• Certainly darker than the original (and Last Crusade) but it doesn’t let up on the spectacular set pieces
  • Even more than the 1981 masterpiece this is influenced by India and Gunga Din
  • The opening in medias res is spectacular with the Busby Berkeley “Anything Goes” and this is set in the 30’s—earlier than Raiders and last crusade which is WWII featuring Nazis
  • The opening, like Raiders, has a graphic match of Paramount pictures mountain
  • Pure entertainment- rock-rolling narrative
  • Tip of the cap to Lucas with the club named “Obi Wan”
  • Odd to see Dan Aykroyd in it for 20 seconds
  • Basically invented PG13
  • The first 20 minutes are absolutely wild
  • I loved Capshaw’s howling and performance- I can see why it was divisive but you have to respect the genre she’s playing in here—it’s goofy—same with the eating sequence and many of the lighter booby traps
  • The Thugee ceremony is a dazzling set piece. Absolutely gorgeous
  • Reoccurring shot of the victim (once a nameless character and once Capshaw) shooting behind their head as the haunting Amrish Puri “Mola Ram” approaches with his head set
  • It’s a dark film in some areas but incredibly light and ludicrous in others and I think that was a hard combination for a lot of critics—also, in that vein, the relationship here with Ford and Capshaw and their characters made the relationship in Raiders with Karen Allen look like Bogart and Bergman
  • Set pieces galore- most hit- I love the bridge sequence finale
  • Highly Recommend- top 10 of the year quality film