Rank The Indiana Jones Movies

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Raiders is arguably the #1 Action Film of All Time.


Don't really care about the rest.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Last Crusade
Temple of Doom



Crystal Skull way down here

Raiders is number 1 by a significant margin
The Last Crusade is second. It is much more goofy in tone than Raiders or Temple of Doom, but it works because the chemistry between Ford and Connery is so good.
Temple of Doom is 3rd. I mostly like it, but his love interest Willie Scott is so intolerable. She is an awful character. Part of being a love interest is the audience should want you to be with them. That whole movie I wanted her to go away. I wish she had died when they jumped out of the plane.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is 4th. It has the goofiness of The Last Crusade, but not much of the charm. I don't hate it as much as most people and it does have some fun moments. Sorry, but I like the fridge scene. It is very 50's pulp and honestly very indiana Jones. Think of what he survived in the first 3 movies. Put him in the world of the 50's and it shouldn't surprise people there would be a scene like that.

I don't really care about seeing the one that just came out. I'll probably see it eventually, but seeing Indy as an 80 year old broken down man with tons of CGI just doesn't do it for me. For the faults of Crystal Skull, I liked the ending where he reunited with Marion and got married with their son present.

I'll be rewatching the fifth one again soon and will finalize my ranking. I think it'll probably still remain my third favorite but it could shift a bit after another watch or two. Definitely not the worst series finale I've seen for sure.

__________________
Entertainment Log
Letterboxd profile

1. Lost Ark / Temple of Doom / Last Crusade / Crystal Skull
△ All four are equally top level adventure entertainment.
...
...
17. Dial of Destiny = impotent screenplay + a lot of filler with meaningless overdosed action scenes like B-type cheap action movie (what a ridiculous ten-minutes banal chase in the streets of Tanger.).

__________________
"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

Temple Of Doom
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Last Crusade

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
4. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.


I think Temple of Doom is severely underrated (although still not as good as the two above it).


Yes, Short Round has aged HORRIBLY, and for good reason. And yes, Kate Capshaw is a poor replacement for Karen Allen. And yes, the opening scene is corny.


But Temple of Doom's action scenes, for the majority of the movie, are at least as good as any in Raiders, and I honestly think the end battle on the bridge is the best end fight in the series.

The entire third act is amazing. The sacrifical chamber, the mine cart chase, the bridge showdown; an absolute adrenaline rush. So many newer movies these days just don't have that sheer level of excitement and intensity, anymore.

How does one rank reaching the summit of Everest and then tumbling endlessly down its sides?

My order echoes a few others:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
4. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

__________________
Looking for a bigger boat | My latest movie lists and reviews | Find me on Letterboxd

I love the opening scene in Temple of Doom (the music, the scenery, the scenario, the way it all devolves into anarchy, etc.).

It's great the way it just sort of picks up right in the middle of the climax of an "Indy" adventure we, the audience, were never privy to (almost like we walked in on a prequel of the prequel).

It's so reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood (including, unfortunately, the whole "yellow scare" which may be racist by today's standards, but is still part of entertainment history).

That opening sequence is almost like a mini-movie from the pulp age unto itself.

TEMPLE OF DOOM!


the others..

Yes, Anything Goes is a fun musical number that even Capshaw can't tarnish. Dial of Destiny was much better than I thought it would be, but still falls below the original trilogy for me, if not by much. My rankings are as follows:

Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Last Crusade
Temple of Doom
Dial of Destiny

The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I left a blank space, which could be filled by pretty much any other adventure film, so many of which are better than that last Indy flick...

__________________

If Temple of Doom was as solid as that opening bit, it would have been a great follow-up adventure.

But it was.

I've probably already posted this but


1) Raiders
2) Who cares

I do have a feeling that Temple of Doom is probably better than Last Crusade.


Yes, I hated Doom when I saw it as a kid.


Yes, I kinda liked Crusade when I saw it once...as a teen?


But I remember things from Doom. I don't remember ****ing shit from Crusade.

I've probably posted that too