Chen G.

Indeed. The best films work on any screen, based on the power of their story.

In a fantasy world where I could (or, for some inexplicable reason, wanted to) truly seperate the quality of a score from the quality of the film, I might agree. But I don't.

Its the kind of film that needs to be seen on a very, very big screen.Take that from it, and there's really not that much to be had. And even if that won't be quite true for those who did see it in the cinema, and went on to revisit it in their living-room, it will certainly be true-and-then-some for those who never saw it on the big-screen. I just don't think it'll have the longevity that other Nolan films will (or do) have. Still a good movie, though. The lack of wordliness (which plagues every other Nolan film) is very refreshing for this director.

Brother! 😉

That's actually a great example: They're lesser films because their narratives, characters and themes suck; because the way they're directed sucks, because of how they're cut together - NOT because of the quality of the effects.

And yet, even though most contemporary audience members can see through those effects - the film can still work.

Happy birthday, Emeritus! 😉

Yeah, practical effects and compositing can look just as bad as CG; and CG can look just as good as practical effects. What matters is the end result: if it looks good, it looks good. And really, the less preoccupied we are with these superficial elements of film, the better. There are way more important aspects to how films are crafted.

I assure you, Temple of Doom was very much the "current box office it" of its time, and by design. That isn't to say that I, for a moment, claim that its in any way shape or form, comparable to Aquaman; and this is coming from someone who isn't the biggest fan of Temple of Doom.

Not that I disagree with your final conclusion, but is the quality of a film determined by such superficial elements as which one uses CG and which one doesn’t? Or is the quality of film determined by the quality of its narrative, themes, characters and the directing of all those elements?

It’s about the big picture. Braveheart won best cinematography, although quite a few shots in it are out of focus. The departed won best editing despite being two-and-a-half hours long and rife with continuity errors.

Its alright.

Well, you know... "All human stories are practically only about one thing, aren't they? DEATH." - JRR Tolkien.

I seem to recall I gave it a *1/5 out of *****. So yeah, bad movie. Not awful. But if someone genuinely enjoys it - more power to them.

The older I get, the less enjoyment I get from hating on a movie. There's no point in it, really. I think Attack of the Clones is about as bad as these kinds of films get. But is it truly awful? No, not quite.

Yes and no. I mean, I don’t care for it in the slightest (although I don’t hate it outright), and to be perfectly honest, I can’t ever truly relate to those who do - I just don’t see the upshot, as it were. I don’t think I nitpicked it: all the issues I stated were pervasive throughout the course of the picture. Being that I wasn’t on the bandwagon of scorning the prequels, having only first watched this series in 2015, I think I’m more objective on the matter than most. Having said that, if the positive aspects of the film are enough for you to enjoy it, than that’s great: it means you can glean enjoyment from one movie more than I can. So of course it’s okay to enjoy it. At any rate, a complete train-wreck it ain’t. Not quite, anyway.

To me, the issue of the film is more complicated. The launching-off point of the film is a pair of assasination attempts on Padme: it both sets Obi-Wan on a journey to investigate the identity of her attacker, and sets Anakin to protect her, during which their “romance” blossoms. However, after those two plot-lines are set into motion, NO FURTHER ASSASINATION ATTEMPTS ARE MADE ON PADME’s LIFE, which I find maddening. It both completely saps the tension from under the romantic scenes, and the urgency from Obi-Wan’s investigation, as well as losing the tissue that connects these two plot-lines: when Lucas cuts between them, it feels like he’s cutting between two different films. Adding at least one more assasination attempt would have added so much tension to this film! How come no-one thought of that?! My second issue has to do with the way the characters treat each other: not just Anakin being seriously creepy towards Padme, but also Obi-Wan being kind of an overly-strict dick towards his student, which is to say nothing of Yoda and whatever character L. Jackson is playing. I also don’t particularly care for the action. I don’t mind that the Jedi fighting style is dynamic (like it was in The Phantom Menace) and I don’t mind them surviving some implausible feats without physical harm, but when they leap the height of skyscrapers and land without a scratch on ‘em it stretches credulity too much for me. The action also just isn’t spread out through the picture. There is also the issue involving the introduction of Dooku, which I regard as utterly ineffective. He’s basically mentioned in the opening crawl (itself no less boring that that of the previous film), and upon the first assasination attempt his name is brought up and than immediately dismissed, only for the suspicion to be proven true at the midpoint. And lastly, there’s Lucas’ directing: not just of the actors, but also of the camera: really, all his Star Wars aren’t something to look twice at with regards to camerawork and lighting.

Who said that?! I said it was the setpieces. i.e. the action sequences and adventure tropes, and the general style of it.

Its not the character that's interesting so much as the concept of the films. Its the adventure serial of the 21st century, and people watch it as a vehicle for the adventurous setpieces and action, rather than for engaging with the characters. I'm not saying that to the detriment of the films, necessarily. Really, the Last Crusade is to closest to working on a dramatic level of relating to the characters, due to the father-son relationship.

Oh, for crying out loud, it's an Indiana Jones film! Indiana Jones films are many things: thought-inducing is not one of them. They're basically cartoons with images superimposed unto them - and that's what people like about 'em.

I like The Last Crusade more than Raiders. The father-son relationship is much more effective than the romance in Raiders, and like @Steve McQueen says "It does not try to be overly serious, and yet is serious when it needs to be." There was something about the way the roles are performed in Raiders that took some time to get into, when I first saw it, which didn't happen with the subsequent films. I don't particularly care for Temple of Doom. Something about the violence and the staggered nature of the plot doesn't really work for this type of film, in my eyes. I'm not going to be sensationalistic about it saying "its terrible" or whatever - I like it just fine, but still significantly less than the other two. However, I agree with @Brundlefly that the different tone and style of the films forms a nice variety within the set. Its certainly admirable on the level of trying something "different". Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn't a terrible movie on the face of it, but I find the premise itself distasteful. Indiana Jones is the kind of hero that's served best by riding off into the sunset. There's no point revisiting him as an old man: its just disheartening and kind of lame, honestly. The same obviously holds true for the supposed fifth film.

It is worst than The Last Crusade. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but "worst than 4"? Come on.... Besides, how can it be worst than 4 when no such film exists? 😉 That's the entirety of Indiana Jones, in a nutshell.

Albeit intentionally so; and I'm saying this as someone who isn't necessarily the biggest fan of that film.

BloodBoal's videos don't show music scoring the black-and-white battle.

I'm pretty sure it is meant for the scene it actually scored in the film: the confrontation with Azog and the chase immediately preceding the encounter with Sauron.