Lucas Says Indiana Jones Is Old-Fashioned Fun

By Katey Rich

Everything's coming up Indiana Jones for me lately. Over the weekend I began what will be a three-part series of catching up with the original films (snap judgment on Raiders: more magic than expected!), and today a mailing tube arrives in the office, containing four brand-new prints of the original three posters as well as the new one (snap judgment on all four: gorgeous!). To top it all off, George Lucas gave an interview with EW.com that ensures that the movie will make pretty much all my dreams come true.

"We didn't make it bigger and better, we made it exactly the same. So if you loved the other ones, you'll love this one. But if you expect to have F-14s flying under freeways � that isn't there. It's just another period adventure movie with this wacky archaeologist. It's funny. I think it's funnier than the other ones, and it's exciting. So it's got all the stuff that all the other ones have. And Harrison's great in it."

The thing about watching Raiders of the Lost Ark years and years after seeing it as a child, in a time of summers populated by moody superheroes and bloated pirate productions, is how simple and childish it is-- in a good way. We constantly see Indy's shadow thrown against the wall by a flickering torch, not in some attempt to mythologize him, but because it's cool. Nearly all of the fight scenes are hilarious, whether it's the sheer implausibility of Indy hanging off the grill of a car or a Nazi making some kind of dumb decision. Don't even get me started on all the mixed-up baskets on the streets of Cairo.

Raiders feels old-fashioned not because it's set in the 30s, but because its values are old-fashioned-- truth, justice, and the American way, you might say. It thrills me that no one is trying to mess with the formula. Lucas himself was guilty of it with the Star Wars prequels-- full of CGI bells and whistles that obscured the great humanity of the original three films. If he and Spielberg can keep their word this time, give the people exactly what we want and expect, then both filmmakers and moviegoers will be rewarded.