Irina Spalko: A Threatening Villain?

[blueseattle]

Ehh, she was better than Donovan anyway.

I disagree. I felt Donovan was a great villain. One that was sentimental in the beginning and very callous at the end. I also felt the end justified the means, which wasn't the case with Spalko. What would have done it for me? How about some sort of conflict with her? Maybe some villainous traits?

Killing Mac and being a little more forward with killing Marion or hurting her would have made her a very dangerous villain. But, alas, no.

 

[Agent Spalko]

Spalko ends up being just like Donovan in the end. Ignoring all warnings to get their "prize." Donovan ignoring the Knight and foolishly trusting Elsa to choose and drinks from the false grail and Spalko ignoring Indy's warning so she can have the skull's quickening.

 

[herr gruber]

Of course she's a threatening villain.

Put it this way. Who would you rather shave you with a cut-throat razor?


A/ Marcus Brody
B/ Irina Spalko


Obviously, Marcus. ( Although, he can be rather nervy...)

 

[James]

I agree that the theatrical cut missed out in that respect, but I am betting dollars to donuts (cause I haven't had lunch yet and am starving) that the psychic reveal scene between Irina and Mac was filmed.

A still of it exists via the trading cards.

There's also the scene where Spalko places her hands on Indy's knees, and conveys her thoughts to him regarding the skull's origin. The way it's staged, it could easily be interpreted as a telepathic moment.

Skull sure is providing mucho laughter for the websters.

Isn't this kind've like saying, "This summer's blockbusters sure are providing Mad Magazine with a lot of material"?

http://www.datelinehollywood.com/dateline_hollywood/2008/06/britney-spears.html

http://www.datelinehollywood.com/dateline_hollywood/2008/06/creature-growin.html

http://www.datelinehollywood.com/dateline_hollywood/2008/06/quentin-taranti.html

 

[spiralout]

The only really threatening villain was Mola Ram, because he could rip your heart out. Belloq, Donovan and Spalko were the kind of villains that could sit down and have a conversation with Indy in one scene and then send their troops to capture him in another scene.

 

[The Man]

Spalko is utterly out of her depth. Watch her at the end of the 'Jungle' 'Chase': she's almost in tears*.







*As many of us were

 

[Marion Fan]

Well most of the villains in the Indy films are portrayed as intelligent as well as evil. I thought Spalko fit that mold pretty well really. Mola Ram had to be the scariest villian in all the Jones films. I mean he can rip hearts out of people's chests and he seemed to be borderline psychotic. You really can't get much worse than that. But stack her up against Belloq, Donavan, Nazi and Russian soldiers, a German Mechanic, a Thuggee slave master she seems to do just fine in my opinion.

 

[vf wing]

The portrayal of her working with Indy somewhat lessened her villainous pedigree. Nonetheless, she did want to take over the world as most Indy baddies seem to aspire. I also agree we could've used a scene in which her psychic powers actually worked. But i'd be surprised to see an expanded version get released on dvd, sadly. Maybe they could include some deleted scenes as extras.

 

[Darth Vile]

Spielberg and Lucas employ very traditional villains in both the Indy and Star Wars series. You basically get the mastermind/manipulator Moriarty type figures (e.g. Tarkin, the Emperor, Belloq and Donovan) with the thuggish henchman working for them (e.g. Vader, Maul, Vogel and Dovchenko). Spalko seems to, excuse the innuendo, straddle the two. I don?t think she?s as classic a villain as Belloq, but I think she?s a tad more interesting than Mola Ram.

 

[Udvarnoky]

I'll agree with that. Donovan was a dud.

I agree that he wasn't as interesting or fun as Spalko, but when he wanted Indy to find him the grail, and Indy refused he shot Henry to get the damn ball rolling. What did Spalko do? Put a sword at someone's neck? Big deal. Like someone else said on these forums, she should have put a bullet in Mac's brain the moment Indy said, "Drop dead, comrade" to show she meant business. Then at least when Indy helps them find the crate it wouldn't have felt like he was doing so out of charity.

