Frank Darabont's script for Indiana Jones IV, entitled Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods, is an archaeological wonder in its own right. However, we've received a bootleg copy of the script that's making its way around the internet, which is reported, but not confirmed, to be the real thing. We read it, and it seems pretty legit, or the person who is faking it is a terrific screenwriter. Either way, here's a review.
CAUTION: SPOILERS EVERYWHERE - IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN 'INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, READ THIS AT YOUR PERIL.
First off, the script is largely the same, storywise, focusing on the discovery of the crystal skull, as well as the lost city in Peru where the Gods were thought to live, only to discover that these "gods" were aliens with a culture advanced thousands of years beyond our own.
Also, Marion Ravenwood is in the script. In fact, she's featured even more prominently than in the actual film. And, yes, she and Indy end up married in the end. Oxley's there, as well as a double-crossing friend, and, to my surprise, the "nuking the fridge" sequence and the giant ants are there, as well.
However, also in this script are Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. and Sallah, making awesome cameo appearances that really help cement the whole history of Indiana Jones, and tie the whole saga together.
What's not in the script? Well, Shia LaBoeuf's character, Mutt, for one thing. There's no mention of a son and no appearance of one either. Now, while I didn't necessarily think that Mutt's character was one of the most egregiously awful things about the movie, his absence definitely makes room for more character development on Indy's part, and it allows the story to shine through, in opposition to the constant 'wink-wink-he's-his-son-but-neither-of-them-know-it-yet' portions of Crystal Skull that drove me nuts.
This script is awesome in exactly the places that Crystal Skull was lame. Just those few flips in the sequence removed all of the punch from this really excellent, well thought out, super exciting script, and rendered it vacuous and boring. In other words, Spielberg and Lucas chose the right story, but they neutered it to focus on the wrong things.
There are at least three awesome action sequences in this script, including a fighter plane chase that would have blown the doors off the theater had it actually happened on film. In addition, the double-crossing friend is a Russian, which makes the whole America vs. the Soviet Union thing work a lot better. Oxley's character isn't like a family pet, and there are some nods to the Indiana Jones mythology that really work well here.
Perhaps the biggest difference in the script is the treatment of Marion Ravenwood. First off, she doesn't spend the entirety of the story standing in the background grinning like she's happy to have a job. She's the Marion we came to know and love in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and her story arc is so much more believable in this script that it's a night-and-day experience.
Also, the aliens are mean. They're a legitimate threat, not fascinating, but terrifying, and there's an implication that they have been the reason that humans believe in God for the past several thousand years. The resolution of the plot is so much more satisfying here than in the actual film, and the script just shows that Lucas and Spielberg were too soft to make the choices that turned the plot a little dark and/or scary.
At the end of the day, Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods is 100% a better script than the one that was shot for the film. This would have been the right way to close out the series, and it would have been a return to form that no one could have expected, instead of a movie that everyone places just above the abysmal Temple of Doom in the Indy canon.
On a related note, do yourself a favor and give a listen to Patton Oswalt's hilarious bit called "I Will Kill George Lucas with a Shovel."
[update] I'm not done yet. Cookie also linked me to this "abridged script" which definitely doesn't pull any punches.
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4 comments:
Speaking of things relating to Karen Allen, I wrote an unsolicited script for Starman 2 back in 1998. It was my first script and I quit college to finish it. It’s been gathering dust ever since. I sent it to Jeff Bridges and John carpenter, although I would prefer if Carpenter didn’t direct a sequel, maybe Frank Darabont or someone. I wrote some good f/x sequences and some interesting characters. I’m pretty sure I’ll never be involved, but I’d to see the f/x scene from the beach being incorporated, (Jeff’s manager Neil will know the one, totally plagiarised from another movie, but it would look great on film today). If anyone has any questions, email me at hansenfilm@yahoo.ie and I’ll answer them. (Although I won’t give away any plot points. And yes there is a son and indeed, I actually have the perfect casting suggestion!!
Until we actually get to read the script, the guy who wrote that article has about as much credit as you do.
Is that you, George? Have you come to my blog in an attempt to defend your lousy film?
Credit, schmedit. IV still lacked the magic of the other ones. Excuse me, while I hang onto the glimmer that there might have been a better version out there. Lucas is becoming a better villain than he himself could ever write or direct. The mad man that crushes the childhood memories of adults in 2.5 hours.
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