Not bad, but nothing to write home about. I’ll probably watch it again, which is more than I can say for Crystal Skull. I’d like to say Destiny is about as good as Temple of Doom, but I can’t. Temple has a several iconic action set pieces, like the mine cart ride. Destiny has a couple of scenes that stand out, but nothing that makes me want to go back and see it again.
Unfortunately, the Indiana Jones series just hasn’t aged well. It has a lot of elements that are considered racist and sexist today (and probably even then). Even the core concept of the character – a guy who takes artifacts from their native lands to put them in a museum – is no longer considered a good thing. And frankly, I agree.
But I still think there’s room for Indiana Jones movies that don’t make the above mistakes. I really wish they had made more of them when Harry was in his prime. I mean, it just feels like there should be more Indiana Jones movies out there, doesn’t it? It’s a series that was meant to be serialized, with dozens of adventures that take place at different times in the character’s life. The numerous spin-off books, video games, and tv show are proof of that. In a perfect world, there would be as many Indiana Jones movies as there are James Bond.
But the character really is tied to the actor. I just don’t think anyone could pull off Indy like Harrison Ford. And worse, if there is an actor who could fill Harry’s shoes, he wouldn’t be cast. Hollywood would pick some upbeat babyface actor instead, when the character should be played by someone more grizzled and cynical.
But more than that, I think Indiana Jones just made more sense in the 80s and 90s, before over-the-top action movies were a dime a dozen. These days, what does Indy offer that John Wick doesn’t, other than a different time period? I honestly think Hollywood missed a golden opportunity, by not milking the series dry in the 90s.
Ranking the Indiana Jones Movies:
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Last Crusade
3. Temple of Doom
4. Dial of Destiny
5. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Thursday, January 04, 2024
Wednesday, January 03, 2024
What If…? Season 2
What If…? is still my favorite Marvel TV series, but I can’t say I liked season 2 as much as season 1. For starters, it just didn’t seem long enough. Secondly, the concepts weren’t as good as season one’s. But most of all, too many of the episodes were connected.
I’ve seen a few people complain that Marvel is “shoving Captain Carter down our throats.” I won’t go that far. I like Captain Carter. I think she’s a fun character, and I’d like to see more of her. I even hope she gets her own series. A lot of the complainers would have no problem if it was a male character getting all that screentime.
But that said, I do think What If…? works better as an anthology series, where none of the stories are connected to each other. Sure, the finale of season one was fun, where they took a character from each episode to form the Multiverse Avengers. But I don’t need to see them revisit that concept again.
The whole point of an anthology series is that we get to see something new each episode. And the whole point of What If…? is to show us unique versions of the Marvel universe. It ruins everything when I’m watching an episode and I’m like, “Oh goodie, Evil Strange is back.” An anthology show shouldn’t have recurring characters (other than the narrator of course).
Maybe they just don’t feel there’s enough content to draw from. Sure, there’s over 30 movies in the MCU, but that’s still a relatively small pool of characters compared to the comics. There’s only so many “what if x had y’s powers” or “what if z got the infinity stones” stories you can write. Maybe they should postpone season 3 until after the MCU has X-Men and Fantastic Four movies to work with.
But regardless of when season three gets here, I really hope they resist the temptation to give it a series arc. Just give us some individual stories with creative concepts, like the comic books series it’s based on. ‘Nuff said.
I’ve seen a few people complain that Marvel is “shoving Captain Carter down our throats.” I won’t go that far. I like Captain Carter. I think she’s a fun character, and I’d like to see more of her. I even hope she gets her own series. A lot of the complainers would have no problem if it was a male character getting all that screentime.
But that said, I do think What If…? works better as an anthology series, where none of the stories are connected to each other. Sure, the finale of season one was fun, where they took a character from each episode to form the Multiverse Avengers. But I don’t need to see them revisit that concept again.
The whole point of an anthology series is that we get to see something new each episode. And the whole point of What If…? is to show us unique versions of the Marvel universe. It ruins everything when I’m watching an episode and I’m like, “Oh goodie, Evil Strange is back.” An anthology show shouldn’t have recurring characters (other than the narrator of course).
Maybe they just don’t feel there’s enough content to draw from. Sure, there’s over 30 movies in the MCU, but that’s still a relatively small pool of characters compared to the comics. There’s only so many “what if x had y’s powers” or “what if z got the infinity stones” stories you can write. Maybe they should postpone season 3 until after the MCU has X-Men and Fantastic Four movies to work with.
But regardless of when season three gets here, I really hope they resist the temptation to give it a series arc. Just give us some individual stories with creative concepts, like the comic books series it’s based on. ‘Nuff said.
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