Regarding Belloq not being threatening - that was the whole point. He was basically Indiana Jones but with slightly lesser morals, who was willing to team up with the Nazis as a "necessary evil" to find the ark. It was the scum he associated himself with that provided the menace. I don't remember a Toht in Crystal Skull. In fact, none of the bad guys in Crystal Skull were really sadists in the vein of Toht, Mola Ram, and Vogel. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Spalko and Dovchenko, but the woman needed some edge to go along with her weirdness. They could have let her skewer one person, is all I'm saying.

 

[Darth Vile]

I agree that he wasn't as interesting or fun as Spalko, but when he wanted Indy to find him the grail, and Indy refused he shot Henry to get the damn ball rolling. What did Spalko do? Put a sword at someone's neck? Big deal. Like someone else said on these forums, she should have put a bullet in Mac's brain the moment Indy said, "Drop dead, comrade" to show she meant business. Then at least when Indy helps them find the crate it wouldn't have felt like he was doing so out of charity.

Regarding Belloq not being threatening - that was the whole point. He was basically Indiana Jones but with slightly lesser morals, who was willing to team up with the Nazis as a "necessary evil" to find the ark. It was the scum he associated himself with that provided the menace. I don't remember a Toht in Crystal Skull. In fact, none of the bad guys in Crystal Skull were really sadists in the vein of Toht, Mola Ram, and Vogel. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Spalko and Dovchenko, but the woman needed some edge to go along with her weirdness. They could have let her skewer one person, is all I'm saying.

None of the villains in the Indy movies are cinematic icons. I think Mola Ram and Spalko are the most visually distinctive (which is a fundamental part of it), but all of the Indy villains are cinematically light weight in that they are not Darth Vader, The Emperor/Sidious, Blofeld or even Dr. No.

 

[Agent Spalko]

Mola Ram is certainly the most Bondian of the Indy villains with his megalomaniacal plans of world domination with "Kali Ma will rule the world." According to Cate, Spalko was admittedly inspired by Rosa Klebb From Russia With Love. Donovan is reminiscent of Julian Glover's character of Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only and even Belloq can be similarly compared to the diametrical 006 Alec Trevelyan from Goldeneye.

 

[Darth Vile]

Mola Ram is certainly the most Bondian of the Indy villains with his megalomaniacal plans of world domination with "Kali Ma will rule the world." According to Cate, Spalko was admittedly inspired by Rosa Klebb From Russia With Love. Donovan is reminiscent of Julian Glover's character of Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only and even Belloq can be similarly compared to the diametrical 006 Alec Trevelyan from Goldeneye.

So was that an agree or disagree that the Indy villains are not that iconic (given the hugeness of the Indy movies)?

 

[Silentrascal]

Spalko never really came across as either threatening or dangerous. Just a cartoonish sort of Russian stereotype. She may as well have just stood around and muttered "da, darling....da". Half the time she seemed to want to rip Indy's clothes off and ravage him, and the other half she just had that that typical "bad guy with a smug look on their face surrounded by their henchmen with the good guys in their clutches for the moment" feel to her and nothing more.

 

[The Man]

So was that an agree or disagree that the Indy villains are not that iconic (given the hugeness of the Indy movies)?

Mola Ram could well be a distant cousin of Live And Let Die's Tee-Hee...

 

[Jones_Happens]

Mola Ram could well be a distant cousin of Live And Let Die's Tee-Hee...

That frightens me.

 

[TheMutt92]

Scary? No, Toht and Mola Ram are scary. Spalko is more powerful and overall a more worthy opponet to square off against Indy (better so than Donovan at least).

 

[bennihana123]

Belloq can be similarly compared to the diametrical 006 Alec Trevelyan from Goldeneye.

Only Goldeneye came out over ten years later

 

[herr gruber]

Hey! It's Robert Mugabe's election campaign poster.

 

[The Man]

Hey! It's Robert Mugabe's election campaign poster.

I nearly fell off my chair the other evening when I heard that Britain had revoked Ol' Bob's knighthood. We was a f*cking knight?!