The REEL Addict 

Dear Mr. Lucas,

With INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL coming closer, I know this plea might be a little bit late given that production is done and all, but I feel I need to get it off my chest regardless.

You better not have screwed this up.

Though I enjoyed the original STAR WARS trilogy, I loved the INDIANA JONES films. I’ve seen RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE something like over 100 times combined. To me they are not just films, but experiences, ones that turned me into a little child again, full of excitement and dumbfounded awe as I watched. It’s a feeling that seeing the first teaser trailer for INDY 4 gave me again as the Indy theme swelled up as I watched his silhouette appear. I felt drunk on sheer anticipation and excitement.

Don’t screw that up. Don’t let this become just another unwanted, hackneyed, pieced-together sequel that kills the memory of its predecessors. And before you accuse me of being too harsh, let’s be honest here: you have a pretty bad track record. I’m not just talking about the mess that was EPISODE ONE and the abomination that was Jar Jar Binks, but the persistent rumors about your dubious handling of INDY 4. Most notably there was the fact that Frank Darabont had worked with Spielberg for a year on a script, Spielberg called it the best script since RAIDERS, he even signed off on it to go to production (as did Harrison Ford), and yet somehow it wasn’t good enough for you? Or, to use your own words: “[Spielberg and Ford] wanted to go off on some other tangent. I said, ‘I’m not going to do that. I’m going to stick with [my idea] no matter what, so we either do this or we don’t. That’s it.’”

Given that you’ve proven your sense of quality is far inferior to Darabont’s, Spielberg’s and Ford’s, those are not exactly inspiring words, but more like bloated with your own self-inflated ego. It’s precisely why if INDY 4 turns out to be crap, the blame is going to fall squarely on you and no one else. Maybe if it doesn’t turn out well, I can at least pacify myself with the thought that the rest of the films will always be there to watch, and they will always be great. It’s just that I would rather have another awesome entry in the series than one that taints and pisses on the original films’ spirits.

It’s on you, Lucas. It’s all on you.

Your truly,

theREELaddict