Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crappy Movie

I can see how you could make a case for it, but I can also argue against a number of those points.

Personally I think that 'desert planet' is a stretch since they leave tatooine forever in rather short order.

The Skywalkers aren't related to Palpatine that I know of. Vader was feared, but not a top dog. Remember how Mott was putting him in his place all the time?

While both crysknives and lightsabers are certainly 'weapons particular to a religious sect' that's hardly a unique idea, and the weapons are not at all used in the same way. Crysknives were not to be shared with or even seen by the uninitiated. Lightsabers were a crusader's weapon, symbolic of justice among the masses, etc.

The only two worms I can think of are jabba the hut and the one in the asteroid. Only Jabba the hut had a human face, and comparing him to Leto is IMO laughable.

mind controls your reality ie mind over matter - I wasn't around in those days so I don't know if that idea was already commonplace or not, but it certainly is now.

Anyways, I can see that it's certainly possible to make a case for 'Dune light' if you wanted to. :foot:

Personally, I always preferred thinking of Star Wars as a fairy tale. :cool:

The young prince, having been hidden among the common folk since his birth knows nothing of his heritage. After encountering an aging retainer/companion of his father, he takes the older man as a mentor. Alas, as is not well and the young prince is forced to leave his home. After some struggles, he loses his mentor in an encounter with the evil empire. Taking up the sword, he joins a band of rogues to rescue the fair princess from the evil fortress and the dread black knight.

Having met with some success, the young prince joins the rebel forces and begins fighting for the overturn of the malignant empire while eventually discovering the secret of his birth. After suffering a terrible defeat, he becomes disheartened for some time and is no longer convinced he should continue the fight.

Eventually his comrades are hard-pressed by the enemy and he is the only one able to intervene on their behalf. Returning to the fight as a wiser man, he ultimately challenges and defeats the evil king, casting down the empire. :thumbup:
 
mind controls your reality ie mind over matter - I wasn't around in those days so I don't know if that idea was already commonplace or not, but it certainly is now.
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The idea was commonplace. Dune was first serialized in John Campbell’s Astounding/Analog Science-Fiction in the late sixties. Campbell oversaw what old timers still call the Golden Age of Science Fiction, in the forties and fifties. But later the man became obsessed with some scientifically offbeat ideas. Including the paranormal, “psionics,” and mind power. Campbell bought many stories featuring these ideas through the nineteen sixties. Herbert knew what he was doing when he submitted Dune to Analog.
 
Darht Vader was Lukes father.
The Baron Harkonnen was Paul's grandfather.
(close enough)

Jabba the Hut is identical to Leto, the God-Emperor.
(You have to read all six books)
But all of this is academic: Herbert himself felt that Lucas had stolen these ideas. It aint just me...
 
DannyinJapan said:
Darht Vader was Lukes father.
The Baron Harkonnen was Paul's grandfather.
(close enough)
Click to expand...

indeed, I was only thinking of Shaddam for some reason. Was Paul not related to him at all? (I know he used Irulan purely for legitimacy, but...)

It's been a while since I read the books.

anyways, thread veer engaged. :o
 
Shaddam the IV was related to the Duke, they looked alike and often people would assume that Leto was Shaddams's son. They were cousins somehow, much as the royalty of Europe were usually related. (Shaddam was not allowed to have any male heirs because of some agreement he had made with the B.G.)
 
BruiseLeee said:
I'm not very smart but I know for certain that Saddam Hussein was not related to John Wayne.

:rolleyes: :)
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Rim%20Shot%20Johnny%20Utah.jpg
 
Im asking the admins to change your name to "BastardLeee", you gigantic thorn in my side.
If you were an alien, you'd be from the planet Flatula 9.
 
DannyinJapan said:
Darht Vader was Lukes father.
The Baron Harkonnen was Paul's grandfather.
(close enough)

Jabba the Hut is identical to Leto, the God-Emperor.
(You have to read all six books)
But all of this is academic: Herbert himself felt that Lucas had stolen these ideas. It aint just me...
Click to expand...

The God-Emperor of Dune, before whom the mighty Bene Gesserit order quails and submits, is the equivalent of some minor desert-worm version of Al Capone? Did all the Jeddi Knights obey Jabba’s word without question? That’s not the way the evidence points. A single Jeddi knight took him down. Jabba and Leto identical? I think not.

Frank Herbert was a nice enough guy, but he was not infallible. The fact that he (apparently) though Star Wars was a Dune rip-off doesn’t mean he was right. He also speculated that somebody might invent a working ornithopter in time to use them in the movie.

What Kazeryu says makes more sense to me. Lucas publically stated that he owed the first Star Wars movie to the work of Joseph Campbell. And Campbell had his famous interviews with Bill Moyer shot on Lucas’ ranch.
 
richardallen said:
I wonder if those aliens from planet Flatula 9 have parkour experience...Bruise?
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The low gravity on my planet allows for longer and higher jumps. It's great if you can stand the sulfurous smell. :rolleyes:

It's a class F planet. The atmosphere is 50% methane!
 
