Cannes: Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

I was one of the lucky ones able to reserve a ticket to one of just two screenings of the hottest movie of 2023. So I felt like an intruder at the end, when a substantial portion of the audience clapped and cheered. I couldn't stop thinking of the incredible amount of money used to do absolutely nothing original or relevant. The good news, at least, is that those who feel a particularly special bond to the Indiana Jones franchise will probably enjoy seeing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

While James Mangold is no Steven Spielberg, it's important to note what he's up against here... 

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"Boba Fett?! Boba Fett?! Where??"

by Nathaniel R

Since Boba Fett is too boring to look at here's a cute pic of Harrison Ford, his ass, and Chewbacca from Return of the Jedi (1983)

I've always been convinced that the world's inexplicable Boba Fett fandom is entirely thanks to Harrison Ford's panicked funny line reading in Return of the Jedi (1983) "Boba Fett?! Boba Fett?! Where??" wherein the bounty hunter character appears for a hot second before Han Solo accidentally dispatches him. But really, even that doesn't quite explain it. It's like building a huge fandom around that cocky swordsman that Indiana Jones takes down in one of Raiders of the Lost Ark's funniest surprises, you know?

As you've undoubtedly heard, the helmeted hunter is now getting his own "A Star Wars Story" style movie courtesy of Disney and director James Mangold (Logan). This news seems incredibly dumb. Such a blank character. Or, to put it in funnier terms... 

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Review: The Wolverine

When Marvel Comics first introduced Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four to the world in the 1960s, they sparked a comic book revolution. No longer were superheroes the new gods, indestructible and unfailingly heroic Others from distant planets, lands, times (see: Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America) or mysterious 1% recluses (Batman) but something closer to heightened neighbors. Your classmate or coworker or mailman might be a mutant. You might stumble into capes or spandex yourself, should you cross paths with gamma rays or a radioactive spider. The Silver Age heroes had to hold down jobs, keep secrets, and navigate angsty romances or complicated family dynamics. If superheroes were real they'd be hounded by the tabloid press and paparazzi.

In other words... "Superheroes - they're just like us!"

But some super powers are far from relatable. This summer indestructibility has raised its dull head again as the chief power of both the Man of Steel and The Wolverine. This power lacks the proxy pizazz that comes with cooler mutations like flying, telekinesis, web-slinging, flaming on, and so on. Indestructibility just isn't inherently interesting, or at least not visually rich, good only for sticking around. And Wolverine, the world's favorite furry angry Canadian sure does, loitering about the cinema and historical signposts of the ages, too. [more...]

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