Curse of Film School: Part II

So, the other day I saw Indy 4. Knowing my usual take on most movies, what do you think I thought of this one?

Yep. Thumbs down.

I was pretty much with it for about the first half. And I won't spoil anything for anyone, but there was one point in the movie where something really goofy happened, and it was all downhill from there. I was lost for good.

I know what you're thinking: "This guy craps on everything. There are elements of goofiness in every Indiana Jones movie. What kind of fan is he?" In fact, I am a huge fan, hence my disappointment. To me, Raiders of the Lost Ark fathered action movies for the next ten years. It is one of my favorite movies, and literally changed the way heroes were portrayed on film. So, I held all of the Indy movies on a pedestal for a long time (Even Temple of Doom, which was downright silly at times thanks to Kate Capshaw and that annoying kid). Anyway, this movie failed miserably to live up to those expectations. Had I known I was going in to see another Mummy movie, I probably wouldn't have been so disappointed. It was those expectations that did me in.

So, this is how it is. I guess I can't look forward to any movie ever again, because I always end up being disappointed. The bugaboo is that the idea of seeing a movie centers around expectation. Most of the time, you see or hear about a movie, and you expect something, and you think, "I want to see that. It looks good." Or you don't. In my case, it's usually, "Wow, that Ghost Rider looks like a piece. John and I will have to see that." Either way, there are expectations involved. It's the same with buying a book or a cd. You buy them thinking you might like them, and sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. Most of the time, it seems people do. Sometimes, it seems like people will swallow anything.