There is a big deal that the "teaser trailer" for Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is finally going to rear its head this week (Thursday, point of fact). I have no confidence in this movie's ability to be good (I thought and continue to think, the third movie was already one too many). Maybe after seeing some footage i'll change my mind, but I really don't think so. Harrison Ford is now too old and, more importantly, too goddamn GRIM to play the role with the light-hearted humor it should have. I fear two hours of Harrison Ford barking orders at Shia LaBouf is what we're in for come this May. Of course, they already got my money, so my feelings are more or less academic. I will see this movie, and that is eating away at me.
Last year I got to see Raiders Of The Lost Ark (none of this "Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark" chenge-the-past revisionist nonsense for me) on the big screen. It was a real thrill. There is a lot of excitement and humor in the first movie. Not jokiness. Not camp. Good honest-to-God humor. A lightness that Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford have not shown in over ten years respectively. The new Star Wars Prequels are good (at least to me), but not a lot of "spring in their step". Spielberg is in an awesome place right now (Munich and War Of The Worlds were my two favorite movies of 2005), but I don't think he has it in him to make this movie as good as can be. He should stick to stuff that drives him. I cannot imagine he is that thrilled about revisiting a franchise he last worked on NINETEEN years ago. He doesn't need the money (none of them do) so why risk the "rape my childhood" comments fanboys are gonna tag them with when it fails to live up to the "hype"?
My guess? The movie is going to be a modest success. I think maybe 125 million. Not a wipeout, but not the mass hit they expect. It is not Spider-Man or Shrek. Do people under 19 (most of the people who go to the movies statistically speaking) care about Indian Jones? My guess is no.
But I will be annoyed by guys in their early-to-mid thirties (my "demo") who are creaming in their (too-tight) jeans over this movie now when they start moaning about it after it gets released in three months.
Last year I got to see Raiders Of The Lost Ark (none of this "Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark" chenge-the-past revisionist nonsense for me) on the big screen. It was a real thrill. There is a lot of excitement and humor in the first movie. Not jokiness. Not camp. Good honest-to-God humor. A lightness that Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford have not shown in over ten years respectively. The new Star Wars Prequels are good (at least to me), but not a lot of "spring in their step". Spielberg is in an awesome place right now (Munich and War Of The Worlds were my two favorite movies of 2005), but I don't think he has it in him to make this movie as good as can be. He should stick to stuff that drives him. I cannot imagine he is that thrilled about revisiting a franchise he last worked on NINETEEN years ago. He doesn't need the money (none of them do) so why risk the "rape my childhood" comments fanboys are gonna tag them with when it fails to live up to the "hype"?
My guess? The movie is going to be a modest success. I think maybe 125 million. Not a wipeout, but not the mass hit they expect. It is not Spider-Man or Shrek. Do people under 19 (most of the people who go to the movies statistically speaking) care about Indian Jones? My guess is no.
But I will be annoyed by guys in their early-to-mid thirties (my "demo") who are creaming in their (too-tight) jeans over this movie now when they start moaning about it after it gets released in three months.