20 minutes or so...

I love the whole look of the warehouse... and the rocket sled fight feels like the first time an Indy set piece has crossed over into James Bond territory. Love it.

 

[ExpeditionJones]

Similar to Raiders (as in the start of the movie)... The Warehouse scene is the best part of the movie for me. That's not to say I don't like the rest of the movie (as I do), it's just that the tone is almost pitch perfect and quintessentially 'Indiana Jones' for that first 20 minutes or so...

I love the whole look of the warehouse... and the rocket sled fight feels like the first time an Indy set piece has crossed over into James Bond territory. Love it.

Spot on. Took the words from my mouth.

I enjoyed the whole movie, with exception of the few moments when lines were delivered poorly and basically the last twenty minutes (while not good, it was decent).

The tone of this part feels very nostalgic in the sense that it feels like previous adventures.

I love how Harrison delivers the line "I need your bullets!". Actually that whole scene rocked.

 

[James]

Similar to Raiders (as in the start of the movie)... The Warehouse scene is the best part of the movie for me. That's not to say I don't like the rest of the movie (as I do), it's just that the tone is almost pitch perfect and quintessentially 'Indiana Jones' for that first 20 minutes or so...

The prologue is my favorite part as well. Area 51...the rocket sled...Indy in the desert...Doom Town...the atomic blast. It's all great stuff that takes the series down an entirely new path. If it had been released in the 1980's, people would now consider it a classic.

 

[QBComics]

Favorite part in the movie. Spot on!

 

[Kooshmeister]

I love how, similar to later at the campsite, Indy briefly forgets he's a prisoner and seems to actually be enjoying "the hunt" so to speak, and there's a kind of odd comradery with him and the Soviets, tossing each other tools and such back and forth.

And the way the guy assigned to watch Indy and Mac can't help himself and keeps glancing over at the crowd around the box, and then looks back at Indy as though sensing he's gonna try something, as if to say, "Don't even try it, buddy," but Indy gets the better of him anyway.

And I keep thinking of awesome stuff from this scene, like the mixture of awe and fear amongst the Soviets (including Spalko) as they open the box. And after "Lincoln's" glasses get pulled off, the way Spalko just eagerly pushes him aside in response.

 

[Bvance]

I also liked the warehouse scene the best of the entire movie.

The part where Indy gets his whip and snags that machine gun for Mac is great, but in the theater I always thought he just punched the Russian in the face. But under closer scrutiny, I see that he rammed the barrel of the gun into the soldiers face. Very cool!

Also, my favorite shot of the entire film happens in the warehouse when Indy runs atop the crates and swings with his whip from the light. The way that was filmed is amazing.

 

[caats]

yah i love that. and i love that it's Harrison doing it all.

 

[Crusade>Raiders]

Pros-

I love the shot of the warehouse doors opening and the music swelling. I knew they were going to do that shot, and it looks really cool.

I like the way the metal floats along with the lights

I enjoy the part when all the Russians are opening the box. It feels so choreographed; the shaking of the lights, the crowbars becoming stuck to the box, Spalko's "erection".

Indy whip usage! Very few of that in this film, unfortunately.

Does this include the whole escape scene? That scene is pretty cool, although it lacks the punch and creative energy of the original trilogy's opening(a disappointing trend throughout the film, sadly). I love the vertical aspect of it, the acknowledgment that Indy has gotten pretty old, and Ray Winstone really sells the "You dont know him!" line.

Rocket Sled Flames > Commies! Again, I thought this was the start of a gritty, Raiders-tone.
Cons-

I feel it takes too long to get into the action.

WTF @ the time change. It goes from sunset to night/early morning in the span of one Rocket Sled trip. The only other place I believe this happens is in the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But hey, who knows long it took Indy/Marion to get out of there; its left open to interpretation. So unless following metal bullets took HOURS of time, that just a really lazy loss of time there.

Also, what is the point of that Rocket Sled anyway? It goes into the middle of nowhere? Is it just a testing run or something? Its a cool idea, certainly, but I also wish Indy/Russian had actually fought while they were flying and hundreds of miles per hour.

Overall: An enjoyable scene, and probably the best part of the film, for better or worse.

 

[caats]

WTF @ the time change. It goes from sunset to night/early morning in the span of one Rocket Sled trip. The only other place I believe this happens is in the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But hey, who knows long it took Indy/Marion to get out of there; its left open to interpretation. So unless following metal bullets took HOURS of time, that just a really lazy loss of time there.

