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Nov. 7th, 2011 08:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seriousficDoes anyone else kinda resent the Tintin movie? Not because it's motion-capture instead of animated--although, yeah, if the animation ghetto is such a big deal for you that you have to create an entire new technology to make animated films that "aren't for kids"... maybe you shouldn't be making an animated film in the first place--but because they really put together a ridiculous level of talent on the creative side of things. Joe Cornish, Edgar Wright, Stephen Moffat, Peter Jackson: they're not "names" that your average Real Steel fan would recognize, but I gotta imagine that in the industry, these are the people you wanna be when you grow up.
And okay, where were all these people when Indiana Jones 4 was being made? For Tintin, Spielberg busts out the big guns, but when it comes time to follow-up Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, it's George Lucas and the guy who wrote The Lost World. Because those are the guys you can trust to make a satisfying follow-up.
What's worse is, I think Moffat gets Indiana Jones character better than Lucas or the rest these days. Just look at Rory Williams. He's smart enough to know that even if Rory isn't as cool as the Doctor, people will still come around to him because he has a sympathetic goal (being with Amy), he's in over his head (even by Companion standards--Amy got chosen, he's just kinda along for the right), and yet he still muddles through on sheer gusto. And that's Indiana Jones in a nutshell.
Then in Crystal Skull, they pretty much give Indy superpowers. He actually uses his gun less than he did as a young man, because senior citizens are great at fisticuffs. In fact, everyone has superpowers. Mutt (fucking hell) can swordfight on top of a jeep, Marion can drive a car so it lands on a palm tree and the palm tree drops it in a river... who does that... every Indiana Jones movie used to end with Indy beat up, bruised, scratched, bloody, clothes in tatters. When Crystal Skull ends, Indy looks like he's been to a Halloween party.
Maybe it's that Spielberg knows that he can put the name "Indiana Jones" on anything and people will show up, but you actually have to put some effort into something called Tintin. Nah, couldn't be. I think we would've noticed such money-grubbing tactics earlier if that were the case.
ETA: Actually, I think Moffet has a better grasp on morality than Spielberg, really. The Doctor has an attitude of "okay, I'm going to try for a peaceful resolution, but if that doesn't work out, then I'll use force as a last resort." And it's not perfect, but they do try to acknowledge from time to time how much of a hypocrite he can be. Whereas Crystal Skull has the attitude of "It's okay to punch someone into an anthill so they're devoured by giant ants while screaming, just don't shoot anyone. GUNS ARE BAD, MMKAY?" I mean, you're still teaching it's okay to resolve a situation with violence, just not one specific kind of violence. It's just ridiculous.
I especially love when this trope carries on into movies depicting Native Americans as Noble Savages, a la James Cameron. Guess what, guys? When Indians got guns, they used guns. Cuz bullets are basically just more advanced versions of arrows. It really doesn't make a difference to a buffalo whether you shoot it with an arrow from a hundred yards away or shoot it with a bullet from a hundred yards away.
And okay, where were all these people when Indiana Jones 4 was being made? For Tintin, Spielberg busts out the big guns, but when it comes time to follow-up Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, it's George Lucas and the guy who wrote The Lost World. Because those are the guys you can trust to make a satisfying follow-up.
What's worse is, I think Moffat gets Indiana Jones character better than Lucas or the rest these days. Just look at Rory Williams. He's smart enough to know that even if Rory isn't as cool as the Doctor, people will still come around to him because he has a sympathetic goal (being with Amy), he's in over his head (even by Companion standards--Amy got chosen, he's just kinda along for the right), and yet he still muddles through on sheer gusto. And that's Indiana Jones in a nutshell.
Then in Crystal Skull, they pretty much give Indy superpowers. He actually uses his gun less than he did as a young man, because senior citizens are great at fisticuffs. In fact, everyone has superpowers. Mutt (fucking hell) can swordfight on top of a jeep, Marion can drive a car so it lands on a palm tree and the palm tree drops it in a river... who does that... every Indiana Jones movie used to end with Indy beat up, bruised, scratched, bloody, clothes in tatters. When Crystal Skull ends, Indy looks like he's been to a Halloween party.
Maybe it's that Spielberg knows that he can put the name "Indiana Jones" on anything and people will show up, but you actually have to put some effort into something called Tintin. Nah, couldn't be. I think we would've noticed such money-grubbing tactics earlier if that were the case.
ETA: Actually, I think Moffet has a better grasp on morality than Spielberg, really. The Doctor has an attitude of "okay, I'm going to try for a peaceful resolution, but if that doesn't work out, then I'll use force as a last resort." And it's not perfect, but they do try to acknowledge from time to time how much of a hypocrite he can be. Whereas Crystal Skull has the attitude of "It's okay to punch someone into an anthill so they're devoured by giant ants while screaming, just don't shoot anyone. GUNS ARE BAD, MMKAY?" I mean, you're still teaching it's okay to resolve a situation with violence, just not one specific kind of violence. It's just ridiculous.
I especially love when this trope carries on into movies depicting Native Americans as Noble Savages, a la James Cameron. Guess what, guys? When Indians got guns, they used guns. Cuz bullets are basically just more advanced versions of arrows. It really doesn't make a difference to a buffalo whether you shoot it with an arrow from a hundred yards away or shoot it with a bullet from a hundred yards away.
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Date: 2011-11-08 12:19 am (UTC)almost impossible to achieve violence SHOULD be okay. Like a reward for you hard work.
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Date: 2011-11-09 12:21 am (UTC)Incidentally, Tintin has been in the works for so long that a classic Indy movie actually used parts of a set originally made for it, IIRC. Last Crusade, maybe.
Speaking of gun morality, here's a review pointing out all the stupid stupid gun things in The Lost World.
http://www.jabootu.com/lostworldnugget.htm
"Remember how Nick took the slugs out of Roland's gun? Yeah, he effectively killed several people. Good guy, we swear!"