All 5 'Indiana Jones' Movies Ranked, From 'Raiders' to 'Dial of Destiny' (Photos)

If adventure had a name … you’d know it would be Indiana Jones.

The character, created by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on a beach after Spielberg bemoaned the fact that he’d never get to make a James Bond movie (or so the story goes), has endured five feature films, a television series and a ton of spin-off material (you must have read at least one of the novels or played one of the videogames – right?) And now, with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (in theaters now), Harrison Ford is hanging up his dusty fedora and beat-up leather jacket, we thought it might be time to use the Dial and take a look at the film franchise as a whole. What are Indy’s most memorable quests and what should best be left in some creaky catacomb?

5. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023)

Indy’s latest (and last) adventure is unfortunately his worst. Steven Spielberg stepped aside and instead handed the character over to James Mangold, the journeyman director behind “Walk the Line” and “Logan.” That might have made sense on paper, but the results are nearly disastrous. The year is 1969 and Indy is a grumpy old man, living in Manhattan and yelling at his neighbors to stop blasting the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour.” He gets embroiled in a new mystery on the eve of his retirement, when a woman from his past (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) emerges and a globe-trotting hunt begins. What they’re after (and what the doodad is supposed to do) is largely a mystery, not because that was the intent but because the narrative is such a confusing muddle. Mads Mikkelsen is excellent, of course, as a Nazi who worked on the space race and is now searching for a piece of ancient tech that could rewrite history. But he’s sadly not given much to do. Even the trappings of the 1960’s setting is jettisoned in favor of the old “tromp around the jungle” standbys. (Imagine if it’d actually concerned itself the Nazi influence on the space race? Now that would have been cool.) Alas, throughout the movie you’ll long for Spielberg’s hand on the wheel.

4. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)

Set in the 1950’s and riffing on cheap sci-fi movies of the period, the film might have ended up being Indiana Jones vs. aliens in the 1950’s, but eventually screenwriter David Koepp landed on “inter-dimensional” beings instead of aliens. Instead of Nazis, Indy is up against evil Russians, led by Cate Blanchett as a Soviet psychic (whose psychic powers never really help or advance the plot), on the hunt for a mythical crystal skull somewhere in South America. It’s most fun in the first half, with Indy dealing with greasers (including his son Mutt played by Shia LaBeouf), and the scene at a nuclear test site that gave rise to a new way of saying “Jump the Shark.” (And the car chase through Yale is one of the all-time set pieces.) The jungle stuff is less satisfying, although Karen Allen’s return as Marion Ravenwood (Mutt’s mother) was fun. It’s pretty bad, but there’s enough spirit to get you through the computer-generated monkeys and multiple waterfalls.

3. “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)

After the bleakness of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” Spielberg and Lucas devised more lighthearted story that mirrored, in many ways, the dynamics that made “Raiders of the Lost Ark” so special – a biblical relic, Nazis in hot pursuit and a supernatural showdown in the desert. (This after a rejected “haunted house” idea – Spielberg thought it was too similar to “Poltergeist” – and several scripts by Chris Columbus that featured an immortal pygmy and the Monkey King.) If there’s a major knock against “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” it’s that it feels perhaps a tad too reminiscent of that earlier adventure. This time Indiana Jones is hunting the Holy Grail, something that his father (played by Sean Connery) had been hunting during Indy’s childhood. The team-up of Connery and Ford is aces and there’s plenty of fun to be had, particularly in a moment when Indiana encounters Hitler himself. Spielberg was hitting his creative peak as a filmmaker at this time and it shows, even when the storytelling occasionally falls short.

2. “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)

Let’s get something out of the way first – yes, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” is racially and culturally insensitive, both to its protagonists (Ke Huy Quan’s broadly drawn Short Round) and villains (exemplified by a scene where characters consume monkey brains and boil a live snake, its stomach leaking living baby snakes). It’s also unapologetically nasty, with a mean streak a mile wide (both Lucas and Spielberg were going through contentious divorces at the time). All that said, the first sequel of what was initially plotted as a trilogy, is still uproariously entertaining and nearly matches the creative highs of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Set before the events of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,”Indy winds up in an Indian village after escaping from some Chinese gangsters only to find the local population decimated by a bloodthirsty cult. (Remember that this is the movie that was so violent it helped inspire the PG-13 rating.) From that relatively simple set up – with Indy not on a hunt for a hidden artifact but happening upon one – some of the series’ most inventive set pieces are born, including a runaway mine car chase and a thrilling moment on a rickety bridge. And this is without even mentioning the unforgettable opening musical number, as technically and visually impressive as anything Spielberg would ever do. “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” also showcased the fact that an Indiana Jones movie could be anything, really. Sure, it’s a nasty bit of business, but it’s also incredibly fun and downright dangerous. Once upon a time Indy had some edge.

1. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)

An unimpeachable masterpiece, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” did nearly as much to change the movie business as “Spielberg’s “Jaws” and Lucas’ “Star Wars” had and cemented Ford as a major movie star. Dr. Jones is tasked by shadowy government officials to track down and stop a Nazi plot to acquire the Ark of the Covenant (which they hope to weaponize). Jones, always the skeptic, doesn’t believe in the mumbo jumbo but goes along with it anyway. Lawrence Kasdan’s richly detailed script, based on a story concocted by Lucas and Philip Kaufman, gives Jones the dashing personality of a matinee hero but also a complicated inner life, one filled with regret and discarded relationships (like Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen). And Spielberg, clearly relishing the opportunity to create a new iconic hero while also developing a beautiful Jewish revenge myth, has never been better. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” isn’t just the high point for the franchise but it is one of the most impressive, creative action movies of all time. (Incredibly, the sequels, of varying qualities, have done nothing to tarnish its power. Neither did the legion of off-brand imitators.) It’s a classic for a reason.

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