Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) review

Many consider it the best of the Indiana Jones films, praising the addition of Sean Connery as one of the best casting choices. Many praise the story and action sequences as being superior to the great Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I for one, prefer the first two instalments over the conclusion to such a fantastic trilogy.

Indiana Jones’ father, Henry Jones Sr, goes missing whilst on his life long quest for the Holy Grail. Leaving to Indy, his diary which contains all his research of the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones realizes that the Nazis are once more after the Holy Grail and will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Realizing that immortality is a powerful and corruptive thing that the Nazis cannot get their hands on, Indy goes on a quest to retrieve his father and ensure the Nazis don’t get caught up with Henry’s diary, which has disappeared.

Once more, the story is very powerful and truly entertaining however I didn’t see it surpass the previous two instalments. The addition of Henry Jones is the wisest choice made in this entire franchise. The goofiness and fun he brings cannot truly be described in words. Sean Connery absolutely perfects that role and gives one of the most entertaining performances I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it does take a fair bit of time for his character to truly make an entrance in one of the greatest ways. His immediate reaction to smashing Indy with a bottle followed by proving that the bottle is a fake is timeless comedy. Not just funny, but it is simply able to define his character through his first few minutes. The relationship that builds throughout the film between Indy and Henry is one of the funniest yet most realistic ever in some ways.

Supporting characters include Ilsa, who I didn’t particularly care about in the film. She just wasn’t as memorable as Marion or Willie from the first two instalments and her character was someone that I wasn’t attached to. It is, however a pleasing sight to see Marcus Brody return for a bigger role in this film. He is surely one of the best aspects of this film. He is hilarious, lost and is basically one of us being on this great adventure. The best sequence of the film is one involving a lost Marcus Brody attempting to communicate with locals, but is incredibly lost! This scene was comedic perfection for the film, especially realizing that this followed Indiana Jones telling the Nazis about Brody’s whereabouts! Sallah too returns in the film, in possibly a shorter role than Raiders of the Lost Ark but he too is placed perfectly in the story.

Much like Ilsa, there is another forgettable character and he is the main antagonist, Donovan. Belloq is one of the most memorable villains put to film. He was perfect for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mona Ram was perfect for Temple of Doom however Donovan doesn’t strike out any real threat or motivation with this film. Thankfully, this is laid aside by some fantastic entertainment thanks to Sean Connery and Harrison Ford, who shared such amazing chemistry. Just like the previous two films, the entertainment is sky high and makes this a fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy…until 2008 came!

Grade- 9/10

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) review

To this day, I cannot quite put together the criticisms laid to this film. Surely, it isn’t the best Indiana Jones film but it comes so mighty close. One of the best aspects of the film for me, is what is considered the biggest issue of the film which would be the drastic change in tone from a rather light hearted film with dark moments to an extremely dark film, containing light enough moments.

Indiana Jones, following an escape from Lao Che, finds himself crash landing a plane nearby an Indian village. Here, he is told that the children have all but being taken from them to work at Pankot Palace, where evil has once more being brewing. During the kidnapping of all the children, it is said that a sacred stone called the Shankara was taken from their village. Indiana vows to return the Sankara stone back to the village as well as all of their children as he ventures with his young friend, Short Round and the irritating singer, Willie.

Whenever people refer to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, they always list the complaints about the film which truly sickens me. It’s excessive dark content and the irritating Willie. I personally loved both. Willie is most definitely an irritating character and about as irritating as one could get but thankfully, Speilberg and Lucas were well aware of this before hand and as a result, to add some great comedic moments have her character constantly punished. As for the dark content, I can only praise Lucas and Speilberg from taking a completely different view for this film and their bravery to make a prequel to a beloved film be one with a completely different tone. Even with the incredibly dark content, this is most definitely still an Indiana Jones film. It has the same wit, same humour and the brilliant stunt work and action sequences that make this a very, very worthy prequel to the great, Raiders of the Lost Ark. In terms of action, Temple of Doom surpasses Raiders of the Lost Ark however, in terms of the plot and characters, Raiders is clearly superior.

John Williams created a truly memorable musical score with Raiders of the Lost Ark. His iconic soundtrack featured the fantastic score following Marion Ravenwood’s death, which was a very powerful piece of music. In Temple of Doom, he creates an even more powerful and epic musical score featuring the March of the Slave children. This score is such a brilliant piece of work by the legend John Williams, that I happen to prefer it over the score in Raiders.

