Quentin Tarantino Has Some Surprising Thoughts About Indiana Jones
Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to delivering hot takes on his favorite subject: movies. There's his outspoken affection for "Psycho II" (via YouTube) for example, and the novelization of his own movie "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" is populated with such musings, usually coming from the character of stuntman Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt).
Now, Tarantino has a podcast with longtime collaborator Roger Avary on which he can keep the takes piping hot and flying out the door to his heart's content. It's called The Video Archives, and has featured lively discussions on everything from the little loved James Bond adventure "Moonraker" to John Carpenter's debut feature "Dark Star."
But it was actually on another movie podcast appearance that Tarantino delivered some surprising thoughts on the "Indiana Jones" franchise, which has its share of ripoffs. And it's safe to say that those thoughts go against the grain of prevailing opinions among fans of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' beloved adventure film series.
QT ranks The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull above The Last Crusade
The hot take in question came about on an episode of the ReelBlend podcast from CinemaBlend. Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, there to promote their own podcast, were naturally inclined to get a little scrappy when the occasion called for it, which it did when the subject of the "Indiana Jones" movies came up in the conversation.
"I like ['Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'] more than the Sean Connery one," opined the legendary director. He's referring, of course, to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," which stars Harrison Ford and Sean Connery as a bickering father-son duo on an international archaeological adventure.
"I don't like [that] one at all. ... That's such a boring one. It's boring! And he's not an interesting character. The joke is made immediately," opined Tarantino
If you know anything about how "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" changed the franchise, you know that those changes were not exactly welcomed by the franchise's fanbase. Speaking for them on the podcast was ReelBlend co-host Kevin McCarthy, who mentioned the oft-repeated idea that "Crystal Skull" isn't even a legitimate part of the "Indiana Jones" series, and many fans (jokingly and not-so-jokingly) refuse to acknowledge it. This drew Avary to come to the film's defense as well.
"Crystal Skull" might be seen by the public at large as a misstep, with its nuked fridge (via Newsweek) and extra-terrestrial theme. But we now know that the movie has at least two outspoken and potentially influential fans: Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary.
He's not alone in liking Crystal Skull
Quentin Tarantino might be known for his off-beat takes on the world of cinema, and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" certainly doesn't lay claim to the title of most beloved entry in the "Indiana Jones" franchise, but he and Roger Avary are not alone in their appreciation for the film. It might have a certain toxic radioactivity among "Indiana Jones" fans and purists, but if you check it out on Rotten Tomatoes you'll see a surprisingly high Tomatometer score of 78% — complete with a "Certified Fresh" indicator. With a mix of reviews from around its release and newer critical takes, that means that viewers might be coming around on Indy's alien adventure, albeit not surpassing the 88% score that "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" has earned on RT.
While Tarantino can certainly find some critical support for his enjoyment of "Crystal Skull," his dismissal of Sean Connery's performance in "Last Crusade" is a much hotter take. Most critics seem to enjoy the father-son chemistry between Connery and Harrison Ford in the film. Take David Stratton, for example, of the Sydney Morning Herald, who delivered some backhanded praise for the movie: "It all sounds terribly familiar, and indeed it is. But the new film does have Sean Connery, and that alone is worth the price of admission."
That might be true for some, but not for Tarantino, who's apparently unamused by the antics of the two Joneses in "Last Crusade."