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Indy Outing
My office had another outing today, to go see the new Indiana Jones movie. Quick no-spoiler review: I went in with very low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. Not the best of the lot by any means, but not bad. But before I talk about the movie -- I must talk about the previews!
Hellboy 2: Looks decent, with many of the same virtues and flaws as the first.
Hancock: Will Smith plays a slovenly, careless, lower-class... superhero. Looks like it has possibilities.
Benjamin Button: A man is born old, and ages in reverse. Looks lyrical and chick-flicky. Also, frankly, dull.
Kung Fu Panda: "Leetle theengs, hitting each other." Looks like something I would have loved up to about age 12. But probably tiresome now.
Eagle Eye: A PKD-esque paranoid fantasy, reminiscent of the first Matrix. A man's life is turned upside-down by a near-omniscient conspiracy that appears to have recruited him without his knowledge or consent. Intriguing.
And now, our Feature Presentation:
Off to a good start, with a gently self-mocking variant of the classic logo gag. Message: "We're not taking ourselves overly seriously here." This message takes a while to sink in for me, but when it fully does, I enjoy the movie much more. "Over the top" is just our starting point, here. Not much plot logic, nor respect for physics (the 'magnetism' in this movie works along strictly dramatic lines). But a great sense of fun and forward momentum can cover many sins.
They acknowledge Indy's advanced age, and ramp up the action slowly enough that it doesn't completely break credulity. There are running themes of aging, coming full circle, and completion that make the movie slightly more than just a frothy action flick, but don't weigh it down too much.
Speilberg gets to exercise his nostalgia a lot. This is *very* much a period piece, and full of icons/cliches of 1957 pop culture. Oh look, there's a James Dean lookalike as a major character!
Harrison Ford has still got the acting chops. Strangely, I found his *voice* off-putting for the first half-hour or so. I had the same problem when Derek Jacobi showed up on Doctor Who last year. Some actors, when they get old, have changed voices that really throw me off.
Lots of great character actors in this, all having a great time.
Is it just me, or does this movie have a lot more threatened-male-crotch-injury humor than the previous ones?
Plot monkeys! Kestrell will be pleased.
I smiled a lot, and laughed out loud several times. The action scenes were nifty, but not really scary, oddly enough. You wonder how Indy and his friends will escape, but there's never any doubt whatsoever that they *will* escape, so that undercuts the tension. In fact, my visceral reaction during the last scene was, "Comfortable, like a old hat."
One last note, before I sign off. While I had low expectations for this movie, I have quite high expectations for the next entry in the franchise, due in a few weeks time. So, in honor of the day, today I pre-ordered a copy of the Lego Indiana Jones videogame.
Hellboy 2: Looks decent, with many of the same virtues and flaws as the first.
Hancock: Will Smith plays a slovenly, careless, lower-class... superhero. Looks like it has possibilities.
Benjamin Button: A man is born old, and ages in reverse. Looks lyrical and chick-flicky. Also, frankly, dull.
Kung Fu Panda: "Leetle theengs, hitting each other." Looks like something I would have loved up to about age 12. But probably tiresome now.
Eagle Eye: A PKD-esque paranoid fantasy, reminiscent of the first Matrix. A man's life is turned upside-down by a near-omniscient conspiracy that appears to have recruited him without his knowledge or consent. Intriguing.
And now, our Feature Presentation:
Off to a good start, with a gently self-mocking variant of the classic logo gag. Message: "We're not taking ourselves overly seriously here." This message takes a while to sink in for me, but when it fully does, I enjoy the movie much more. "Over the top" is just our starting point, here. Not much plot logic, nor respect for physics (the 'magnetism' in this movie works along strictly dramatic lines). But a great sense of fun and forward momentum can cover many sins.
They acknowledge Indy's advanced age, and ramp up the action slowly enough that it doesn't completely break credulity. There are running themes of aging, coming full circle, and completion that make the movie slightly more than just a frothy action flick, but don't weigh it down too much.
Speilberg gets to exercise his nostalgia a lot. This is *very* much a period piece, and full of icons/cliches of 1957 pop culture. Oh look, there's a James Dean lookalike as a major character!
Harrison Ford has still got the acting chops. Strangely, I found his *voice* off-putting for the first half-hour or so. I had the same problem when Derek Jacobi showed up on Doctor Who last year. Some actors, when they get old, have changed voices that really throw me off.
Lots of great character actors in this, all having a great time.
Is it just me, or does this movie have a lot more threatened-male-crotch-injury humor than the previous ones?
Plot monkeys! Kestrell will be pleased.
I smiled a lot, and laughed out loud several times. The action scenes were nifty, but not really scary, oddly enough. You wonder how Indy and his friends will escape, but there's never any doubt whatsoever that they *will* escape, so that undercuts the tension. In fact, my visceral reaction during the last scene was, "Comfortable, like a old hat."
One last note, before I sign off. While I had low expectations for this movie, I have quite high expectations for the next entry in the franchise, due in a few weeks time. So, in honor of the day, today I pre-ordered a copy of the Lego Indiana Jones videogame.
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