BANGOR – Doug Grant was a little kid when “Raiders of the Lost Ark” came out, and in the nearly 30 years since then, he’s watched all three “Indiana Jones” movies so many times he’s lost count.
And that’s including the past week, during which he watched “Raiders,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” several times in anticipation of the opening of the fourth installment of the action series, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Grant was waiting in line with a near-capacity crowd to see the film at a midnight showing at Bangor Mall Cinemas Wednesday night.
“I’ve been trading the movies from the boxed set back and forth with my father-in-law,” said Grant, an Orrington resident. “I have the theme from ‘Raiders’ as my ring tone. I’m a huge, huge fan.”
From those who saw “Raiders” when it originally came out to those who weren’t even born when Indy first cracked his whip, fans of the swashbuckling archaeologist were more than happy to stay up until 2 a.m. to get the first look at the movie.
“I always kind of wanted to be an archeologist. I’m a computer geek, but secretly I want to be Indiana Jones,” said Matt Day, 19, a computer engineering student at the University of Maine, who was decked out in a full Indiana Jones costume for the premiere. “I remember I saw ‘Raiders’ when I was 13, and it was pretty much the coolest thing ever.”
“The action is just awesome. My favorite scene is at the end of ‘Raiders,’ with the face-melting when they see the ark. It’s the kind of thing that traumatizes you as a kid, but you learn to love it,” said Jake Cote, 18, a Bangor High School student, who also donned the iconic brown suede fedora and bull whip for the evening. “It’s such an ingrained part of our pop culture.”
“My dad told me I had to wear his hat and jacket to the movie,” said Aliza Thibodeau, also 18 and a Bangor High student. “It’s been in the attic for years. We watched the movies together growing up.”
Bangor Mall Cinemas plans to have midnight showings of all the major releases this summer, including “Sex and the City” and “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.” It has also partnered with Kay-Bee Toys to offer action figures and other items from the many superhero flicks out this year.
“We do this for the diehard fans,” said Sue Bragdon, general manager of the theater. “We do it for the ones who will stay up until 2 a.m. on a weeknight to see these movies.”
Reaction to the movie was mixed, though generally positive. People didn’t care for the digital computer effects at the end quite so much, but people loved Shia LaBouef’s turn as Mutt, a motorcycle-riding, switchblade-wielding 1950s-style greaser. They loved the sharp, funny one-liners in the script, and the fantastic car chase scenes.
And they loved Harrison Ford, who, despite being 20 years older than the last time he starred in an Indiana Jones movie, managed to remain a totally believable action star – albeit a more grizzled, slightly less agile action star. After all, he’s Indiana Jones. The man survived guns, swords, blow darts, falling rocks, Nazis, an assortment of explosions, swarms of insects, piles of snakes, car crashes, bomb blasts and the wrath of God. All in the name of archaeology.
“And he never loses his hat,” said Thibodeau.
eburnham@bangordailynews.net
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