The underground tunnel chase and the sequence on the bridge is the greatest climax put onto an Indiana Jones film and is one of the most memorable in my opinion. It features brilliant comedy, very gritty and dark stunt work and some incredible action sequences which are just a delight on screen. The parody of the swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark works perfectly as one of the film’s finest comedic moments. 

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the most controversial of the franchise but is better than the original in some ways. Even if the film isn’t overall, nearly as perfect as Raiders of the Lost Ark, it is nevertheless a brilliant piece of entertainment and one of master director, Steven Speilberg’s finest films. 

Grade- 10/10

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) review

To put it in simple terms, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the greatest and most revolutionary films ever made and is quite possibly, legendary director Steven Speilberg’s masterpiece which says a lot. 1981 introduced us to who is quite possibly, the greatest movie character ever put to film. To that, I am ever so grateful

Indiana Jones is an archaeologist who goes after rare artefacts as a means to try and return them where they need to be. He finds himself having to go on an adventure to relocate the Lost Ark of the Covanent and take it away before the Nazis, who are looking for it in order to have complete dominion during the ongoing war.

There is the story and there is an unforgettable storyline that every man on the planet knows about. The opening scene in the film, involving Indy, his whip and the search for the Golden Buddha is definitely, one of the greatest introductions ever put to film. The moment you see a long shot of Indiana Jones, you are immediately felt a presence and his entrance into the film with the whip and emerging through the smoke, is to this day, one of the most iconic entrances made by a character. Up there with the one from The Third Man and possibly Darth Vader, in Star Wars. John Williams creates a fantastic opening theme, that is before the action starts taking place, that itself is full of purpose and tension. There is a certain mystery about the character that is felt through the brilliance of that score. The opening scene is so perfect but the most perfect aspect of it is how it added no development to the basic plot of the film but is simply used as a method to get to know various characters and their actions and motivations. We see Belloq through this opening scene and we are immediately given a hint as to who he may be. We are fully exposed to Indiana Jones and we already feel a certain charm about his character and we are already taken in by the atmosphere created by Speilberg and Lucas. 

Much like the original Star Wars trilogy, despite being amazing films, the performances aren’t the strength of those films like in other films such as The Godfather. It is purely in the story, characters and atmosphere created. Whilst the majority of the performances are undoubtedly fantastic, especially those by Harrison Ford, John Rhys Davies and Paul Freeman, the strength to Raiders of the Lost Ark lies solely in the story and character department. The action sequences in this film to this day, are breathtaking. Whilst even my favourite movie, The Lord of the Rings, has a few action sequences where I tend to take my eye off the screen, when watching Raiders of the Lost Ark I feel like Malcolmn McDowell’s character from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ when he is receiving his treatment to emerge a better man to society! They are some of the best put to film and is the pure definition of entertainment. The truck chase sequence towards the end of the film, to this day, is the greatest chase ever shown on film. The John Williams score, once more, adds it to another level and is one of the most iconic pieces of music made. Most iconic scores are made by this legend and all are unforgettable, taking the film to another extent. They dance around to the film, as if they are its own thing yet they fit perfectly with the context of the film and its overall tone.

Speilberg’s direction is absolutely flawless. This is indeed, one of the few ‘perfect’ films I’ve ever come across, a few others being Pulp Fiction, Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather. The story and dialogue is once more, flawless. I cannot praise enough how much I just love this film. Other cast members, especially Karen Allen does a great job as the lovely Marion Ravenwood, who is without a doubt, the best sidekick of a girl that has possibly being put to film. Just like Ford, she brings a real charm to the screen and her presence feels like an adventure of its own. That’s what a brilliant film does!

Raiders of the Lost Ark is quite possibly one of the top ten greatest films ever made. It is absolutely hilarious, action packed, full of tension, a sense of awe and wonder and displays the mythical element of the film flawlessly. To keep it short, Raiders of the Lost Ark can simply be described through the word ‘flawless’ 

Grade- 10/10 all the way!!!

Die Hard (1988) review

Back in the 1980s, John McTiernan was on a bit of a role coming right off an action classic, Predator. The following year, he made an action film called Die Hard which to this day is one of the all time great action films and definitely one of the more revolutionary pieces of action films. Very few films could floor someone so much upon a re-watch than Die Hard; it really is such an action classic that needs to be viewed by all fans of films.

Die Hard has one of the most simplistic premises to a movie, making it all the greater. A police officer, John McClane (Bruce Willis) coming down to the Nakatomi Plaza for Christmas to stay with his wife finds that the plaza gets under attack by a group of terrorists lead by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) who take all the people hostage in an attempt to rob $600 million. The only thing they forgot to get was McClane who must, with the help of a friend through a phone stop these terrorists as he runs around the Nakatomi Plaza.

