Indyfans and the Quest For Fortune and Glory (2008) – A Review
A review of the 2008 documentary Indyfans and the Quest For Fortune and Glory about the passion fans feel towards the iconic character of Indiana Jones
A low-budget documentary that was riding the wave of excitement of Indiana Jones’ theatrical return that I had never heard of….until I spotted it in the bargain bin for one dollar. I thought “not a bad deal for a fun sounding documentary”. It’s about the affection fans have for the character of Indiana Jones it should be pretty good or at least worth a buck.
Uhhhh……
Unfortunately, this examination of the Indiana Jones phenomenon, doesn’t offer much insight into the character or the love he has generated from fans. Instead it’s more like a slapped together series of random interviews from fans who simply recite the same thing – which is “I love Indiana Jones!” That’s about it. For a look at one of the most exciting characters in cinema the film is extremely boring.
Filled with talking head interviews, man on the street opinions and the occasional interview with individuals who actually worked on the Indy films (too few) it’s a very dry and longwinded doc. People are repeatedly asked mundane questions, such are their favorite Indy film and do they remember the theme song.
The films themselves are barely ever mentioned; in fact almost half the film focuses on the Indy rides at Disney World. Sure they’re fine to mention, and the filmmaker director says himself that the amusement park stage show was his first introduction to the character and when his love for the series began.
It’s kind of odd; way too much time is spent on fans reactions to the rides and the design of them. The fact the popularity of the films and character are the only reason these rides and stage shows came into existence in the first place are kind of skipped over.
Apparently there was no cooperation with Lucasfilm to use any footage from any of the Indy films, which makes the talking head interviews tiresome since there is nothing to cut away from them. It’s all pretty disappointing.
Unlike the fun documentary Trekkies, this offers very little insight into the Indy fans or why exactly Indy has endured and became one of the most popular fictional characters in cinema. The film sounded much more promising sitting in the bargain bin before watching it. If you’re an Indy fan yourself, you’re better off watching one of the DVD extras on the actual films. Skip this one.
