An Adventurous Ranking Of Indiana Jones Movies
What's your favorite of the five films?
'Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom'
If I had to pick a favorite movie character of all time, it would be Indiana Jones. I think he's a genius creation who has been the center of some all-time good movies.
Played by Harrison Ford and dreamed up by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan, Indiana Jones pretty much shaped my childhood and helped develop my love of movies.
So how can you rank the movies he's been in? How do you pick between these fun adventures that completely unlock new worlds and nefarious villains and have captured the hearts and minds of audiences from different generations?
Well, I just sat down and watched all five movies, and this is what I came up with.
Let's dive in.
5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The most recent entry into the franchise thrives when it showcases Harrison Ford being nostalgic for adventures past and reckoning with all he's done in his entire life. There's still some charm and wit there, but it does get bogged down by the use of CGI and a plot that is so fantastical it loses some of the grounded nature that the other movies thrived on, even when things get supernatural. Time travel, for some reason, felt like a bridge too far.
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Spielberg's last venture into this character, I think, got too many headlines for the nuclear bomb and the fridge. It's got some really inventive other set pieces, and there's still that Spielberg camera magic. It's hard because this movie is framed like an epic send-off, and I think that final scene of him walking out of the church at the end and catching his hat was the way I like to imagine it happened.
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
I bet you haven't watched this movie in a while. I know I hadn't. But when I went back, I was pleasantly surprised by all the fun that's had. People remember the temple and the heart rip, but the opening sequence is magical, and I even love the trek through the jungle. If this movie came out today, people would laud it for its spectacle, even if some of the tropes inside it don't hold up as well.
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Hard not to put this one first; it has some of the best set pieces in movie history, and the banter between Indiana Jones and his Dad, played by Sean Connery, was amazing. Tom Stoppard rewrote basically all of the dialogue in the movie, and it sticks in your head the whole time. Again, Spielberg's direction is superb; he knows how to turn a laugh into action and then back into laughs. The tank chase is so imaginative and exciting.
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
I can't pick anything better than this movie. It's in my top ten of all time, and I think it should be considered as one of the greatest movies of all time. Every scene in this movie is perfect, from the opening sequence all the way through the final dolly in the warehouse. Watching this movie inspires me. There's so much wonder and greatness in every frame. The whole thing is like a big screenwriting lesson in terms of action and character.
Summing It All Up
I'll be honest, I didn't think this was a hard ranking to do. To me, this is clearly the order for the movies, although I am willing to hear people out who think Last Crusade should be first.
There's a reason these fantastic movies stand the test of time.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
