10 Reasons Why Another Indiana Jones Movie Is A Great Idea

 

Here, then, are ten reasons why an Indiana Jones 5 is actually a good idea.

10) The Odds Have Been Good So Far

Understandably, fans are apprehensive about Spielberg returning to the Indiana Jones franchise when he got the last one so wrong. For some, it’s seen as a George Lucas scenario: filmmaker returns to his own much-loved world after a long break, only to have forgotten what it was that made people fall in love with the films in the first place. And like Lucas’ Star Wars prequels, Crystal Skull was heavy with unnecessary CGI, tinkered with the original tone and featured some downright annoying new characters.

People are forgetting, though, that George Lucas screwed up with the prequels three times, whereas Spielberg has only stumbled once with his Indiana Jones movies. So far, the odds of getting a good Indiana movie as opposed to a bad one have been pretty solid.

Out of four movies, Spielberg has only made one dud Indiana Jones picture to date. Going forward, we can still afford to give this master filmmaker the benefit of the doubt, can’t we?

9) Crystal Skull Isn’t As Bad As You Remember

Yes, Spielberg makes some very poor decisions on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Taken as a whole, however, the film isn’t so terrible. It’s at least not Star Wars prequels-level bad, not so devoid of joy and slathered in cartoonish effects that it’s completely lacking in thrills.  More of its action sequences work than don’t, and Spielberg brings a real affection to the period and to the old characters that he’s clearly still fond of.

The problem with Crystal Skull is that its worst scenes – the nuked fridge, the monkeys-on-vines chase sequence, the weird sci-fi ending – are so egregiously bad that they can have you completely forgetting the good stuff.

Seriously, go back and give it another go if you can bring yourself to do so. While the bad elements are simply awful, some of the better scenes even approach classic Indiana Jones status. Now if only Spielberg were to make a new Indiana Jones movie that was full of those…

8) Spielberg Learns From His Mistakes

Steven Spielberg may, like any filmmaker, drop some clangers from time to time. That, regrettably, is just part of the job (even the basically flawless Coen brothers gave us The Ladykillers). Spielberg, however, is fortunate enough to learn from his mistakes.

After 1941 bombed and failed to connect with critics, Spielberg vowed to never make another comedy. When he followed up his classic Jurassic Park with the less-classic The Lost World, he stepped away from that franchise altogether. While the film has become more beloved as the years have passed, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was met with some harsh criticism on release, with some critics calling it too dark. And so, for the sequel, Spielberg went back to Indy’s roots and made the more Raiders-alike Last Crusade.

The director has shown he knows exactly how to pick himself up once he stumbles, so you can guarantee he’ll be returning to the Indiana Jones series having taken all relevant criticism on board.

7) Spielberg Is Currently On A Good Run

Steven Spielberg’s last four movies received a whopping 25 Oscar nominations between them. That’s not just the Academy being overly-kind to one of their favorite auteurs either – critics for the most part also adored all of Tintin, War Horse, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies. These are the films the Berg made post-Crystal Skull, a movie which apparently spurred him onto one of his best ever runs. And make no mistake, Spielberg is on one hell of a run.

It remains to be seen whether Spielberg will trip up with either The BFG or Ready Player One, but right now the filmmaker is on such a winning streak that it’s easy to be hopeful for Indiana Jones 5.

The last time he made such an unbroken chain of solid movies, his hot streak lasted eight years (from Raiders to The Last Crusade). Currently, we’re only five years in, with the eight year mark being 2019, the year Indy 5 is due for release.

6) Harrison Ford Is Still The Man

There was until recently talk that the character of Indiana Jones would return to the big screen in a new form, perhaps with Chris Pratt or another actor with Harrison Ford-like qualities in the role. Happily, this isn’t happening just yet. Ford is 73, so with Indiana Jones 5 you’re looking at what will likely be his last stint in the part, but the headline is that he’s coming back at all, to play a character that’s arguably as beloved as his Star Wars rogue.

Ford, in reprising his role as Han Solo, was one of the (many) true pleasures of The Force Awakens. Proving he’s still formidably charismatic as ever, the actor’s performance in Episode VII bodes well for Indiana Jones 5. He hasn’t lost the swagger, cocky charm or self-deprecating comic timing required to play Henry Jones Jr. Even if Spielberg isn’t on form for Indy 5, we at least know know Ford will still deliver the goods.

