What was your favorite Indiana Jones film?

[EnriqueH]

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.

There are fans who say the SAME EXACT thing about James Bond's role in "Goldfinger", which as most of us know is the most widely lauded Bond film overall. (Some say "From Russia With Love" and "Casino Royale" are the best as well, but Goldfinger is clearly the one that launched the series into a full blown money-making franchise).

Which is funny because I think it was Spielberg who said he saw Bond as Jones' father, which is why Connery plays Ford's father.

Pretty cool.

 

[DWF]

Raiders, it best captured the spirit of the old serials, the music was fantastic and the famous baazar scene is still great. Marion is a real spitfire and really the best of Indy's women. The desert chase scene is a clssic as well, Crusade tried to echo it with the tank scene.

 

[Captain Craig]

I voted Last Crusade, tying it at 19 votes apiece it seems.
I own the Quadrilogy on BluRay and enjoy each one. The only one I have on DVD is Crystal Skull and when I need an Indy fix and my BR set has shuffled to the back I'm content to pop Skull in and enjoy.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the Rocky IV of Indiana Jones films

Does not compute. Rocky 4, versus Ivan Drago the Steroid Soviet is an awesome film!! Perhaps you meant Rocky V??

 

[The Old Mixer]

Raiders by a mile.

...

Crusade [...] is too derivative of ROTLA

This. TLC is a perfectly fun film in its own right, but I'm surprised that it's neck-and-neck with the stone-cold classic, groundbreaking, pure awesome original. My nickname for Raiders is "The Perfect Film".

Raiders > Crusade > Temple > Skull

This too.

Indiana Jones does nothing to affect the outcome of the plot.

[millionsofmoviegoersin1981]Yeah, so what?[/millionsofmoviegoersin1981]

 

[Gaith]

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.

As Indy says, "An army which carries the Ark before it is invincible." Granted, if he hadn't been around, Belloq and the other Nazis would still have gotten fried on the island, but that's no assurance that savvier Nazis would've been amongst the clean-up crew, and deduced that, so long as it wasn't opened, the Ark makes its host army invincible.

 

[RodrigoBrowncoat]

The Last Crusade.

First movie I saw alone at the theater. I was 9.

 

[Kail]

The Last Crusade. Great story, actor chemistry, plenty of laughs. To me it's the perfect film.
Followed by Raiders, and Temple. Skull is a joke. Horrible film. I was never so disappointed with a movie. Well, maybe Highlander 2.

 

[fonzob1]

I don't think Temple of Doom has ever deserved its poor reputation.

I agree. It was a fun film.

 

[DigificWriter]

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, by the lack of love for Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull. I really am.

Both are criminally underrated and really are the perfect 'bookends' to the Indiana Jones Saga if watched in their proper (chronological) order.

 

[theenglish]

I'm disappointed, but not surprised, by the lack of love for Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull. I really am.

Both are criminally underrated and really are the perfect 'bookends' to the Indiana Jones Saga if watched in their proper (chronological) order.

Crystal Skull aside, I think a lot of people have expressed a love of Temple of Doom--it is just that the question is asking for our favorite. For me, the entire trilogy is beloved and I watch all three movies every time I get my Indy fix. Crystal Skull I bought on DVD when it came out but I don't know why because I've never removed the plastic wrapping.

 

[DigificWriter]

Poll-wise, Temple of Doom only has 4 votes (one of which was my own), and Skull has none (which is a crying shame). I don't know about anyone else, but that sure looks like a 'lack of love' to me.

 

[Tosk]

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.

How is that not a different outcome?

Without Indy, Marion would be dead and the Ark would either still be buried ("They're digging in the wrong place.") or eventually found and kept by the Nazis.

 

[fonzob1]

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.

How is that not a different outcome?

Without Indy, Marion would be dead and the Ark would either still be buried ("They're digging in the wrong place.") or eventually found and kept by the Nazis.

I think he was being facetious. Joking that America is no better than the Nazis...

 

[MacLeod]

Poll-wise, Temple of Doom only has 4 votes (one of which was my own), and Skull has none (which is a crying shame). I don't know about anyone else, but that sure looks like a 'lack of love' to me.

Not really, you can love all the films but you might love one more than the rest. To draw an anology lets say you love all flavours Ice Cream Someone offers you some but you can only have one flavour out of Vanillia, Strawberry, Chocolate or Mint, which one do you pik ?

 

[theenglish]

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.

How is that not a different outcome?

Without Indy, Marion would be dead and the Ark would either still be buried ("They're digging in the wrong place.") or eventually found and kept by the Nazis.

I think he was being facetious. Joking that America is no better than the Nazis...

No, I wasn't making that comment!

I WAS just riffing on the comment complaint about Raiders that I've seen people make before and that I've argued against in the past.

 

[Captain Craig]

Poll-wise, Temple of Doom only has 4 votes (one of which was my own), and Skull has none (which is a crying shame). I don't know about anyone else, but that sure looks like a 'lack of love' to me.

Not really, as stated by another, the poll asks for your favorite so that's what the results show.

I defend Crystal Skull and feel it takes an unnecessary beating.
I love Skull for many reasons, also have some gripes with it but I just LOVE Last Crusade more.

 

[Gaith]

Temple of Doom has some really interesting and cool elements, but Willie's constant screaming is little better than Jar Jar's "wackiness", and that night scene where she's accosted by every jungle animal sound imaginable is no better than Skull's quicksand scene, nor is the magical mountain raft ride any better than the magical bouncing fridge. That said, I've seen a ToD fan edit that runs about an hour, and is pretty decent.

Crusade is a big step up in quality, and is easily the most kid-friendly of the series, but when viewed as an adult a lot of the (too-numerous) gags are overly broad, and the Grail Knight bit at the end who speaks modern BBC English is too cutesy for my tastes. Thinking it over now, they could easily have cut the role, and relegated his important exposition to wall carvings and/or lore picked up from Sr.'s diary.

Anway, I vote Raiders as the best Indiana Jones movie, and The Mummy '99 the best Indy sequel.

 

[Dude111]

I just got RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK yesterday on VHS

I had forgotton I had seen it many years ago...... When he took that thing off the pedastal and what he put on WAS TOO HEAVY and it set off the traps,i remembered!!!!!


EXCELLENT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!! (I dosed in and out of sleep during it however)

 

[theenglish]

Gaith, good point about Willie. What was the reason Marion was not in the movie?

 

[Gaith]

^ Because it takes place a year before Raiders. They probably wanted to emulate the Bond model of having a new "Indy girl" in each installment, but making the movie a sequel to Raiders would have forced them to re-use her or break them up; making a prequel instead allowed them to not do this and not get too bogged down in WW2-related history.