Indiana Jones and Die Hard are Basically the Same Series

I’ve had this theory for a while now — ever since the fourth installments were announced for both series. They were two of the great trilogies, and they had to be milked for more cash years down the road. Star Wars fell to the same fate, even more spectacularly, though. I figured with Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull coming out at midnight, this would be a good time, especially since this 4th Indiana Jones movie might screw up my theory. Let me string out all the parallels between the two series so you can see how similar they really are.

Die Hard and Raiders of the Lost Ark

– Held up as classics within their genre, and are always brought up when it comes to discussing the most entertaining movies of all-time.

– Anything else I could say here is encompassed by the fact that they are both incredible movies.

(If it weren’t for Star Wars, I could say that they both made their stars action heroes.)

Die Harder and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

– The black sheep within their respective series.

– Arguably “darker” than the other installments. One has a plane full of people crashing, the other has hearts being ripped out.

– The weakest sidekicks. One has an annoying Asian kid and a screaming woman, while the other has a janitor and a weird-sounding black dude.

Die Hard with a Vengeance and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

– Usually regarded as the second-best in their series, with some people preferring these over the originals (these people are insane, though).

– Star power in the sidekick role. Samuel L. Jackson and Sean Connery bring the awesome.

– A return to the villains of the original. The former has the brother of the villain of the original, the latter brings the Nazis back.

Live Free or Die Hard and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (this is before me seeing the latter)

– Released over a decade after the 3rd installment.

– Probably the most ridiculous premise of each series.

– Young white guy sidekick. One annoying, and one not-as-annoying. (NONONONONO)

– More noticable CG effects than the other three combined (from what I saw in the trailer).

Ok, I’m obviously pushing it here with the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I haven’t seen it, so I shouldn’t be comparing. But I can also make some distinctions with the fourth movies in these series.

Live Free or Die Hard basically only had Bruce Willis back, and it had a lower MPAA rating than the rest of the series. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has Spielberg directing — just like the other three — which is obviously very important. Only Die Hard 1 and 3 had John McTiernan behind the camera, and it showed. The excuse for Temple of Doom comparatively sucking is Spielberg giving Lucas too much say.

In summary, I feel like this installment of Indiana Jones isn’t going to be the debacle that Live Free or Die Hard was, but I can’t see it stacking up to the two best Indiana Jones films. If anything, it has a shot at eclipsing Temple, much like some people feel Live Free or Die Hard surpassed Die Harder. I’m not even sure I can give it that, as Live Free can barely be called a Die Hard film.

And if you cite the high critic ratings — Live Free and Die Hard was well-reviewed too. Watch the fans of the series rank this installment where it really belongs. I really do hope it’s high, I just doubt it.

~ by CajoleJuice on May 21, 2008.