In BBT Mayim Bialik argues that Indy's presence is totally irrelevant to the plot of the movie since in the end the Nazis get the ark, open it and die anyway. I think this is a significant writing flaw from a dramaturgical point of view and seriously hurts the Indy character.
What do you think?
Death solves all problems. - Stalin
True but I cannot stand Amy. Worst character in tv history.
shareI have a mixed opinion. She does have some good points, but the users who contradict her analysis here make good points as well.
So, I would categorize Indy as not your typical conventional hero, but he is kind of a hero nevertheless. He saves the day, but without really planning it. He does things randomly and happens to be lucky most of the times. But he is flawed and makes stupid mistakes because he doesn't think everything through carefully.
He does find the arc, he does accelerate the process, he does technically avoid that German find it first and take it in their possession, he does have archeological knowledge which helps him to be more effective in his research.
But he also fails to anticipate some Nazi's move (for instance, them being in the bar where Marion is), he gets kidnapped, he doesn't have everything organized in a way to anticipate danger and is overall kind of sloppy.
You're forgetting the 'subplot' - Indie and Marion's love story.
The whole film was about them getting back together.
I think the weakness is the deus ex machina (literally) when the Nazis open the ark. They just found a clever way to say it in the BBT. And yes, that's a definite weakness to the plot, and for some of us who enjoyed the movie up until that point, we were really disappointed that the writers went that way in the end.
shareSo you're saying that a movie that sets up the ark having the wrath of god within it right at the beginning of the film has a weak ending because it delivers on that set up?
shareThat wasn't what I intended to say, certainly.
shareSo what are you saying. Your criticising the movie for having a deus ex machina ending. The entire movie is about the search for an ancient artefact that supposedly contains the wrath of God.
That's like complaining that the plot of Star Wars is resolved by the rebels exploiting the weakness discovered in the death star plans which was established as a possibility right at the beginning of the movie.
I think Amy Farrah Fowler is the worst character, played by the worst actress, in tv history.
shareKeep in mind that if it hadn't been for Indy, they would have never found the location of the Ark in the first place.
Remember how they had been using the wrong medallion to find its location? I can't remember whether Indiana's rival "archeologists" were using a fake medallion some charlatan had sold them, or a mold of the medallion burned onto that one little Nazi rat's hand, but either way, we find out through a conversation between Indy and Sala that the Nazis were digging in the wrong location, using erroneous information on how to find it. It was because Indy had the genuine medallion as a gift from Marion that he was the one who found the location in that room with the miniature city.
Keep in mind that if it hadn't been for Indy, they would have never found the location of the Ark in the first place.
Remember how they had been using the wrong medallion to find its location? I can't remember whether Indiana's rival "archeologists" were using a fake medallion some charlatan had sold them, or a mold of the medallion burned onto that one little Nazi rat's hand,
Indy's interference prompts them to open the ark prematurely without considering the danger and how to mitigate it. Plus of Indy hadn't been there if and when the ark was opened, whose hands would it have fallen into then?
But in Last Crusade the search for the grail was a complete waste of everyone's time. It couldn't leave the place where it was found in the end. At best, they could have turned the place where the grail was found, the knight guarding it and the grail itself a tourist attraction.
Indy's interference prompts them to open the ark prematurely without considering the danger and how to mitigate it. Plus of Indy hadn't been there if and when the ark was opened, whose hands would it have fallen into then?
But in Last Crusade the search for the grail was a complete waste of everyone's time.
It couldn't leave the place where it was found in the end.
Belloq rushed his preparations though and didn't think it through. So he didn't mitigate it. How seriously can you claim he mitigated it when he opened it in the company of those who would smite God's chosen people and without any of them closing their eyes?
Indy wasn't looking for the grail he was looking for his dad.
The ground opened up and swallowed the grail and anyone who tried to take it beyond the seal.
Belloq didn't rush anything, quite the contrary. But Belloq was not an Israelite, so even if he performed the ritual to perfection, it would avail him nothing. It had already been established at that point that the Ark was not allied with the nazis.
As for Crusade, Indy successfully retrieved his dad in the first half of the movie. Afterwards, he was looking for the Grail.
The ground opened up and swallowed the grail and anyone who tried to take it beyond the seal.
When did they cross the seal?
shareThe seal didn't exist then, which is my entire point. The Grail exists independently of it.
shareNot at the time this movie was set.
shareSo if Elsa hadn't fallen and dropped the Grail, but successfully made it out of the temple, the earthquakes would have followed her all the way back to Austria? Why even have a guardian for the Grail if it cannot be taken beyond the seal anyway?
shareThe seal curses anyone who comes to claim the grail to then become its guardian in order to enjoy immortality. Or leave without it.
shareBelloq took the first opportunity to open the Ark. If he hadn't rushed then he might have learned as indy did to close his eyes.
After he saved his dad, Dr Jones senior insisted that they stop the Nazis from getting the grail. And in the course of doing that Indy was then forced to face the tests in order to save dad's life.
Belloq took the first opportunity to open the Ark. If he hadn't rushed then he might have learned as indy did to close his eyes.
After he saved his dad, Dr Jones senior insisted that they stop the Nazis from getting the grail. And in the course of doing that Indy was then forced to face the tests in order to save dad's life.
Indy saves the third riech. lol.
Indy was an inadvertent baddie the whole time.
Who the f*ck is Amy Farrah Fowlerand why would anyone care what her opinions are?
shareShe's a fictional character from the show The Big Bang Theory. In an episode she watches Raiders of the Lost Ark and declares as fact that Indy had no relevance in the story and that everything that happened would have still happened without him. Also she says she hates the film. And to make her right all the male characters when told this all can't disprove her when discussing the film later. It's because it's a sitcom and in a lot of sitcoms women are stereotyped to only like Romance movies.
share