Good point.
But the OP also has some good points (even if he is a Blind man....) like: how is Jock so close?
And Indy knows exactly where he is going to be?!?
I am assuming not only that they were walking for some time to get to the temple, but that they also had no precise idea where that temple was going to be, exactly. Otherwise, what's the point of walking and risking to meet the Hovitos if they knew the precise location, and such location was 10 minutes away from a good landing spot for a plane? A plane which, like you acutely noted, they had not taken?
Also, Belloq is out ready right there at the right moment.
OK, he was with the Hovitos, but isn't the whole idea that the Hovitos know their way around that temple? What I mean is, Belloq is there to steal the idol from Indy, no?
So he knew already where the idol was but was waiting for Indy to steal it first, because....?
What was he waiting for and how is he going to take it away from the Hovitos?
So what he does is: he needs Indy to steal it for him (for some weird reason), so he waits for Indy to get there, he hides, waits for Indy to fetch the idol and then unleashes the Hovitos to kill Indy.
Sort of a weird plan to get something that is at your disposal the whole time.
Hey, this is my favorite movie of all time, the opening sequence is a masterpiece on itself, but there are some legitimate questions (see also: https://moviechat.org/tt0082971/Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark/5a80aa20335dba0014b9686b/Why-nuking-the-fridge-and-not-riding-the-sub).
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strntz (10798)
a year ago
I think Belloq just let Indy do the dirty work even though they all knew where the idol cave was. He and the Hovitos might have known where the idol was, but didn't know how to avoid the booby traps.
As for Jock, he could have circled overhead and watched where the Indy's party departed from the riverbank and moved into the jungle to head for the cave, and landed there.
We can only speculate how much Indy, Belloq, the Hovitos, and Indy's guides knew about the cave or its location.
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Heisenberg (6313)
a year ago
OK, your Belloq idea makes sense, but it seems to me that he warned the Hovitos about this thief, stealing their precious idol, so they would bust him. Belloq was defending their idol, and the Hovitos just wanted it left alone in the temple.
But the worse part of this scenario is, Belloq and the Hovitos they all knew where the idol is.
I mean, it seems clear that Indy was struggling to get there, only a good tracker like him would get that far. The scenario makes that idea null, as Belloq was already there with no problem.
It would be better, instead, if Belloq and the Hovitos were just following them and had no idea where the idol was.
As for Jock, that seems quite impossible to do in a jungle, and circling around would attrack all sorts of unwanted attention. But as we see, the Hovitos had no idea he was there (but totally knew Indy and his group were there, and those other dead guys too).
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strntz (10798)
a year ago
What I don't get is the Hovitos protecting their idol and as the same time turning it over to Belloq after he relieved Indy of it, but I digress.
As far as Jock, what I meant is that the trackers Indy had with him had an idea (if not an actual location) of where the cave was, and traveled up the river bank (much easier than travelling the entire way in the jungle) before turning in towards the jungle cave. Jock could have seen where they turned in and landed there.
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Heisenberg (6313)
a year ago
OK, I guess that works, but then more questions arise:
is Jock there just for Indy?
Do the other guys in the group know he is with Indy?
Wouldn't anybody be annoyed or suspicious by this plane guy?
And to be honest, what was the plan ahead with Jock?
I mean, was Indy planning all along to screw his co-raiders and leave with Jock and the idol?
If so, than they should have been suspicious of this plane.
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strntz (10798)
a year ago
Mind you that I'm just kind of trying to make all this fit. Possibly the writers had more detail that weren't filmed. But let's go!
1) Yes, Jock was only there at Indy's direction.
2) Probably no one else knew about Jock as the back-up plan although they could
have. Even the back stabber might have known about Jock but what could Jock do
from the plane?
3) Suspicious? Maybe, and maybe if they knew about Jock, but we don't know.
4) The plan with Jock could have been a back-up in the event of a needed quick
getaway.
5) Hmmm.. Great question. The co-raiders at least spoke the language, maybe they
wouldn't be in mortal danger if caught. They were after all only guides as far as
anyone knew, but there was no guarantee of their safety after Indy left on the
plane. Hard to believe Indy would have planned to screw the guides.
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blindfolded (1492)
a year ago
I think since Belloq made a point to say he can speak Hovitos means he likely tricked them into handing it over. Maybe he convinced them he was a representative of their god or something like that
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strntz (10798)
a year ago
Possibly, but with all those blow darts, I'd be mighty wary to try it!!!
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blindfolded (1492)
a year ago
Lol, you're not wrong there.
But I think with a civilization so primitive, all you have to do is throw around some gun powder and BOOM I am an almighty profit of your idol guy!
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strntz (10798)
a year ago
Or you could always get into a dick-wagging contest to demonstrate superiority, but then there were an awful lot of natives. The odds...
I guess it's reasonable the natives might have been terrified of a gun.
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