The best thing about Die Hard is not the amazing villain, the great action, easy and relatable story or even the great pacing and fantastic tension but quite simply, John McClane himself. I myself consider him the most endearing hero of all time, next to Indiana Jones. John McClane possesses all the traits that make you love a movie character so much. He is an average schmuck, like ourselves and is not by any means a superhero (like Die Hard 4 makes him). He runs through trouble with his family and gets put in perilous situations to the point where he maniacally starts talking to himself. “C’mon John, think, think!” Bruce Willis’ fantastic and even charming performance as John McClane ensures that every fan of movies loves McClane. There is nothing greater in a film than to have an endearing hero, Die Hard nailed that aspect with perfection! 

A fantastic hero is useless without a fantastic villain he can go against and Die Hard once more, nailed that aspect! Hans Gruber is simply, one of the greatest villains ever put to film. When you have one of the greatest heroes and one of the greatest villains of all time, the film itself is sure classic. Hans Gruber is brilliantly portrayed by Alan Rickman. He was intense, he was hilarious and he was extremely clever always outsmarting John McClane. What could’ve come off as an incredibly boring and stereotypical villain actually ends up being one of the most entertaining and chilling villains, who whenever he is on screen, either freaks you out or makes you laugh. His two greatest lines, “Now, I have a machine gun…Ho..Ho..Ho!” and his imitation of McClane’s “Yipee-kiyay—Motherfu*ker” are incredibly hilarious and are possibly, the two most iconic quotes from the film. Hans Gruber makes for a fantastic villain, not just through Rickman’s great performance or his big brains and wit but also from the fact that his intentions right throughout the film are perfectly clear. He pursues the codes to open the vaults at the plaza in order to steal the money and use the detonators to blow up the plaza, ensuring that trails aren’t left behind. “Now, bring me my detonators!”

If there’s any nitpick I have with the film, its possibly that the start feels rather slow, like a slow burn. However, it does introduce characters nicely but if it were possibly a bit faster or shorter, it would’ve probably been greater but my guess is, that from the start being slow makes the overall film feels incredibly fast paced. By the end of the film, you completely lose track that you are watching a film and have lost complete track of time. It’s as if you are lost in McClane’s world just like you’d be lost in space in Star Wars or Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings. The overall film is incredibly fast paced, providing nail bitingly intense action sequences that even upon re-watch hold up perfectly! The movie’s action scenes aren’t big and bombastic like in the Rambo sequels but directed and even filmed extremely realistically, providing for ultimate tension. Even if the ending is predictable early on, how the hero will survive, throughout the course of the film you come to a point where you are completely uncertain about McClane’s fate. That there, is brilliant writing and directing. Another nitpick I have is possibly me is the tiniest of criticism I can use. 

Some of the lines such as the Arnold Schwarzenegger reference or the Rambo reference could possibly have been left out but then again, they did not affect the course of the film nor even the scene. The script is so sharp and entertaining that the only thing I had trouble accepting 100% were those few lines. That is easily forgotten when compared to other brilliant lines such as McClane’s trademark line or some of the words uttered by Hans Gruber.

Possibly the only REAL issue that I had with this masterpiece is Holly Gennero/McClane. There is nothing annoying about her character and she herself, is a relatable person but she at times, seems to be played out too much of a “damsel in distress” Not that it is a bad thing but her character seems the typical damsel in distress such as the Leia of Die Hard. Again, her character isn’t an issue and in fact, her relationship with her husband is done brilliantly. I loved that scene early on where John types Holly’s name but only finds her name under the surname ‘Generro’ and I love how by the end of the film, it is contradicted when she tells Al that her name is indeed ‘Holly McClane’

The other incredible aspect of this film is the character of Al Powell, who McClane befriends during a communicator. This is one of the greatest offscreen bits of chemistry I’ve ever seen and throughout the film, the way their friendship falls in place is perfect. The character of Al is such a likeable guy, from the very first scene that he is involved in to the last. I particularly loved that scene where Al states that he accidentally shot a kid with a gun one day in the dark, and since then out of regret has never fired a shot with his gun. That, I thought was an incredibly powerful scene which also contradicts by the end of the film. Reginald Val Johnson did a tremendous job playing Al, who comes off as one of the most likeable sidekicks. I guess Joel Schumaker should have watched Die Hard before making Batman & Robin.

