The same can't be said of Kate Capshaw, whose constant caterwauling downgraded Temple Of Doom's status from simply my least favorite of the trilogy to just plain obnoxious. I understand that some people see Temple as the misunderstood genius of the Indiana Jones franchise, but I found it absolutely grating, especially immediately following the relative deftness of Raiders. Maybe when viewed with a little distance from its predecessor (to which it actually serves as a prequel) some of Temple's annoyances register as a certain kind of charm, but I just can't get behind shrill, headache-inducing scenes like this one.
And don't even get me started on Short Round.
That said, I see what Lucas and Spielberg were trying to do with Temple. The film is always called the "darkest" of the three, presumably because of all the bloodletting ceremonies in labyrinthine underground caves, plus child slavery and evil cults. I guess underground labyrinths are dark, and child slavery, hey, no one likes that, but the plot didn't strike me as "dark" so much as unwieldy and overworked. Nazis and ancient forces that can melt your face aren't exactly a Sunday picnic, but no one calls Raiders dark. I think what people register as "darkness" is actually just calculated weightiness that comes off as more numbing than affecting.
The thing is, when you're dealing with scary "dark" things like chest-splitting, heart-stealing baddies, you need to offset that with a little extra humor and lightheartedness, even absurdity. And while this is occasionally done well in Temple—especially via the "Anything Goes" musical number and the shootout at Club Obi Wan (George Lucas, you stinker you!)—more often, it results in lame buffoonery, such as the palace banquet scene. Oh, those crazy foreigners and their disgusting foods!
Interestingly, the featurette associated with this disc features Steven Spielberg essentially placing the blame for the film's tone on George Lucas, whom he says wanted to echo the Star Wars series' progression, with a darker middle installment:
"I wasn't really okay with that, I kind of resisted it. But George was tenacious that he wanted the second one to be dark, and I feared it wouldn't be commercial enough. And it wasn't as commercial as the first one and the third one. But it was an important thing that he wanted to do, and I certainly deferred to George's better judgment because he had seen this three-movie arc and this is what he wanted to do and I was his director for hire."
Never mind that the Indiana Jones movies are episodic, not a continuing saga like the Star Wars films, and therefore there's really no need for such a progression; Lucas had found a formula, and he was gonna stick with it. Unfortunately, his theory doesn't really carry over to the Indy movies, and essentially works to sap Temple of the "fun" that was Raiders' greatest strength. And the attempts to inject that fun into a movie that just wasn't built for it often come off as noisy and garish—even the climactic mine-cart chase, which is about as enjoyable as watching someone else ride a roller coaster. (Which is essentially what it is.)
It seems, judging from the featurette accompanying The Last Crusade, that Spielberg moved beyond the "director for hire" mentality he had with Temple and asserted a lot more power in shaping the underlying structure of the third film. And thank God. To hear Spielberg tell it, Lucas came to him with the idea for a Grail quest, which the director originally balked at: "I didn't think that was a very exciting McGuffin. It was static, it was a cup. And George said, 'Well we can do something paranormal about it, and say if you drink from the cup, you'll have everlasting life.' And I said, 'That's okay, George, but it's still just gonna sit there.'" It was Spielberg who suggested spinning the Grail quest into a metaphorical father-son journey. A little corny, sure. But bringing Sean Connery on as Indy's mild-mannered, slightly doddering estranged father was probably the best move the filmmakers could have made.
In fact, The Last Crusade is the only one of the three movies where the chemistry between the characters—which often borders on slapstick, in a good way—threatens to overshadow the daring escapades. Aside from the opening prologue featuring a young Indy (River Phoenix) hopping train cars while running from grave robbers—which essentially serves as a creation myth—and the Nazi caravan chase (horses AND tanks!), the obligatory action scenes feel a little rote. The final sequence in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon in particular has a weird obstacle-course quality that strips it of any real excitement or suspense, reducing Indy's daring exploits to a succession of fairly straightforward tasks; aside from those spinning blades, what's so menacing about a few riddles?
But even though the energy flags a bit, Last Crusade makes up for it with dialogue and humor that matches and occasionally even outperforms Raiders. I suspect this is due in large part to Tom Stoppard, who did (uncredited) polishing on the script. (Spielberg said, in an 2005 interview with Empire magazine, "Tom is pretty much responsible for every line of dialogue.") Take Indy and Henry Jones' confrontation on the zeppelin out of Germany, which could have easily clunked into clichéd Daddy-why-don't-you-love-me melodrama:
That's how you inject pathos into an adventure film, not via hordes of emaciated children and Harrison Ford doing the ol' crazy-eyes routine. (I'm looking at you, Temple.)
At the end of this little jaunt through Indy-land, I can now say I understand and can totally get behind Raiders' "classic" designation. It was a game-changer, creating a whole different approach to adventure flicks that would be aped throughout the decade and beyond. And it is fun. I get it. And Last Crusade, while not as inspired or energetic as the original, reignites the spirit that made the first film so enjoyable. Temple, I can safely say I'll probably never watch again, unless I someday have the desire to recreate the experience of listening to nails scratching a chalkboard for an hour and a half. Where will the new Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull fall on this spectrum? I can't say for sure, but I can say I am now fully qualified to go find out when it hits theaters next weekend.
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