Which Indy film is the best?

Out of all the films, which one is definitively the best?


  • Total voters
    264

Kingsley

Member
Last Crusade...

Anyhow, after seeing KOTCS, this choice is clearer for me.

The truth is, there is a gap between LC / Raiders and TOD / KOTCS... but to be honest, the biggest gap is between TOD and KOTCS.

WHY?!
 

Crack that whip

New member
I've gone with Raiders of the Lost Ark, naturally. (y) Ranking the other three is difficult for me, especially given the newness of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but I don't have much trouble or hesitation in putting The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles at a close #2 if we include it as one big collective "film" (breaking the series down into all its episodes / "movies" would introduce a lot more difficulty, however).
 

lancetoris

New member
9 people think KotCS is the BEST of all four?

Wow.

Temple of Doom is closer to my heart because of when I saw it, but Raiders is a more complete film. Last Crusade is nearly perfect and competes with both. But I have to say KotCS is a very distant fourth.
 

TheMutt92

New member
The best? ROTLA by far, but LC is my personal fav (just watched it today, so good!). I like KOTCS and TOD a lot as well, but just not as much.
 

michael

Well-known member
1. Temple of Doom
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. The Last Crusade
4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
 

TheMutt92

New member
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark 10/10
2. Last Crusade 9/10
3. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 8/10
4. Temple of Doom 8/10

While I rank Raiders higher, Last Crusade is my personal favorite.
 

Indy Pendant

New member
I agree with theMutt92 - Raiders is the best, and Last Crusade is my favorite.

(LC is my third-favorite movie, I don't know what my favorite is, and I'm not telling what my second-favorite is.)
 

Montana_Jones

New member
Quite difficult to pick just one. My personal choice would be The Last Crusade though since it was the first Indiana Jones film I saw in theaters back in 1989 when I was 10. All four films have their merits though. I consider the films a small portion in the life of the adventures of Indiana Jones. Far better to do a marathon compared to picking just one.
Although if I had to choose which one to watch randomly, I'd most assuredly pick TLC. RotLA and ToD I did catch at a midnight movie one-time. It was great.
Of course I own the 2.35:1 OAR DVD's. You're not considered a true fan of Indiana Jones if you own the Pan & Scan set in my eyes.
 

Jonesy9906753

Well-known member
NileQT87 said:
1) ROTLA
2) TOD
3) TLC
...
4) KOTCS

i'm still struggling with kotcs... and i really wanted to like it. i liked a few segments... the pacing and cinematography damaged it.

very true,we miss you dougy :(

1.ROTLA
2.TOD
3.TLC
4.KOTCS

kotcs is a very fun movie,but it is the least favorite for me
 

Eternalight

New member
1) TLC
2) KOTCS
3) ROTLA
4) TOD


I love The Last Crusade more then the other movies, I always am a sucker for Father/Son stories, and their interaction was pure gold in that one. Kingdom is a close second, another good story line, action, and definally some more good silly Father/Son interaction. I always loved the stories with the son not knowing who his father was. :rolleyes: Ahaha. Bad inside joke there.

You have to love the motorcycle chase in both of them, and the fact that they both have those scenes with the Father glaring at the Son's enjoyment at another person's misfortune. Really a comeback for that scene. (y) I really loved the last line with the whole 'Junior' saying and how Indy talked about Henry. So sweet!

Raiders was very nice, but I really hated Temple of Doom. I don't know exactly why, perhaps it was all the themes they used, the heart ripping, brainwashing and the whole Shiva thing. But I didn't like it. It didn't seem like...Indy to me. But I did enjoy Short Round, he was really one of the better things in there. Him and his relationship with Indy. Adorable it was. :D

Just my opinions. But I like 'em. <3
 

NLogan

Member
Raiders is my favorite, however I always viewed Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade as continuations of everything I loved about Raiders.

I loved the gloomy atmosphere of Temple of Doom:a human head blood of Kali cup, the stretched human skins on frames, the shrunken head on Mola Ram's headpiece, the skull rock placement of the stones with the cobra on top, with a very evil looking Kali with a necklace of skulls overlooking all. Very cool plus it had great moments with sight gags like the chilled monkey brain soup (when I was in school I actually made a monkey head bowl to eat from in pottery class), the thugee assassin hidden in the mural, and Indy's best side kick Short Round that brings out some humor in him like in the poker scene. Loved the bridge scene, mine carts, everything (well maybe Willie did get a little annoying).

