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'Indiana Jones' and the Rip-offs of Doom

latimes.com — When he debuted in 1981, Indiana Jones was never meant to be a wholly original character. And when Hollywood finds something unique -- especially when it does the kind of business Indiana Jones did -- it gets copied and cloned and ripped off in every way imaginable.

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  • xerexes1, on 05/22/2008, -3/+27At least John Rhys-Davies managed to appear in 3 out of the 10 copy-cat films. However, I really hate scrolling through 10 pages.
    • rspeed, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3And 2 out of 4 of the actual films. It's rather funny that after appearing in so many bad movies he demanded too much money, so Sallah isn't in Crystal Skull. Can't be pride.
    • thefloss, on 05/22/2008, -7/+1Do you mean scrolling down after using the Firefox repagination tool, or clicking next ten times? If it's the latter, google 'firefox repagination'.
      If not, quit whining. There was ten paragraphs and ten pictures. That's not all going to fit on one page.
  • mmdieterich, on 05/22/2008, -4/+76missing: National Treasure. I felt both films were a very Disney-like Indiana Jones movie, not a good thing in my opinion.
    • jsebrech, on 05/22/2008, -0/+14And also don't forget "The Librarian". I really don't care whether movies are rip-offs or not. Movies (and all other creative arts) should be judged on their merits, not on how they avoid being like anything that came before.
      • GreatSunJester, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2I felt that the two "Librarian" movies were more of an homage to the old pulp action-adventure movies of long ago. More light hearted romps carrying only the message of family level entertainment than the brooding action pictures on the big screen.
    • MaxMWood, on 05/22/2008, -3/+9I think I saw an advert for National Treasure too where Nicholas Cage sticks his hand down some hole and pretends something is eating his hand off.. or something like that.

      Im pretty sure thats copied right out of Indiana Jones.
      • SkippyDoorknob, on 05/22/2008, -2/+2I don't recall a scene like that in any Indy movie.
      • Fiftysev3n, on 05/22/2008, -1/+0That was Ghostbusters with the toaster scene.
      • migitalwarfare, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2I'm pretty sure he's referring to temple of doom, when the chick has to reach into the hole and push the stone to stop the roof from crushing indy
        • FearlessFreep, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4Flash Gordon with the creature in the stump and the rite of passage
      • Rickler, on 05/22/2008, -1/+8Yeah and like how they drove a jeep and stuff.. i copyright that. No movies can drive jeeps from now on; it's already be done, sorry.
      • bat-21, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2Roman Holiday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Uoezs6Nm0
      • nextyoyoma, on 05/23/2008, -0/+2I'm pretty sure that's called "homage." and, as bat-21 said, it's originally from Roman Holiday.
    • tmyprod, on 05/22/2008, -2/+8I thought "National Treasure" was mostly a rip-off of "The DaVinci Code"
      • NJank, on 05/22/2008, -0/+5it couldn't have ripped off both?
      • halleyscomet, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2And "The DaVinci Code" wasn't a ripoff of Indiana Jones??????
      • migitalwarfare, on 05/22/2008, -4/+5I thought "National Treasure" was just a rip-off. Who'd seriously pay $10 to see a Nick Cage movie?
        • caramba420, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2I'd pay $10 to see Raising Arizona in a theatre
    • mrfunktastic, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2What's really missing is Tawny Kitaen in "The Perils of Gwendoline (in the land of the Yik Yak)
    • ooby, on 05/22/2008, -4/+1The most Disney-like Indiana Jones movie would be "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls," as Disney owns Lucasarts.
    • Hoogs, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3Sure they were kind of a rip-off, but I thoroughly enjoyed those movies. I know they were over-the-top and everything, but they knew that going in and just aimed to make some great action flicks.
  • snareguy17, on 05/22/2008, -8/+3I'm just waiting to see all the Chuck Norris comments from Firewalker.
  • twistedlogic149, on 05/22/2008, -17/+45The Mummy is by far the most blatant rip off of Indy and nobody ever brings it up.
    • toxicityj, on 05/22/2008, -4/+31Because it's a good movie...
      • CrackyJSquirrel, on 05/22/2008, -9/+2LOL! Best joke so far on Digg today..
    • orangefly, on 05/22/2008, -1/+12i've always thought that but i still enjoy the movie....
    • kriminalintent, on 05/22/2008, -2/+9Because series is older if you count the original black and white Mummy, witch was a horror back in the day.
      • bat-21, on 05/22/2008, -4/+2The first Mummy movie was a rip-off of Dracula that came out the year before.
        • sadisticmind, on 05/22/2008, -3/+0shhhh...go to sleep, go to sleep shhh
    • MasterGrief, on 05/22/2008, -1/+11People tend to bring up the originality of things only if they dislike them -- Seems to me that most people liked The Mummy, so that explains that.
    • malechite, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2Brendan Frazier even said himself that everyone wants to play Indiana Jones, and he got to.
    • pennvneff, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3Nope a movie called, "The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck" is the most blatant rip-off of Indiana Jones ever made.

