Raiders of the Lost Adventure Movies

I love adventure stories. Doc Savage, Indiana Jones, Professor Challenger and the Lost World, Conan and many others. The early and mid twentieth century were full of adventure tales. The world was not fully explored and full of mystery. The pulp magazines of the time were chock full of adventure.

Where do we find adventure today? Our society seems skeptical about adventure. The world seems fully explored and there are not a mesa full of dinosaurs to be had. No Martian canals or Tars Tarkus to lead us. The moon is a dead rock; no Lunarians lurking about. The Earth is not hollow; no Pellucidar, no Ka-Zar with Zabu his Saber-Tooth Tiger. We seem to find adventure in the past far more than the present. Or maybe that's where I find myself looking...

At the movies this summer there are a few adventure films, I am even looking forward to some of them. All are sequels or remakes.


First off, last weekend saw "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" from Disney. I haven't seen the first, so I won't be seeing this one. Caspian did good money, not great, but solid.


Then comes the behemoth of adventure films, the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". I am really wondering which Indy we will see. The tough as nails, gets through by brains and sheer force of will Indy from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", or the luckiest man on Earth from "Temple of Doom." I'm praying for the Indy with guts. (Friday, May 23 from Paramount)


Next is "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" from the minds of Mike Mignola and Guillermo Del Toro. I am really looking forward to seeing Big Red again. I'm had the good fortune to meet both of those men and in addition to being brilliant, they are wonderful people. This is my most anticipated film of the summer. (Friday, July 11 from Universal)


The same week is also "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D" starring Brendan Fraser. Word on the street is not good on this one... (Friday, July 11 from Warner Bros)


I am really hoping that "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" doesn't suck. It has been a long time since we last saw Mulder and Skully - OK, not as long as since we've seen Indiana and Marion - and this movie was really off my radar for some reason. I like the X-Files and I hope it's good. (July 25 from Fox)



"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is yet another summer sequel and another Brendan Fraser film. There are good people in this - Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li. Here's hoping it's good. Another period adventure film, this one in China. I did enjoy the previous Mummy films, and Rob Cohen has made some good films. Some lesser ones, too...

In the future I'm sure I will write more about adventure fiction and comics. May you find a little adventure in your life.