They all resemble Beowolf too. So what. If you're going to squint your eyes till you find the abstract similarities, then there can be no new creativity.
 
Shann said:
The only good good thing about having read Dune several times before I saw that movie is that I had some idea of what the heck was going on or at least was supposed to be going on. Nobody else could make head nor tails of what was happening.
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When I was young and first saw Dune, it was a little confusing, but compelling. Over the years I've re-watched it multiple times, and it soon makes sense. I think the notion of aristocratic houses in a science fiction setting and the unexplained ramifications of the Butlerian Jihad threw the average casual sci-fi movie goer.

Fiddleback said:
They all resemble Beowolf too. So what. If you're going to squint your eyes till you find the abstract similarities, then there can be no new creativity.
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You reminded me of a segment of Little Britain where one of the characters summarizes a recent television drama or film as being "like the Mahabarata, only shorter'. :D
 
Raymond, I meant the concept of a giant sandworm with a human face was an identical concept. I didnt mean that the story surrounding them was identical. You did remind me of the fact that punishment on Arrakis was being thrown to the worms, just as Jabba threw people into the sarlaac.
The people of Flatula 9 can jump higher than any other, woing to the Low Gs and "jet" propulsion. Never go there on vacation unless you really like Taco Bell. That company owns the entire planet.
 
All this talk of Dune - makes me recall what a great movie Lynch's adaptation was. I remember being disappointed by it when I first saw it because it was harder to draw the direct visuals between the movie and the books. Then there was that mini-series that came out which goes right through God Emperor of Dune - it is pretty good and very faithful plotwise to the books. However, when in the mood I tend to return to the Lynch movie- more succinct and in some ways a better told tale.

On the topic of Herbert's books - my favorite wasn't of the Dune series at all - but the Godmakers with a fiesty little character who worked for the BuSab - an intergalactic agency whose mandate was to sabatoge over-beaurcratic governments so that they wouldn't stifle human creativity.....Hmmmm kind like this thread drift....Whipping Star and the Dosadi Experiment by Herbert features the same character
 
I thought such films were aimed at the children & teenage market? Expect Ill see it when they put it on TV next christmas afternoon...

Spiral
 
kgd said:
All this talk of Dune - makes me recall what a great movie Lynch's adaptation was. I remember being disappointed by it when I first saw it because it was harder to draw the direct visuals between the movie and the books. Then there was that mini-series that came out which goes right through God Emperor of Dune - it is pretty good and very faithful plotwise to the books. However, when in the mood I tend to return to the Lynch movie- more succinct and in some ways a better told tale.

On the topic of Herbert's books - my favorite wasn't of the Dune series at all - but the Godmakers with a fiesty little character who worked for the BuSab - an intergalactic agency whose mandate was to sabatoge over-beaurcratic governments so that they wouldn't stifle human creativity.....Hmmmm kind like this thread drift....Whipping Star and the Dosadi Experiment by Herbert features the same character
Click to expand...

I picked up Dosadi just a few months ago and read it. Very interesting work.:cool:
 
OK back on topic. . .

Went to see Indy 4 today with my father.

Here it comes. . .I liked it. A lot.

It is, however, very different from the other three, just like TOD was different from Raiders and Last Crusade. I have a feeling that it's the "differentness" that made it so unpalatable to many. I'm willing to bet that those that didn't like this one didn't like Temple of Doom, either.

"Spielberg refused to modernize the photography and wanted to retain the comic book style from the previous films." He certainly retained a comic book style.

The things I didn't like:
Indy an OSS agent? Unlikely, and has nothing to do with the plot.

Karen Allen: IMO she wasn't acting, she had this slap-happy "I'm having fun being in another Indy film" look on her face the whole time.

OK, the crystal skull's "powers" and ultimate source was just stupid. Would have been better if they went more with the real legends behind the crystal skulls.

Indy carried his gas mask bag -- empty -- the whole time. had a backpack with some stuff in it that never seemed to get used.

Not enough time spent following clues -- lead to too much of a "we're just doing this for fun" feeling.

Things I liked:
Well, it was fun. I don't look for realism in swashbuckling movies.

Indy was fallible. In previous film his tricks tended to fall short of his intent but worked anyway. Here some flat out didn't work.

He had help. His sidekicks weren't there just to be there.

The over-the-top scenes were entertaining as usual. yeah, he would have died from the g-forces of the shock wave in the refridgerator scene if nothing else. But come on, it was funny. Again, if you're looking for realism in an Indy movie, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Cate Blanchett: I think she played her character to a T. Remember Spielberg's desire to keep it comic-book like. Hers was definitely a comic book character.

Shia LaBeuf. OK, usually I really don't like him, but damn, if he didn't do this one right. Set up well for him to take up Indy-esque sequels.

Indy vs the Evil Empire. They played up the Nazis as much as they could in the previous movies. The Soviets made worthy bad guys.

All in all, I don't think it's anywhere near as good as it could have been, nor was it as bad as made out to be. This isn't a "must buy", but I will have it sitting next to the previous three in my DVD stand.

Plus, it was nice seeing a movie with my dad for the first time in 7 years.
 
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