      Go look it up.
  • mjones77, on 05/22/2008, -16/+1Sahara is no way is a rip off of indiana jones, that movie was ***** good.
    • insertAliasHere, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2"Good" isn't mutually exclusive with "rip off."
    • MoralThreat, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2Says the only person who saw it.
      • ooby, on 05/22/2008, -1/+1I saw it, but I thought it was terrible.
  • dha07030, on 05/22/2008, -1/+21Web designers, page up and down are there for a reason.
    • blechler, on 05/22/2008, -1/+15Page up & down does not load a new ad on the page.
  • wacomwacoff, on 05/22/2008, -0/+13"Tales of the Gold Monkey" actually predates Indy; it was in development and production before Raiders of the Lost Ark debuted. Great show; I'd love to see it get a proper DVD release.
  • chrisinsocalif, on 05/22/2008, -1/+8Heck, people just follow the money path, but no one will out-do the original.
  • leerayIG88, on 05/22/2008, -10/+6I like Indian Jones is awesome. Enough said..
  • diggdong, on 05/22/2008, -4/+5I've seen Firewalker like a hundred times. Genius.
  • iamgreg007, on 05/22/2008, -9/+6Tia Carerra is so hot in the last photo here...
    http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/l ...

    I was actually waiting for Crystal Skull to be listed on one of the Rip Offs of Doom.
    • WELLDOITLIVE, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2Tia Carrere
    • sadisticmind, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0shes sooo hot! when i saw her in waynes world *Drools*

      *fyi, i was 5 when it came out*
  • Flamancot, on 05/22/2008, -23/+4Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sucks a chode. A nasty uncircumsized soviet chode. I don't want to hear or see anything more about Indiana Jones for awhile... Long enough for me to forget how ridiculous that movie was so I can go back to enjoying Raiders and whatnot on daytime tv like always. Why did they bring this franchise back? What? Why? And more importantly, what the hell possessed me to see it? Nobody else see it, it sucks.
  • iruber1337, on 05/22/2008, -1/+16Of course Indiana Jones wasn't a rip off of Allan Quatermain novels...
    • blechler, on 05/22/2008, -0/+9Or the serial movies of the 30s & 40s.
  • DiggOrNotToDigg, on 05/22/2008, -10/+7I don't get it who ripped of DOOM??
    • vdog, on 05/22/2008, -1/+3No-one. The title is a pun based on 'The Temple of Doom'.
      • jaydub, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0yeah, I'm kinda guessing Diggornot's post was a joke. at least, I hope it was...
  • markp93, on 05/22/2008, -2/+4there were like, words, or something with that last one. I forgot what they were.
  • zadadka, on 05/22/2008, -7/+2Dugg for article title alone.
    I lol'ed.
  • daschupa, on 05/22/2008, -6/+17I really don't see half of those films as rip offs. I think they actually have a category for films like these called adventure, but that might just be me, I mean Schindler's List had nazi's, maybe it was a rip off too.
    • jjpertusch, on 05/22/2008, -0/+5agreed. there were a couple that are clearly rip-offs, but just because its an adventure movie where people are going after something sweet doesn't make it a rip-off.
    • lebruf, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4I concur. One may as well throw Goonies in the mix as well even if it was a Spielberg flick. It had the skeletons, the romance, boody twaps and the pinchers of power.
  • JosefH, on 05/22/2008, -8/+2*insert new-faggish annoying cuss-fest with an embarrassing pun*
  • buckygrad, on 05/22/2008, -16/+2What about Lara Croft: Tomb Raider?
    • rspeed, on 05/22/2008, -0/+8RTFA?
    • pirategonzo, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3Really?
    • fani, on 05/22/2008, -0/+7Yeah, what about it ?

