Indiana Jones 4: Who’s Responsible for the Stupid Refrigerator Scene?

Saved from a nuclear explosion by being locked in a refrigerator: We can say that in search of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones 4 surprised us all! Based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson, David Koepp’s screenplay went too far and came up with an idea so stupid that it exceeded suspension of disbelief.

Of course, Indiana Jones is a saga in which fantasy is regularly present. That said, the vast majority of viewers opened their eyes to this refrigerant solution to avoid the effects of the atomic bomb. The writers had to explain themselves.

Interview in 2011 CNNThe director of the film, Steven Spielberg, took responsibility for this idea:

It’s my fault, not George’s. It was my idea and it was stupid. People stopped “jumping the shark” and now said “bare fridge”. I’m proud of it, I’m glad I was able to bring it into popular culture.

‘Jump the shark’ is an expression mainly used in the audiovisual industry and is intended to denote the moment when the screenwriters in a creative work have so many ideas that they introduce an element that is dissonant with the world they are creating. are responsible. The expression comes from a Season 5 episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie jumps the shark (literally “jump the shark”) while he is water skiing.

But Spielberg is not the real culprit!

Ever the humble and good fellow, Steven Spielberg blamed himself for the idea being almost unanimously hated by fans of the Indiana Jones saga, but he’s not the real culprit. We know his identity and here it is!

“try to protect me”– said Lucas New York Times. The Star Wars director provided us with the document “Thickness 15 cm” to convince his friend Spielberg that in the event of a nuclear explosion, he could be protected from it by entering the refrigerator.

According to this file and Lucas himself, if the refrigerator is sealed, if Indiana Jones doesn’t break his neck when the device hits Earth, and if the door is opened again, he will survive. The Lucasfilm creator adds:

The chance of survival against this refrigerator – according to many scientists – is about 50%.

Armed with these declarations and an entire dossier on the subject, Spielberg relented. But who should you believe? Is it the director’s fault for not objecting to the idea presented to him or the story (and character) creator for coming up with such a ridiculous decision? maybe both.

Indiana Jones 4 is undoubtedly the most underrated film in the saga. Maybe a little late? Maybe it was running too fast?

With just days before the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, will the fifth installment avoid this danger to offer the character an epic adventure and a grand finale? In theaters from June 28!