Rank the Indiana Jones Films (Spoilers for Indy 4)

[davejames]

Yet it has the utterly annoying and useless sidekick Short Round and love interest Willie Scott, whose moaning and screaming make the scenes they're in (and unfortunately they're in a lot) completely unbearable to me. There are a few badass moments in the film that are true Indy moments and are akin to Raiders of the Lost Ark in both style and substance, but a majority of Temple of Doom I can't even watch.

Well I don't want to turn this into another Temple of Doom thread... but I've always thought Willie and Short Round were a lot of fun. Yeah Willie's a caricature, but that's what gives that movie such a great, pulpy, 1930s adventure movie feel.

I agree the screaming gets to be a bit much after awhile, but the banter between her and Indy is hilarious, and the dialogue in general in that movie is some of the best and wittiest of the entire trilogy.

It's certainly a much livelier movie than Crystal Skull.

 

[The Cutest of Borg]

Raiders
Crystal Skull
Last Crusade
Temple o'Doom

 

[tomalak301]

Yet it has the utterly annoying and useless sidekick Short Round and love interest Willie Scott, whose moaning and screaming make the scenes they're in (and unfortunately they're in a lot) completely unbearable to me. There are a few badass moments in the film that are true Indy moments and are akin to Raiders of the Lost Ark in both style and substance, but a majority of Temple of Doom I can't even watch.

Well I don't want to turn this into another Temple of Doom thread... but I've always thought Willie and Short Round were a lot of fun. Yeah Willie's a caricature, but that's what gives that movie such a great, pulpy, 1930s adventure movie feel.

I agree the screaming gets to be a bit much after awhile, but the banter between her and Indy is hilarious, and the dialogue in general in that movie is some of the best and wittiest of the entire trilogy.

It's certainly a much livelier movie than Crystal Skull.

Funny, I was thinking about turning this thread into the Temple of Doom thread when I created it last night. It turned into a "I've finally seen all four after so many years, and can rank them" thread instead.

 

[judge alba]

not had chance to see kotcs yet so cant really comment on it though the other three I'd rank as follows:-

1/ raiders of the lost ark. Always like watching that
2/ last crusade . pretty good. Liked Sean Connery in it pretty funny
3/ temple of doom. Watchable though i wouldn't go out of my way to watch it too many times

hopefully should get round to watching kotcs soon saw a few trailers for it me other half got excited and said "hey that's from Stargate". must learn her some history

 

[Vampire Kirk]

1. Raiders
2. Temple
3. Crusade
4. Skull

 

[Crewman6]

^Ah, but if I remember the Myth Buster correctly, they did prove the raft parachute as plausible.

No, they completely busted using it the way Indy did. The one that they got results from was the escape slide, and that was only with the weight of one person. Not three.

No, in fact, they didn't bust it. They had to give up on the raft because the dummy kept falling out - not a problem for a real person who could hang on and shift their weight accordingly.

The slide DID prove sufficient to slow momentum enough. At best, it's still undetermined, but not outside the realm of possibility.

 

[Crewman6]

1. Raiders
2. Temple
3. Crusade
4. Skull

Thank you, sir! Dead on!

Though, over the years, "Last Crusade" has been rising in my estimation. I initially thought it was worse than ToD because of the lackluster action sequences, boring villains and recycled plot, but it really does have high re-watchability thanks to the lovely chemistry and humor between Ford and Connery. And elements of the Grail mythology (particularly the film's last 20 minutes or so) are pretty clever and imaginative, definitely unexpected the first time I saw film.

At present, I'd rate it just about on par with "Doom".

"Crystal Skull" isn't even in the same league as the other films. By a longshot.

 

[Trippy]

Like already stated, I need to see Kingdom a few more times, but as of now:

1. Raiders
2. Crusade
2. Kingdom
4. Temple

 

[Caligula]

I need to see The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a few more times before can justly rank it amongst the other three, which I've seen countless of times.

I kinda agree, although since I submitted my rankings in the main KotCS thread....

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

Whether KotCS rises to 2nd place or falls to 4th depends on how many times I can stand to rewatch it. A lot of what helps its cause, I think, is having Marion back in the series. I used to rate Last Crusade higher, but I'm not particularly as enthralled by that film as I was when I was a kid.

 

[archeryguy1701]

Well, I just got done watcing Temple of Doom today. You know, it's not as wholly unlikable as I was remembering. My ranking doesn't change (Kingdom, Crusade, Ark, Temple), but it isn't anywhere near as bad as it was the last time I viewed it. Willie and Short Round still annoyed the hell out of me, but I can forgive that.

 

[Harvey]

The Last Crusade: This film balances the action, the archeology, the humor, and the characters in just the right way. A wonderful film.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Not as much action, surprisingly, as one would expect. Still, it's Raiders, and it has Marion (the best Indy love interest, easily).

Temple of Doom: It's grown on me, by far. It doesn't quite gel as a whole, but it has plenty of individual pieces that are outstanding.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Easily the weakest of the series, but still entertaining.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Like a few others, I've recently rewatched The Temple of Doom, and while it's not nearly as bad as some make it out to be (I actually didn't mind Willie that much this time around ), it's still easily the weakest of the series. I've always liked Short Round and I have to say the camp scene with Willie screaming at every animal is very amusing (in combination with Short Round and Indy playing cards). What I don't like about the movie is the mythos. It simply doesn't grab me, partially because it's made up/radically altered (particularly in regards to Kali) and because the artifact simply didn't have the same mystical quality as the other three (yes, I'm including the crystal skull of alien origin).

Although I haven't had the chance to see The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull again (and I'm already itching to see it again), I will say this is my temporary ranking:

The Last Crusade
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull









The Temple of Doom


The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull could slowly make it's way to the top over time, but that's where it is now.

 

[The Evil Dead]

Raiders
Temple
Last Crusade
...
Crystal Skull

 

[Crewman6]

While I really think that KotCS is a lousy film and am amazed by all the love being thrown its way, including by many reputable critics, what is most mind-boggling to me about this thread is that anyone could put something other than "Raiders" in the number one spot. That film truly is in a class by itself.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I need to see The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a few more times before can justly rank it amongst the other three, which I've seen countless of times.

QFT! I need to see it several times before I can vote for a favorite.

For the first three: Raiders first, then Last Crusade, and Temple of Doom. I think Crystal Skull will rate higher than Doom, at least...

 

[clint g]

While I really think that KotCS is a lousy film and am amazed by all the love being thrown its way, including by many reputable critics, what is most mind-boggling to me about this thread is that anyone could put something other than "Raiders" in the number one spot. That film truly is in a class by itself.

It's probably because Last Crusade is so clearly superior to Raiders


Seriously though, i enjoyed Raiders of the Lost Ark. I think it was a great film, but so was Last Crusade. Sean Connery and Ford had such great chemistry together that, for me at least, it makes Crusade the better film

 

[Sagart]

Raiders
Last Cusade
Temple of Doom

If it's all the same, I'd rather forget about that movie I saw on Sunday evening.

When is George gonna learn? 3 is enough!!

 

[Campe]

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 

[sbk1234]

1. Raiders
2. Temple of Doom
3. Last Crusade
4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls

Still, #4 was still pretty good. Fun adventure.

 

[zakfa]

1. raiders
2. temple
3. last crusade
4. crystal skull

Pretty cool seeing a lot of people putting tod at #2 as well. I enjoyed the new movie but it's still the least of the four in my mind.