New Indiana Jones 4 Trailer Is 'OK', Doesn't Thrill

It debuted on the net a few days ago and I watched almost immediately. If you frequent this blog, no doubt you've already seen it. To me it was just "OK", and as someone who has been wary of a 4th Indiana Jones from the get go, this trailer really doesn't excite.

The Good

- Ford doesn't look half as old as I expected which is good. I no longer doubt his viability to reprise his role as Indy. That's good, or this affair might have been painful and awkward.

-The exchange: Kid: "You're a teacher?!" ... Indy: "Part time." A sign that the type humor present in the previous installments has survived. This exchange reminded me of the joke in Last Crusade where Indy (in the classroom) exclaims "... and X never EVER marks the spot" only to exclaim later on in Venice "X marks the spot!" The humor in the fact that Indy is not an orthodox archeologist is one of the most fun aspects of his character. To exclaim that he is a part-time teacher, to me, is comical.

-The warehouse from Raiders revisited. Long shrouded in mystery from its single, brief appearance at the end of the first film, if there was anything that was worthy of exploring further, this was it.

The Bad

- The age jokes. Perhaps not explicit in the trailer, you know they are coming. "Not as easy as it used to be." One or two is all fine and good, but if this becomes a running gag throughout... Ford may as well look old to boot.

- Aliens. This has been rumored to be a central plot point for a long time and I recently ran across a toy advertisement that seemed to substantiate the rumors about the skulls themselves. Maybe its just me, but when I think Indiana Jones, I don't think aliens. The stories have always focused more on myth, historical religious artifacts, etc. From the trailer it would appear that aliens may be tied to some kind of Mayan or Aztec religion element in the film, and it may work, but I remain very skeptical. We'll see. "Aliens. Why did it have to be aliens."


Come May we'll find out everything. Hopefully it will be an enjoyable movie, because I'll be really disappointed if its an epic mess. Ever since the Phantom Menace trailer, I remain skeptical. Even the worst films can look good in trailer form.