I consider producer and director Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones films to be among the last of the great adventure franchises. We’re talking about the original trio of films from the 1980s, not the mediocre “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” that was produced in 2008 (and inarguably the weakest link in the entire series). The series had just the right mixture of peppy pacing, high tension, exotic locales, and lovable B-movie corniness. In other words, it provided plenty of spills and thrills without taking itself too seriously.
These days, we’re subjected to adventure fare that is supposedly targeted at families but often misses the mark. Not only are they oversaturated with gratuitous amounts of CGI (to compensate for overly derivative or uninteresting storylines), but they also typically feature too much unnecessary violence. Indeed, in today’s cynical times, adventure films from the days of yore are considered passé by many modern audiences. Oddly, good, wholesome entertainment is frowned upon.
