So it was a big Indiana Jones weekend. They’re saying that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull raked in something like $151 million from Thursday through Monday, despite mixed reviews. Me? I went in with low expectations and had a good time, and would rank it as a tie for second-best Indy flick with Last Crusade.
But like I said the other day, to me, it was just as exciting that the long-awaited, epic fan film, Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Templars, was going to debut its first 12 minutes over the long Memorial Day weekend. What made it even better was that when that teaser was finally released, it turned out to be pretty good.
Templars has an unusual history in that the team behind it released the first five minutes of the movie a few years ago as a teaser. It was gung-ho and action packed, and people loved it; I know because I do mini-fan film festivals at libraries all the time, and it always gets the best response of the night. Now we have the first 12 minutes of the movie, which revise that original five-minute scene fairly heavily. As a result, it’s an excellent example of how judicious editing can really alter a scene, and luckily, both the 5- and 12-minute versions are still available, so you can compare and contrast, as they used to say in high school English class.
For instance, now Indy gets in and out of the tent faster, and the fight scene is quicker, with less of its seams showing. The part where Indy elbows two people in the face no longer has everyone waiting in line to attack, and Indy himself no longer slides on the ground for miles until he winds up under the tepee. I didn’t go back and check but I think there were a few re-shot bits worked in, as the box falling on the bad guy looked different and I’m thinking that the actual shot where Indy punches the girl is new, too.
I have to admit I miss a few things from the first version, although given the new material added in, it makes perfect sense to cut them. I loved the little exchange in the tent about killing Indy first, ’cause that “OK” was priceless, but now it’s sort of redundant with that new first scene. Also, whenever I’ve shown it to audiences, they get into watching him cross the desert, figuring that he’s lost, so that when he climbs over the dune and approaches the guy outside the tent, they think he’s found safety and shelter…and then he decks the guy. Given the new material, that surprise is gone, but of course, it’s by necessity. All of the new material seems to work for me, although I thought the burial at the start dragged a bit.
Whatever. This is all quibbling; if you find yourself jonesing for some more Jones, visit the Templars website and check out the 12-minute preview and the trailer for the whole movie. And when you’re done, hey, voice your opinion on it in the comments section here—what’d you think of it?
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