      Read the ***** article and you'll get the answer. Kids can't even be bothered to click these days
  • Mr.Gone, on 05/22/2008, -6/+3It's common place on the internet for people to emulate that which is popular. In this case we have a person comparing items to media from the past. This is a common theme on web-logs or "blogs" as they are know to those in the "in", and are expressed with a certain, shall I say, pompousness and self serviant attitude to make the writer seem like a total "D-Bag" as they are known online. These writers seldom know when it is a good time to stop writing. Thusly, they dig themselves into a hole in which every manner of insult and beratement can be cast down upon them.


    Okay to sum up, this guy is a douche-nozzle who thinks he can make everything a rip off and salivates at the next movie in a franchise so he can write a "scathing" expose. He can suck the fattest parts of my ass.
    • zadadka, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2Your first sentence was "on the money"....the rest detracted....
      ...IMHO of course :)
    • lolinyerface, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Douche-nozzle....I love it.
  • mCanada, on 05/22/2008, -1/+7Relic Hunter: One of the few TV shows that gets better without sound or subtitles.
  • judicar, on 05/22/2008, -0/+12Just because Indy was the first to the big screen doesn't mean all the rest are rip-offs. Tales of the Golden Monkey was an awesome show and Indy was a rip-off of Allen Quartermain anyways.
  • trackerbishop, on 05/22/2008, -1/+9REVIEW of IJ4 (NO SPOILERS): i saw the midnight viewing of ij4. twas a fun ride, if you are expecting suspense you wont be happy but if you just want a funny movie with good ol harrison ford with his good lines and good script, youll enjoy it. it doesnt take itself seriously at all and if you want an idea of what its like, think of when marcus kills the german in the tank with the pen. its just a fun movie. the plot is lacking but its still better than temple of doom. i give it an 8/10, ill give last crusade a 10/10, raiders 9/10, and doom a 6.5/10
    • Flamancot, on 05/22/2008, -2/+3Eh, I found myself wanting to leave after the first twenty minutes. "Doesn't take itself seriously" seems to be a huge understatement - the movie was simply ridiculous. I was embarassed being there... I love that Harrison Ford, I got plenty of love for Indy as a franchise, and I've never had anything concrete against Even Stevens - still.... i didn't enjoy crystal skull at all. [see overly-harsh and grossly inappropriate comment buried above for details]
    • Eoxx, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2The crystal Skull should not reach more than 6/10 ... sorry
      I agree with Flamancot ...
      The direction in the scenario they have chosen was a bad idea - if not done in a subtile way ... And they don't do it in a subtile way ..
      The actors are not great except Harisson Ford ...
      Shia is really acting poorly (I don't know if he can do better) -
      Hope they won't make a new one with him as lead actor...

      You see the Idea of Spielberg and Lucas - was to make a film with the 'style of the 60's' with all stereotypes linked to the period - Area 51 - USSR spies etc nuclear bombs and all the cold war stuff ... They are doing a copy paste of the comic books/movies/ideas of that time .. with reference like Tarzan ! etc ..
      You also have reference to American graffiti ..
      The problem is that if you look at the movie without that in mind - you see a stupid B movie and you are embarrassed of being there [my thought was - Oh no ! they won't dare go that way.. Helas they did ]..