5) Indiana Jones Remains One Of The Greatest Characters, Ever

Whatever you think of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you can’t deny that even in that movie Indiana Jones remains a riveting, iconic character. He’s a cranky, creaky action hero that only becomes more compelling as he becomes ever crankier and creakier. He’s the unassuming ladies man and cynical smart alec who holds on to his skepticism even as he comes face to face with the supernatural. And who doesn’t want to see him on the screen one more time?

Ford will be 76 by the time he shoots Indy 5, meaning this could well be the last time we see the whip-cracking archaeologist in cinemas (at least in this form – no doubt the character will be rebooted somewhere down the line).

It’ll be interesting to see then what Spielberg does with a character that no longer necessarily has the ability to out-run and out-gun his enemies as he once did. If anything, Indy 5 could turn out to be an emotional goodbye for the titular hero.

4) George Lucas Doesn’t Appear To Be Involved

Film lovers breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was announced that the new Star Wars movies made under the Disney banner wouldn’t feature involvement from George Lucas. Anyone who saw the prequels saw enough to know Lucas had lost the magic. And arguably, you could say Kingdom of the Crystal Skull also proved as much – where Spielberg wanted to go with a different story for Skull, Lucas held out for the aliens in the 1950s plot that fans got, and which they were ultimately so disappointed with.

With the Lucas-free Episode VII being so rapturously received by both fans and critics, it would seem parting ways with Lucas isn’t a bad idea for well-loved franchises at this point. And it seems that’s exactly what Steven Spielberg has done for Indiana Jones 5, as the press release announcing the film arrived with Lucas’ name conspicuously absent. George Lucas had previously been a producer on all the Indiana Jones films, but it seems he’s involved no longer. That sound you hear is the fans breathing another sigh of relief.

3) There’s Plenty Of Scope With The Story

With Lucas out of the picture, what you won’t have on Indiana Jones 5 is a repeat of the protracted pre-production of Crystal Skull. On that movie, plenty of story ideas were thrown around, with whole scripts being written (by the likes of Frank Darabont and Jeff Boam) and then nixed by Lucas, who pushed for his aliens movie to the end, before the film he wanted finally got made. This time, it’s apparently Spielberg’s final decision. And he has a lot of good ideas to choose from.

In the time between Last Crusade and Crystal Skull, dozens of great stories were discussed for the next Indiana Jones movie. The character just lends himself to all manner of action-adventure scenarios. Spielberg could either go with an original one for Indy 5, or he could take his pick from abandoned Indy 4 plotlines: the Atlantis story, the one with the pirates, or the one featuring the ex-Nazis on the hunt for Dr. Jones.

2) The Fresh Period Setting Will Add A Whole New Dynamic To The Series

Considering the era moves on with Indiana Jones as he ages – in Crystal Skull, he went from the 1930s and the dawn of Nazism to the 1950s and the beginning of the Cold War – we should expect Indiana 5 to be set in a different period once again.

2007’s Crystal Skull was 1957, so 2019’s Indiana Jones 5 will likely be set in the late 60s. A time of free love and the counterculture, of America and the world changing beyond recognition.

This, obviously, will add a whole new dynamic to the Indy franchise. Though Crystal Skull‘s late 50s setting didn’t necessarily agree with the series, Spielberg has form in the 60s, with Catch Me If You Can and the latter half of Bridge of Spies.

1) Spielberg Still Knows His Way Around A Set-Piece

Generally, as filmmakers get older, their films become less ambitious and energized. This is true of so many of the so-called movie brats that Steven Spielberg emerged alongside back in the 1970s.

Now, the likes of William Friedkin and Brian De Palma make smaller-scale dramas and take long gaps between movies, while the likes of Lucas and John Carpenter appear to have retired altogether. Not only is Spielberg still as prolific as ever, but his movies are also just as vital as they always were.

This is most obvious in the director’s set-pieces. Even the relatively stately Bridge of Spies features some incredibly tense sequences and one exhilarating scene involving an American spy plane being shot down over Soviet airspace.

Spielberg simply hasn’t lost the knack for making great set-pieces, which can only be a good thing for Indiana Jones 5. This is, after all, a series that lives and dies by its iconic action scenes.