In what order do you rate the Indiana Jones Movies

[Shadow Master]

TLC may not have the darker tone of the first two but at least it follows the general rules of the series.

I don't see how its possible to rate KotCS anyone near it.
It breaks all the Indy rules and literally every character other than Indy is just awful, contradictory and pointless.

Well for me TLC and KOTCS are both actually pretty close. I enjoy both movie, not as much as the first two, but I still like them. Five years ago when I first saw KOTCS I was in initial camp of fans who were disappointed with it. I didn't think it was terrible, just a letdown. I grew to enjoy it more with repeat viewings and lately grew to really like it, and to my surprise and even shock I started enjoying it a tad more than TLC.

For me, the constant slapstick and comedic antics throughout hurt the film for me, as well as it being too similar to Raiders and having uninteresting villains. To go from the likes of Belloq, Toht and Mola Ram to Donovan, Elsa and Vogel is pretty disappointing and when the villains aren't interesting and don't add a sense of menace to the proceedings, it affects the overall film for me. KOTCS has plenty of flaws and certainly it's moments of silliness, but tone-wise it just feels more consistant to me, has a much more interesting villain with Spalko and Indy also isn't as clumsy or klutzy in it as he was in TLC much of the time.

Another thing about TLC that always irked me even as a kid is when it's revealed that Indy stole his look from the explorer early in the film. That just really grinds me, to think his iconic look with the jacket and fedora isn't even his own but something he stole from someone else. KOTCS doesn't mess with the character or his origin in that regard.

I'm not debasing TLC at all, I still love the film. But lately it's grown to become the weakest for me, for these reasons.

 

[Figure5901]

This is one of those subjects where there is always going to be a disagreement. I seen this discussed on other forums and the tone is always the same. However I still enjoy reading the reasons everyone has for their favorite and least favorite Indy movie. It seems the vast majority will agree that Raiders is #1. It's the other three that everyone disagrees on the ranking.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

Oh my problem with it is definitely that its too similar to Raiders + a dad

By 'general rules' I meant things like the amount of CGI used, character behaviour, etc...

Ah! Gotcha!

 

[Shadow Master]

This is one of those subjects where there is always going to be a disagreement. I seen this discussed on other forums and the tone is always the same. However I still enjoy reading the reasons everyone has for their favorite and least favorite Indy movie. It seems the vast majority will agree that Raiders is #1. It's the other three that everyone disagrees on the ranking.

Same here. Don't get me wrong though and I love every IJ film in their own special little way and to me there's no such thing as a bad Indy movie. Some I don't like as much as others, but one thing they all have in common: all are incredible and entertaining movies

 

[Figure5901]

I couldn't have said it better.

 

[Chaosorb]

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (what's better than the original that started it all?!)
2. Last Crusade
3. Crystal Skull
4. Temple of Doom

This is how I rate them as well. Temple was just lacking something for me compared to the rest. It's still a great movie though. Raiders was one of the first movies my mother took me to when I was a kid. As a matter of fact I think it is the first movie I went to on the big screen so it will always be one of my all-time favorite movies. I can still to this day remember the snake seen like it was yesterday and how it scared the crap out of me. I like Sean Connery playing Indy's dad and thought it brought more life to the character with the interaction between the two of them, the chemistry was perfect. Crystal Skull had a feel to be similar to the Raiders which I love and the fact that it was completely different than the rest. The whole alien thing at the end was a little over the top but I still enjoyed it and artifacts with mysterious powers are what kind of items Indy seems to stumble onto. This is what drives the field of archaeology discovering and deciphering the unknown. I just can’t wait to see what the next adventure holds.

 

[Kamandi]

This is one of those subjects where there is always going to be a disagreement. I seen this discussed on other forums and the tone is always the same. However I still enjoy reading the reasons everyone has for their favorite and least favorite Indy movie. It seems the vast majority will agree that Raiders is #1. It's the other three that everyone disagrees on the ranking.

I don't think it's neccessarily a disagreement. It's just everyone has their own opinion of what works.

#2, 3 and 4 all had potential. They have different flaws in the execution. The sequels all were tone deaf with the mix of comedy and action beats. 2 was unique but plagued by the dramatically challenged Kate Capshaw. 3 had Jr., Sr., Sallah, and Brody so that was a win. But the story was rehash and the villains weak.

Which brings us to 4. I was initially OK with an older Indy in a 50's era pulp story. 50's serials had scifi elements, so I tried to roll with it. If that fridge hadn't been thrown a mile and tumbled end over end, if he had simply opened the door after it was safe*, it could have been a great scene. I liked the build up where he finds the mannequins and realizes what this place is. There was a way to play that scene dark and gritty and they didn't.