      O my god they killed Indy ... you b.... !
  • Misterberu, on 05/22/2008, -1/+33I'm sorry, but most of the stuff in this gallery is complete BS. While I don't like Indiana Jones copy cats, Sahara was based on a very popular book franchise, Dirk Pitt, and Lara Croft Tomb raider is a video game that I think is quite different in many ways... but my point is that just because something involves venturing in an unfamiliar, sometimes tropical landscape, doesn't mean it's an Indiana Jones ripoff. Neither if it is because of treasure. If what this article says is true, then the Crocodile Hunter is also an Indiana Jones ripoff, why? Because he dresses in beige and runs off to exotic locations (exotic, compared to your average citizen.). I agree that Firewalker and a few others are pretty much ripoffs, but Indiana Jones isn't the ONLY adventure story out there. There are many stories that involve the main character(s) going off on some stupid adventure, looking for treasure and what-not, and if you considered all of them as "Indy" ripoffs (clever) then you'd have hundreds of supposedly "unoriginal" films/books/stories/etc. Simply put, adventuring and treasure hunting has been around since the dawn of the stone age, and if you're too cool to enjoy watching it, then don't, but don't call every movie in the adventure genre a ripoff, just go watch something else, and stop bugging people who may happen to enjoy the franchise. (Which oddly enough, I don't, but I do think quite a few entries in this article shouldn't be there.) (...and Chuck Norris is god.)
  • KunoJ, on 05/22/2008, -1/+3I'm sorry, I liked Firewalker. Jumped on the VHS when I found it in a bargain bin somewhere.

    Lou Gosset stole the film.
  • zadadka, on 05/22/2008, -0/+28Shakespeare (you might have heard of him) once said something to the effect that "there are only seven plot-lines, all stories are adaptions of those seven".
    • VAXcat, on 05/22/2008, -0/+9 Actually Roger Bacon really said that first, Shakespeaare just stole it from him.
    • electricdragon, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4Lucas claims there are 22.
  • tehjarvis, on 05/22/2008, -2/+6Sahara was such a horrible movie. I can't believe I actually sat through that. Novel wasn't bad, but damn that movie was horrific.
    • Hoogs, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2Agreed. The people I went with seemed to like it but I absolutely hated that movie.
    • fquednau, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2I liked it. So what? Are we better off now?
  • iamtheratio, on 05/22/2008, -0/+8Wait.... wait... so now everything dealing with tombs and/or artifacts is considered an Indiana Jones rip-off?

    Thank you for this laugh.
  • monkeyangst, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Man, when I was 9 I totally dug "Tales of the Gold Monkey."
  • kriminalintent, on 05/22/2008, -2/+5page 3, chuck norris!
  • MutatedNantuko, on 05/22/2008, -7/+1Ugh, I saw Indian Jones last night and 80 percent of the movie is CG. It's unbelievable from the very start. But hey, at least it's kind of funny and entertaining, sadly it's no longer an Indiana Jones movie.

    Oh, and they managed to make references to every other IJ movie more than 5 times each.
    • ryan83189, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Yeah, but how was INDIANA Jones?
    • heir0fisildur, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Personally I didn't think the CG was overplayed at all, especially by todays standards. Certainly there was plenty of CG to go around, but if you sat back and watched it for what it was worth the CG didn't slap you in your face like it normally does. Although there is a character at the very end who would have been better done without CG at all, like the way things use to be done.

      Also Harrison Ford looked old in the first sequence but not as much after that. I'm not sure why that was exactly.
  • BadAssFlip, on 05/22/2008, -4/+0I went to see the movie last night and felt asleep twice
  • shitheadcgp, on 05/22/2008, -2/+2Indiana Jones was a lame Castle of Cagliostro rip off. Cagliostro is a better film in every way.
  • ultraJesus, on 05/22/2008, -1/+4I actually liked Sahara
    • thrashertm, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3So did I, and I read every Dirk Pitt book years before the movie ever came out.