Also, what is the point of that Rocket Sled anyway? It goes into the middle of nowhere? Is it just a testing run or something? Its a cool idea, certainly, but I also wish Indy/Russian had actually fought while they were flying and hundreds of miles per hour.

Overall: An enjoyable scene, and probably the best part of the film, for better or worse.

haha yeah, i didn't think of the time thing. but it looks like sunset when they're outside the warehouse. another similar thing to that is in Crusade at the intro when the train is in the ravine with looads of trees, and then Indy goes into the magic box and runs from the train he's running backwards, but it's just a dead field. instead of all the trees, can't even see the trees.

the rocket sled was obviously a test thing. I think fighting would have been dumb cause there's no way they should be able to move at that. yeah i know he survives a nuke blast a few minutes later.

 

[James]

WTF @ the time change. It goes from sunset to night/early morning in the span of one Rocket Sled trip. The only other place I believe this happens is in the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But hey, who knows long it took Indy/Marion to get out of there; its left open to interpretation. So unless following metal bullets took HOURS of time, that just a really lazy loss of time there.

Also, what is the point of that Rocket Sled anyway? It goes into the middle of nowhere? Is it just a testing run or something? Its a cool idea, certainly, but I also wish Indy/Russian had actually fought while they were flying and hundreds of miles per hour.

As caats pointed out, it's nearing sunset when they first arrive at the hangar. So the only significant time change occurs in between the rocket sled and Doom Town. Since we're shown Indy wandering in the desert, it's probably safe to assume it took him a while to get to the town. (Or perhaps he slept a few hours?) If we can give the benefit of the doubt to escaping the Well of Souls, I don't see why this would be any different.

Yes, the rocket sled was used for tests. I agree that it would've been cool to have Indy and Dovchenko fighting, but ironically, this is one place where realism was favored over escapism.

 

[Sankara]

Well, this part is by far the best part of this lousy movie. Yes... I know... it's a little bit over the top... yes, I know... you can't run, crack the whip and swinging like spiderman.... yes, sure... the "out of the car with a lamp" scene is over the top... yes...yes... I know this all... BUT: These scenes are SLIGHTLY over the top! They are not over over over over the top like the fridge scene... the tarzan scene... the CGI jungle chase.. or the the three waterfalls... so...

In this part of this movie: Indy is Indy. For the rest of the movie Ford looks like Indy but this guy with the hat is not Indy.

 

[Mickiana]

Sankara, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with you, but keep to the topic. We all know how you feel about the movie, but you don't need to take the liberty of reiterating what you think overall every time. Comments about the rest of the movie have to wait until the relevant chapter is being discussed. Cheers.

 

[WeAreGoingToDie]

Hi all! Just a reminder, this chapter DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FIGHT IN THE WAREHOUSE it ends right before Indy rams the gun into the soviets face and escapes. Reread the first post to get a sense of what happens in this chapter. Lets not waste all the fight scene discussion on this thread!

Cheers!

 

[Benraianajones]

I love how, similar to later at the campsite, Indy briefly forgets he's a prisoner and seems to actually be enjoying "the hunt" so to speak, and there's a kind of odd comradery with him and the Soviets, tossing each other tools and such back and forth.

And the way the guy assigned to watch Indy and Mac can't help himself and keeps glancing over at the crowd around the box, and then looks back at Indy as though sensing he's gonna try something, as if to say, "Don't even try it, buddy," but Indy gets the better of him anyway.

And I keep thinking of awesome stuff from this scene, like the mixture of awe and fear amongst the Soviets (including Spalko) as they open the box. And after "Lincoln's" glasses get pulled off, the way Spalko just eagerly pushes him aside in response.

Same, I like the fact Indy and the Soviets actually work together, then of course, end up in a race to be the first to return the skull. Both parties use one another, like Elsa used each party in Last Crusade. A bit ahead, but I like when Spalko says "auto-writing" (I think) and says she should have seen it , and later Indy is stuck during a clue, and Spalko says the Spanish word for sleep, and Indy says "Good, very good!" or something.

I love in the warehouse when Irina reels off the exact measurements of the box, it makes you think of how much exactly this task means to her, and it makes me smirk too how she can recall all the details.

I like a lot, as well when the glassess hit the "Roswell" writing in the crate, and Irina quickly slides to the front in shock. Somehow when I first watched it I didn't notice "Roswell" or the fact the hand was alien! Probably too excited to be watching it at all.

I like when Egyptian-styled music as well when we see the remains mummified.

 

[Wilhelm]

I think that using the alien from Roswell was a great idea. I don't like the plutonium from Darabont's script because it reminds Back To The Future with the Lybian terrorists.