It was a funny bit but it just seemed a bit too slapstick for an Indy film. I mean, the mirror hits his face, he howls out in pain, and Marion asks him, "Did you say something?" as if she was totally oblivious to what just happened. Huh?
It's always felt misplaced (tonally speaking) to me as well; particularly coming as it does on the cusp of the final stretch. I love the payoff though, as Marion kisses all of the areas on Indy that don't hurt. It's sexy, but not sleazy and it's really the only such moment they get together.
For 35 years I thought the mirror hit a hidden bad guy and he fell off the boat. I guess I am the idiot and, yes, the joke is stupid and I wish I never learned the truth about this scene. It is truly out of place.
"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer SimpsZZZzzzXXXxxx--" - Frank Grimes
No call to use the word "idiot" for being mistaken.
Plus its polite to apologize for calling some one an idiot, after discovering that it was one self who actually where the one who was completely wrong. But i guess this snelling character does not fall in to the category of nice people, because he did not apologize to sockableclaw for calling him an idiot.
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Plus its polite to apologize for calling some one an idiot, after discovering that it was one self who actually where the one who was completely wrong. But i guess this snelling character does not fall in to the category of nice people, because he did not apologize to sockableclaw for calling him an idiot.
He did apologize, precisely by saying, "I guess I am the idiot".
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They ramped up the humorous qualities in Temple of Doom. The mirror gag would have fit in fine with ToD, but it does not align well with the predominantly serious tone of Raiders (in all honesty, though, I'm beginning to prefer ToD for this reason - it pokes more fun at Indy's rugged macho persona).
It's one of my favourite parts of the movie. Out of place? Not in the sense of the slightly screwball rom-com nature of Indy and Marion's relationship. Remember when they were reunited in Nepal and the right hook she gives him? That's easily as slapstick as the mirror gag. The joke in the boat scene is that Marion is still beating Indy up whether she means to or not. And it occurs right before their most tender moment together in the film. Without the mirror smack beforehand, the romance bit would probably feel more gratuitous.