What was your favorite Indiana Jones film?
- Thread starter fonzob1
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Temple of Doom, followed by Crystal Skull, Last Crusade, and Raiders, in that order.
That is a very interesting order, although it should probably not be too surprising. Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull were more purely fantasty/sci-fi while Raiders and Last Crusade both had religious themes. Still, I typically expect Crystal Skull to come in last cause I felt like it was defintely the weakest of the four. My order is as follows:
4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (far behind the others)
3. Temple of Doom (not as good as the other two, but it was fun)
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (a very close second)
1. The Last Crusade (I agree with another poster who pointed out that both Ford and Connery were outstanding in this movie and had good synergy)
Last Crusade.
Last Crusade and then Raiders, but I don't think Temple of Doom has ever deserved its poor reputation.
Wait, there was another film?
Wait, there was another film?
Growing up, The Last Crusade was my favorite because of the chemistry between actors, particularly Ford and Connery. The father-son theme really resonated with me.
But in recent years, I've come to regard Raiders as my favorite. I think this began a few years back when I did an Indy marathon, and by the time I got to TLC, I realized it was just a tad too humorous (when juxtaposed next to Raiders) and that I preferred the slightly more serious feel of the original film.
Though I liked Walter Donovan and his minions in TLC, I also felt the villains in Raiders were just a bit more menacing. Even the background Nazis in Raiders had a bit more of an air of menace than the ones in Last Crusade.
The difference in mood between the two is subtle and I did not even realize it until I did that marathon.
STILL...
I love Last Crusade. But Raiders is my current pick.
On a seperate note, I enjoy Temple of Doom tremendously too. I know it became fun for a while to pick on ToD, but it's still an awesome movie. I think part of the problem is that the Sankara Stones aren't as interesting as the Ark of the Covenant or Holy Grail. The threat is more local whereas the threat in the first and third films feels global, more of a "free world at stake" feel.
I quite enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for what it is, but it does have quite a few problems. I can remember THE SECOND the movie started that the Paramount logo disintegrated into the weasel mound, I thought, "Oh, no. The Phantom Menace all over again." However, the movie still had a game Harrison Ford and had its moments of fun.
But in recent years, I've come to regard Raiders as my favorite. I think this began a few years back when I did an Indy marathon, and by the time I got to TLC, I realized it was just a tad too humorous (when juxtaposed next to Raiders) and that I preferred the slightly more serious feel of the original film.
Though I liked Walter Donovan and his minions in TLC, I also felt the villains in Raiders were just a bit more menacing. Even the background Nazis in Raiders had a bit more of an air of menace than the ones in Last Crusade.
The difference in mood between the two is subtle and I did not even realize it until I did that marathon.
STILL...
I love Last Crusade. But Raiders is my current pick.
On a seperate note, I enjoy Temple of Doom tremendously too. I know it became fun for a while to pick on ToD, but it's still an awesome movie. I think part of the problem is that the Sankara Stones aren't as interesting as the Ark of the Covenant or Holy Grail. The threat is more local whereas the threat in the first and third films feels global, more of a "free world at stake" feel.
I quite enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for what it is, but it does have quite a few problems. I can remember THE SECOND the movie started that the Paramount logo disintegrated into the weasel mound, I thought, "Oh, no. The Phantom Menace all over again." However, the movie still had a game Harrison Ford and had its moments of fun.
Who doesn't love Indiana Jones? This should be a closer poll with just one of the options trailing.
Really, I expect this to be a contest between Raiders and Crusade with temple trailing by a long way along with Kingdom.
And if I had to pick I would have to go with Crusade by a whisker over Raiders
Raiders by a mile. I think it's the only truly great Indy film. Each movie was less good than its predecessor, IMHO.
I have a soft spot for Temple of Doom because it was the first Indy movie I saw in the cinema but it's not as good as its predecessor.
Crusade is good but for me, it suffers by being played too much for laughs, is too derivative of ROTLA (at the time, I remember thinking it was curious that both it and Return of the Jedi, each the 3rd in their respective series of Lucas-created, Ford-starring movies seemed to rehash a lot of the beats of the first in their series. I don't think its actions sequences are great and it really misses the use of Indy's theme in a lot of places.
Crystal Skulls...well, I don't really have to explain that one, do I?
I have a soft spot for Temple of Doom because it was the first Indy movie I saw in the cinema but it's not as good as its predecessor.
Crusade is good but for me, it suffers by being played too much for laughs, is too derivative of ROTLA (at the time, I remember thinking it was curious that both it and Return of the Jedi, each the 3rd in their respective series of Lucas-created, Ford-starring movies seemed to rehash a lot of the beats of the first in their series. I don't think its actions sequences are great and it really misses the use of Indy's theme in a lot of places.
Crystal Skulls...well, I don't really have to explain that one, do I?
Honestly, I think I saw Crusade before Raiders (way back when I first saw an IJ movie). I think it works fine. I mean, Raiders is a good movie, but outside of Crystal Skull I don't think any IJ movie needs the other movies to work, they're all pretty standalone (except CS).
Here is why I don't rate Raiders first. Indiana Jones does nothing to affect the outcome of the plot. The only thing that would have been different if Indy hadn't interfered is that the arc would still be in the Nazi base instead of in the hands of the Americans.
The action, the acting, the pacing are all great but I have never been able to get over this gaping plot hole.
The action, the acting, the pacing are all great but I have never been able to get over this gaping plot hole.
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