      My favorite ones are Treasure, Dragon, and Sahara.
  • akav0id, on 05/22/2008, -0/+5I'd rather have a 'rip off' than a remake of any film
  • MoralThreat, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4No San Fernando Jones and the Temple of Poon?
  • lazydrumhead, on 05/22/2008, -0/+15Genre != knockoff

    buried.
  • mdcraig62, on 05/22/2008, -1/+17I would be watching my back if I called Chuck Norris a "rip-off". Just saying...
    • dollar0dot02, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Walker is rip-off of McCloud . Take that, Chuck Norris.

      (Now excuse me while I hide in a mouse hole)
    • AdvancedSoul, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2Watch your back? we are talking about Chuck Norris here, you'd have to watch your back, front and sides.
  • NeoCortex, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4How about Goonies? It was Indiana Jones for kids, basically.
  • AbeVigoda, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2This ass contradicted himself in the first damn sentence.
  • Serial0Hacker, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2The Waaaammmmbaance is running all day today.
  • jcastillo81, on 05/22/2008, -4/+2I just rewatched Temple of Doom for the first time in years and found it to be hilariously racist. I've never been to India but I'm pretty sure they don't eat live baby snakes, chilled monkey brains, or eyeball soup over there...even in the 1940's.
    • Morality, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3Actually I'm pretty sure its traditional Indian cuisine and your just an idiot. At best you don't understand the world around you and at worst you are in fact, racist.
      • bikepundit, on 05/23/2008, -1/+1Ok Mr. Morality, if that is your real name.
    • DrPh0bius, on 05/23/2008, -0/+0I had to go to India for business not too long ago... and that really isnt that far off. I mean, people were pooping in the street! Whatever you have heard about the Ganges being polluted... it doesnt even come close to standing there and smelling it. It smells like a sewer! People bath in it, wash clothes in it, and then there are people peeing and craping in it as well.

      With all of the companies outsourcing there, I really did forget that India is pretty much a third world country.
  • Hoogs, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1So, anyone see Indy 4 yet? How is it?
    • stmyers, on 05/22/2008, -1/+1I thought it was terrible; far too self-aware, and campy, with an awful script and storyline, forced and predictable character development, and jekyll and hyde effects. I know Jones' has always been campy, but this time it's out of control and really takes away from the enjoyment.
    • heir0fisildur, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2There's a bunch of naysayers in the digg group right now, but I thought it was enjoyable. Certainly not as good as Raiders or Last Crusade, but it was a fun adventure story.

      Were there things that could have been better, of course, but it was still better than most crappy action/adventure movies these days and worth the price of a ticket.
    • fquednau, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3If you expect a good-humoured Indy movie and can scratch off the ridiculous 21st century hyperbole everything gets, you'll probably enjoy it. After all, if you look at Indy stories they are all pretty incredible and character development IS predictable. I mean, c'mon, first you go bash creationists, then enjoy how the ark's ghosts prong bad nazi bitches only to then say that IJ4 is not credible?!
      Well, anyway, watched it today and enjoyed it all in all.

      (Yeah, Godwin's law strikes again!)
  • cjacks9, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0These could be 'ripoffs' of an Indiana Jones contemporary (for the first movie anyway):
    Pitfall (the game).
  • MasterTroll, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I saw the midnight showing of the new Indiana Jones. I had high hopes for it too. But... now I just hate George Lucas more than ever.
  • oddree, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0They forgot "Mines of Kilimanjaro", from 1984.
    http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/amg/vi ...

    It was a BLATANT rip-off and a really terrible movie to boot. I had a hard time coming up with a single photo of the VHS box.
  • exscind, on 05/22/2008, -1/+2Indiana Jones' look was clearly modeled after Charlton Heston's Harry Steele character.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_of_the_Incas

    Too bad you can't pick this one up on DVD.
  • yacks, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I fail to see Armor of God 2 listed on that list.. :)
  • MoralThreat, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2It's a Ron Jeremy porno flick. He plays the title character.
  • PolishLogic, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2Go figure, wildly successful premises are recycled over and over again in Hollywood. Is that really shocking to anyone?

    Buried for stating the obvious.
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