![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seriousficWatched Raiders of the Lost Ark in IMAX, which is a thing. The picture was a little jittery at first, but that cleared up nicely once Alfred Molina died. Also, at this resolution, you can really tell the difference between Harrison Ford and stock footage. Luckily they don't seem to use much.
Anyway, I had the pleasure of watching RotLA at a revival theater a few years back, but hey, any chance to see Indy on the big screen. It's funny. As a kid, you're convinced Indy is being chased by hundreds of natives in the beginning, or that hundreds of Nazis are getting nuked in the finale, but as an adult, you can see it's more like twenty. And you're better able to appreciate the work Harrison Ford does. In, say, The Bourne Legacy, all Jeremy Renner has to do to be an action hero is put on sunglasses and throw people around, while Ford is alternately scared, pleased, relieved, etc.
Solely through body language, you get the sense Indy's, to quote Gaiman, just enough of a bastard to be worth liking. He smiles when he sees a troublesome Nazi's about to get shredded, he enjoys being in "God mode" and casually dusting Nazis off when he's driving a badass truck, and when he's been dragged behind a vehicle, he goes apeshit when he has the chance for some payback (the sheer aggression Ford puts in this makes it a hugely satisfying climax).
Also, Karen Allen does really good work as Marion. I'll never understand why she doesn't rate on the cliched "ultimate sci-fi babe" posts. She's charming, good-natured, beautiful, vivacious. Sure, she doesn't have tits out to here, but she's a lady and she goddamn knows how to fill out a dress. She may be a damsel in distress, in that her being in peril drives the plot at points, but she's such a well-done one. She can plot her own escapes and gun down Nazis on her own, even if she doesn't do this for a living like Indy and concordantly isn't as good at it. But compare her to whatshertits in Temple of Doom; Marion is always an engaging, fun character.
Speaking of Indy being an ass, but not an unrepentant, full-bore asshole, it's cheap, but notice how all the Egyptians love him and despise the Nazis. It's not unmotivated; Indy probably pays them decent wages for their work and treats them fairly, unlike the Germans. It's just a nice touch, and it makes Indy that much easier to root for.
Anyway, I had the pleasure of watching RotLA at a revival theater a few years back, but hey, any chance to see Indy on the big screen. It's funny. As a kid, you're convinced Indy is being chased by hundreds of natives in the beginning, or that hundreds of Nazis are getting nuked in the finale, but as an adult, you can see it's more like twenty. And you're better able to appreciate the work Harrison Ford does. In, say, The Bourne Legacy, all Jeremy Renner has to do to be an action hero is put on sunglasses and throw people around, while Ford is alternately scared, pleased, relieved, etc.
Solely through body language, you get the sense Indy's, to quote Gaiman, just enough of a bastard to be worth liking. He smiles when he sees a troublesome Nazi's about to get shredded, he enjoys being in "God mode" and casually dusting Nazis off when he's driving a badass truck, and when he's been dragged behind a vehicle, he goes apeshit when he has the chance for some payback (the sheer aggression Ford puts in this makes it a hugely satisfying climax).
Also, Karen Allen does really good work as Marion. I'll never understand why she doesn't rate on the cliched "ultimate sci-fi babe" posts. She's charming, good-natured, beautiful, vivacious. Sure, she doesn't have tits out to here, but she's a lady and she goddamn knows how to fill out a dress. She may be a damsel in distress, in that her being in peril drives the plot at points, but she's such a well-done one. She can plot her own escapes and gun down Nazis on her own, even if she doesn't do this for a living like Indy and concordantly isn't as good at it. But compare her to whatshertits in Temple of Doom; Marion is always an engaging, fun character.
Speaking of Indy being an ass, but not an unrepentant, full-bore asshole, it's cheap, but notice how all the Egyptians love him and despise the Nazis. It's not unmotivated; Indy probably pays them decent wages for their work and treats them fairly, unlike the Germans. It's just a nice touch, and it makes Indy that much easier to root for.