I love the humor and the quest in the Last Crusade. I loved the beginning showing Indy growing up in my neck of the woods, I though River did an excellent job. I think Sean Connery as Henry Sr. was Perfect. I loved how it brought back some characters from Raiders like Sallah and Marcus and it felt like it was coming home. The action was perfect and I loved the Father and Son aspect of it because that is what the films always were for me anyways. I was introduced to the films by my dad and watched them in the theaters and at home with him. I always envisioned my dad as sort-of like Indy. I loved the locations, and the humor, no complaints at all for the film.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was fun to relive the magic. I think they waited too long for this sequel and everyone's expectations may have been too high. I enjoyed the pace of it and the idea behind it but I feel like it could have had more to it. I personally didn't like Mac who was supposed to be Indy's buddy who flip flops loyalty ever half hour. It didn't seem like there was enough depth to him to make his betrayals or his loss dramatic enough. Maybe if the film started with a prologue showing part of a mission with Indy, building his relationship a little could have made the character stronger. I think Shia did an excellent job as Indy's son. I loved the tough guy/scared kid aspect that he brought to the role. Overall the CGI didn't bother me however I was very disappointed in the monkey vine swing thing. It never bothered me when Johnny Weissmuller did it as Tarzan and I think it could have worked like in Raiders when Indy did it but they made it too hokey and not believable and why did the monkeys suddenly attack? I thought that was lame. I also felt maybe the cgi for the ants could have been handled better and did not like the ants swarming into the guys mouth and them pulling the other guy into the hill. I feel it could have been much more powerful if they had just been swarmed over and began thrashing around screaming with ants all over and then fell silent. If felt a little too much like the lame cgi in the Mummy Fraser film series (sorry if you are a fan). I didn't mind the alien visitors establishing primitive civilizations thing I just wish there would have been a little more left to the imagination to it, instead of the blatant in your face I would have preferred more mystery and a sense of the unknown left about it in the end.

Raiders though is my favorite with humor, the best action scenes, the best story, the spooky factor, the danger factor, the heroism, the best traps, and the best introduction to the awesome character that is Indiana Jones. I really liked how he is the tough guy but not invincible everyman kind of guy who has to use his wits and a little luck to scrape by. It has excitement, sadness, scariness, and above all filled to the brim with action.
 

starlings_id

New member
I have to vote for Raiders not necessarily because it was the BEST plot/character/writing/etc.-wise (I'm going to sound wishy-washy for saying this, but I really feel like all three were equal in my mind), but for the same reason I vote for Star Wars as the best of the original trilogy. Something about those first movies, the first time you meet the characters, that first sense of adventure... can never be duplicated, no matter how spectacular the sequals may be (and in both cases, they were exceptional). Nothing in film history will ever really compare to these two openings, to the original experience. (And no, I'm not old enough to have actually seen anything but KOTCS and the second SW trilogy in theatures... but that doesn't mean I didn't feel the same thrill seeing those first two movies for the very first time.)

Samantha
 

StoneTriple

New member
Crusade>Raiders said:
The first time I saw the original trilogy....

That?s a perfect example of why there can, at times, be such resentment and division on this board.

There is a time-invested difference that really shapes the way we feel about the films. A time difference that can?t be compensated for, altered, understood, or even imagined. The young fans can try to imagine it from our point of view (those of us well into our 40s), but it?s impossible for them to ?feel? the nearly 30 years it took us to get to the fourth film. Add to this the 20-year gap between Crusade and Kingdom and you change the life experience and emotional attachment even more.

Many of the fans on here weren?t even born until after the first three films had already been released. They could experience the first three films in a single afternoon. They came into a finished product.

Crusade>Raiders said:
everyone and their momma thinks Raiders is this unbeatable classic....

There?s a reason for that. My generation sees it as a classic because it was released almost 30 years ago. It?s entirely possible that?s a time frame you?ve yet to experience at all ? let alone a time frame between two films.

For my generation, experiencing the first three films took 8 years ? with several years between each one to ponder the film and create expectations for the next. Add to that the life experience that took place during the many years between each film. Those things can greatly influence a person?s view of a film or how a film speaks to them personally.

Raiders will always be my favorite because it?s nostalgic. It reminds me of being 19 again. It was also the only Indiana Jones movie we had for many years. My generation has a very different emotional attachment to the character. A person seeing the first three films in one day couldn?t possibly have the same view of them. They had no time to grow along with them, to absorb them, to have each one represent, or flavor a period of their life. Their feelings regarding each of the films has to be different. That isn?t bad or wrong ? that?s just the way it is.

A good example would be my experience with the Harry Potter films ? which is none. If I were to sit down and watch them all now, I would have a very different view than an original fan who has been on board since the beginning. I don?t have a decade-long emotional attachment. No time to think about them on their own or to absorb them separately. Add to that the fact that my life experiences wouldn?t have changed during the viewing because no time had passed other than the time it took to put the next DVD in.

My point with all of this is that the films are going to be ranked according (somewhat) to each person?s life experiences and expectations. A little respect and compassion - from both sides - and a lot less venom, and the rankings, as well as the conversations, would make more sense.

My list;
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Temple Of Doom
Last Crusade
 

Dust McAlan

New member
It makes me smile to see 10 people voted for Kingdom. While I disagree, the idea that that film is someone's favorite Indy film means that yes, it works. Personally, it's my third favorite, but still, it's a workable Indy film.
 

Mothy

Guest
Raiders is a classic film and the best of the series. Crusade is my favourite though, Connery's role is magnificent.
 
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