 

Everything that now needs to be said about Die Hard has been said, it is one of my all time favourite films now and is one of the all time great action films. A true art that has been praised to death as the greatest action film and one of the best films of the 1980s, and indeed of all time. Die Hard is exciting, fast paced, has a fantastic villain and an endearing hero and has quite possibly, some of the greatest lines ever said

Grade- 10/10 

Superman IV (1987) review

Superman III is not considered to be the worst of the Superman films but now that I’ve seen Superman III and the abomination that is Superman IV, I can happily say that Superman III is simply far worse than Superman IV which is by no means a good film apart from the fact that it has a few good factors to it such as the returning cast, the character of Superman and the Superman like moments and the overall short duration of the film that ensures us that this film isn’t as horrid and stinky as Superman III

Superman agrees to stop the launch and use of nuclear weapons and begins to put an end to it but by a complete accident, he creates a man of nuclear referred to as NuclearMan whose one task is to kill Superman, under orders from a returned Lex Luthor.

Superman is an iconic movie character, respected and even worshipped by some and often labelled the greatest superhero ever made and one of the all time great movie characters. Thanks to Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner, Superman is a worshipped character from the magic of the first two Superman films which portrayed him as an honest, courageous, courteous, brave and determined fighter whereas Superman III didn’t really take the character anywhere and explore his sudden evil side. Whilst potential, terrible overuse of slapstick humor and a horrendous story destroyed the film to a point beyond repair. Thankfully, Superman IV got two things perfectly right about the film and that is the character of Superman and how is loyalty to Metropolis as well as Reeves’ portrayal who absolutely nails it once more! It was almost a joy to see everything about Superman recovering since Superman III and this is quite simply, the only good aspect of the film

I’ve never criticized special effects in films and normally, I don’t intend to. When you consider how great the effects in the first three Superman films are and how Superman II had a budget of over 50 million and that the latest instalment, which was produced seven years later, has less than $25 million, it is so definitely clear that this film was not to ever be made considering the box office and critical failure of Superman III. The effects in this film look beyond horrendous, even unwatchable especially sequences involving Superman or Nuclearman flying through space or Metropolis. It looks like a terribly edited version on Photoshop where nothing looks realistic enough to take seriously.

Sequences involving flying around in Metropolis, especially a scene that ruins Superman in two ways involving Superman taking Lois for yet another fly around Metropolis is not only hard to take seriously, it completely destroys the magical moment from the first film and makes Superman a rather hard character to understand. I guess it’s time to get used to him in Superman Returns but thankfully, this is the only instance where Superman is portrayed as a douche. Having taken her for a tour, he gives her a mind erasing kiss (which still makes no sense) in order for her to forget that he is Superman. Simply, the special effects looked horrendous. Even Monty Python and the Holy Grail, being a 1975 picture, had better effects of God!

Whilst Christopher Reeve is outstanding as Superman and Gene Hackman is as usual, good as Lex Luthor, the rest of the cast simply aren’t interesting even Marc Maclure as Lois Lane, who simply doesn’t show the same enthusiasm and passion as she did in the first two. Clearly a bad sign! The acting comes off rather horrendous especially the voice of Nuclearman done by Hackman, who completely makes it truly ridiculous to take seriously.

The new characters in this film aren’t interesting. The entire story evolving around the Daily Planet is simply stupid and how the story unfolds there is completely ridiculous and to top it off, more and more annoying and one dimensional Superman characters are introduced. Even Lux Luthor himself is uninteresting throughout the film and Nuclearman is a complete waste of some potential.

The story, whilst having potential, simply doesn’t turn out to be anything special or even remotely, interesting. Much of the film is simply boring and thankfully, clichéd slapstick is not thrown into the film to make it worse! It definitely has a Superman feel to it and in some ways, had some great sequences such as the scene involving Kal-El’s Kryptonian ancestors where they warn him to stay away from human affairs. However, this scene is completely betrayed later in the film and much of the individual scenes taking place in the film are completely unnecessary and are rip offs from the first two films.

Overall, in some ways I cannot understand how loathed this film is yet Superman III is allowed a free pass. It just shocks me to see how this film is the most hated of them all but honestly, whilst a terrible film is made to be a great film when watching immediately after Superman III. A lack of stupid slapstick and a computer villain make this a better film than its predecessor but still not a good film by any means.

Grade- 3/10 

Still not a remotely good film, has stupid effects, poor plot, bad villain and is a complete rip off from Superman II.