They could have gotten rid of Mutt and just had Marion seek out Indy at school to go find Oxley. They should have eliminated Mutt and focused on Indy and Marion's story.

Have you ever watched anything about people going over the Niagra Falls? Good, that puts you ahead of the writers on this film.

We never should have seen the aliens, they should have been implied. That whole last act was a misfire. Cate Blanchett went over the top with her acting and Harrison Ford could barely wake up.

There was a scene where General Ross hints at some of Indy's missing backstory and every one of those ideas was more intersting than what was in this film.

 

[snoop101]

Kotcs
tlc
tod
raiders

 

[Kamandi]

Kotcs
tlc
tod
raiders

 

[snoop101]

From worst to best.

 

[DeltaForceChung]

Let's see . . .

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK > INDIANA JONES & THE TEMPLE OF DOOM > INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE > INDIANA JONES & THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

 

[Chubs&Doggers]

Very well-said. The constant slapstick and overly comedic mood TLC has is why lately it's become my least favorite of the series even though I still enjoy it very much. The frequent comedy also being mixed in with the action and killing the sense of danger becomes jarring. KOTCS for all of it's silly moments like the swinging monkeys and the infamous fridge bit has a more consistantly serious tone throughout and not everything in it is played for laughs, which is why lately I slightly prefer it to TLC. That's something five years ago when I first saw KOTCS I never thought I'd say, but call it time being kinder to it.

TLC while still being a highly entertaining film suffers from too much slapstick and too much comedy for my liking, and this is why it's not as good as the first two for me, and even manages to fall a little short of KOTCS; it has entire sequences of comedy and a good amount of the action is played for laughs, whereas in Raiders and TOD, the humor is kept seperate and not overdone, and it doesn't mix in with the action, retaining the sense of danger and excitement that helps make scenes like the Raiders truck chase and TOD mine cart chase so thrilling to watch; you actually feel the danger in those sequences.

TLC has a lot of shortcomings. How in the first 5 min of the film we get a young Indy who we see..

His fear for snakes arise..
Find his whip..
See his inspiration for the hat and leather jacket..
Receive his scar..

What else am i missing?? All this in 5 min of his life.

Then jumps right into Indy on a boat that looks to be sinking while a guy walks casually with a cane.

Lame! And it's all down hill towards and ending that is so unoriginal that it had to copy RAIDERS of all films. Just lazy lazy film making...

Indy deserves so much more than this.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Ark, Crusade, Skull, Doom, the definitive order until Indy 5 comes out.

 

[NASEDO]

not sure if this was posted. Honest Trailer for KOTCS

[ame]https://youtu.be/IFKu_bwMoYE[/ame]

 

[TURINS~BANE]

1 The Last Crusade, love this film its in my top three films of all time, the relationship with his dad his great, the action never stops, and I love the Knight theme

2 Just a classic film

3 "Temple of Doom" and "Crystal Skull" are a tie to me both equal, Loads of Fun, The rope bridge scene is iconic, and the mine chase, it was great too see him back for Skull too, I love the fridge scene, just not as good as the other too though.

 

[Shadow Master]

TLC has a lot of shortcomings. How in the first 5 min of the film we get a young Indy who we see..

His fear for snakes arise..
Find his whip..
See his inspiration for the hat and leather jacket..
Receive his scar..

What else am i missing?? All this in 5 min of his life.

Then jumps right into Indy on a boat that looks to be sinking while a guy walks casually with a cane.

Lame! And it's all down hill towards and ending that is so unoriginal that it had to copy RAIDERS of all films. Just lazy lazy film making...

Indy deserves so much more than this.

Yeah, it just seems like a big stretch for all of that to occur in such a short timespan, although I still enjoy the film a great deal.

 

[Groovy34]

my order is:
1. Temple of Doom - it's my favorite it has short round,more whip action,occult stuff.
2. last crusade because connery made this one happen and the peak at indies past was good.
3. Raiders was ok but some areas seem to drag for some reason
4. it was awsome until they got to the alien temple and then i lost interest and coldnt wait until it was finished.

 

[OSCORP]

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

 

[Shadow Master]

3. Raiders was ok but some areas seem to drag for some reason

Raiders is a little slow-moving at times and I can understand why someone might prefer TOD and/or TLC over it as they both movie a little faster. I don't mind the more slow pace though, as it was only the first movie in the series and it takes it's time setting up the character and the formula of the series.

 

[surforia]

1. Last Crusade;
2. Raiders;
3. Doom;
4. Skull.