Every Indiana Jones Movie Ranked
We take our rankings very seriously here at /Film, especially when we're dealing with material that can be best described as "sacred." And the Indiana Jones series, even with its ups and downs, is sacred stuff. Arguably one of the most famous fictional characters to emerge from 20th century popular culture, Harrison Ford's quick-witted, indefatigable archaeologist, adventurer, and professional Nazi-puncher is one of cinema's greatest gifts. A two-fisted pulp hero. A charming, debonair sex symbol. A source of surprisingly reliable goofball comedy. And perhaps most importantly, a protagonist defined by his inability to stay down whenever the villain knocks him on his ass. In Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr., Ford, director Steven Spielberg, and producer George Lucas created an icon who has persisted for over 40 decades, and one who will enthrall folks for years to come. Even the "bad" movies in the series contain noteworthy sparks and brilliant moments.
So when the /Film team sat down to rank all five movies, we found ourselves dealing with films that mean a lot to many people. And while just about everyone agreed with the number one choice, the rest of the order was all over the map. Every Indiana Jones fan has a very specific ranking, and usually a wild card movie they love and want to go to bat for. Some folks have a soft spot for "Temple of Doom," and others are already ready to declare "Dial of Destiny" a gem. And yes, we even has some "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" defenders in our midst.
Ultimately, we feel this is the right order for these movies, but we also feel that you're just better off regularly rewatching them all. Yes, even the ones you don't like. A bad Indy movie is better than most forms of entertainment.
5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" gets a bad rap, and I won't sit here and tell you the movie is some unfairly maligned classic. No, I will freely admit the movie has its problems — the script is weak, the adventure isn't as thrilling as what's come before, and most of the stabs at comedy fall flat. But here's the thing: while it's not a great movie, it is a Steven Spielberg movie. And a so-so Spielberg movie is still better than a movie made by almost anyone else. That might sound like hyperbole, but I believe it to be true. There's some stellar filmmaking at work in "Crystal Skull," be it in the way Spielberg frames his shots (Indy looking at that mushroom cloud is one of the best images in the entire franchise) or stages his big action beats.
Yes, there's some wonky CGI (did the movie really need to open with a cartoon prairie dog?), and yes, the subplot about interdimensional beings (or aliens, if you want to keep it simple) isn't very interesting. But there's still plenty to love in "Crystal Skull." Heck, even the hated Mutt Williams isn't all that bad when you sit down and give his character a chance. I think James Mangold's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is an enjoyable adventure romp, but for my money, any Spielberg movie is still better than what Mangold can do on his best day. I don't mean that as a knock against Mangold, who makes good movies overall. I just think it's a factual statement. (Chris Evangelista)
4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Following up "Raiders of the Lost Ark" sounds like an impossible task, and as we've learned over the last 40 years, it is! "Temple of Doom" went into development shortly after the success of "Raiders," with Spielberg and Lucas intending to tell a darker Indy story this time around, echoing Lucas' approach to "Star Wars" with "Empire Strikes Back." The result is a cacophony of adventure film madness, with a musical number, a shootout, a romance subplot echoing screwball comedies of the 1930s, a plucky child sidekick, some truly fantastic set pieces, a now-legendary mine car chase, and some old-fashioned racist indigenous tribal depictions for good measure.
The film was much darker than anyone anticipated out of an "Indiana Jones" sequel and was part of what led to the creation of the PG-13 rating because of it. The film is also, by my count, the hottest depiction of Indy, because you can't go wrong with that shot of his torn-off sleeve and opened buttons on the bridge. It's a complicated movie to rank because "Temple of Doom" features some of the highest highs of the entire franchise, but also some of the most unforgivably low lows. As such, it sits here, with those who love it already accustomed to its traditionally low ranking. (BJ Colangelo)
3. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
"Indiana Jones 5" languished in development hell for so long that it felt like the movie may never happen at all. It was long enough that Steven Spielberg surrendered the director's chair, marking the first time that he would not direct a movie in the series. Enter James Mangold ("Logan") who brought us the fifth and presumably final Indy adventure, which we now know as "Dial of Destiny." A big, expensive, decades-spanning meditation on aging and life's purpose, it feels like a far more fitting end to Harrison Ford's run as one of cinema's greatest characters than "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" ever did.
In a franchise with movies as hopelessly perfect as "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the bar is difficult to match. It's the same problem any of the sequels to "Alien" and "Aliens" have had. Following perfection is nearly impossible. Be that as it may, "Dial" feels satisfying in the ways that count. John Williams bringing his A-game, Ford shows up in a big way, and the scope of the adventure, the heart... It's all there. Yes, it takes some big swings, but is time travel any more absurd than bringing people back from the dead? I think not. Those big swings are in the spirit of what came before, allowing Indy to take a proper bow. If this truly is Indy's last ride, one could do a whole lot worse. I suspect time will rightfully be kind to this one. (Ryan Scott)
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Sean Connery as Indy's father is a masterstroke of adventure movie casting. Yes, the actors are only 12 years apart in real life, but their dynamic is absolutely perfect for this film. As the first major James Bond actor, Connery brings baggage with him that informed this very franchise (Steven Spielberg and George Lucas famously cooked up "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as their answer to Bond), and his hard-nosed performance as an absentee father here allows Ford to show us glimpses of an Indy we'd never seen before — a child in the presence of an authority figure who loomed large over his life. "Last Crusade" is one of the very best father/son stories of Steven Spielberg's entire filmography (which is saying something, considering how frequently he returns to that subject), and there's plenty of room for these two characters to work out their feelings as the action unfolds.
And man oh man, that action. There's the opening train chase with River Phoenix as young Indiana Jones (for my money, that segment is still the best prequel I've ever seen), the boat chase in Venice, the castle breakout in Austria, the motorcycle chase, the Zeppelin escape, and Indy versus the tank in the desert, all of which are among the most rip-roaring and thrilling action scenes of this franchise. Combine that with its spectacular and rousing ending, and it's clear why this film is top-tier Indy. It's impossible to match the highs of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but dang it, this sequel sure comes close. (Ben Pearson)
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Sometimes, the obvious answer is quite simply the right answer. The one that started it all, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" burst onto the scene in 1981 and promptly wowed audiences with a fully-formed main hero, an irrepressible co-lead (whose writing and performance set a high bar for any love interest to follow), and one heck of a globe-trotting adventure. And through it all, director Steven Spielberg masterfully kept his finger on the tonal pulse to combine supernatural myth with a storyline all about beating history's most hateful villains. In essence, this was the film to set the template for all "Indiana Jones" movies to come and, in the process, create something just as irresistible as the Ark of the Covenant itself — an unattainable standard the rest of the sequels would spend literal decades hoping to even come close to recapturing.
Plain and simple, "Raiders" has it all. Its opening scene establishes everything we could possibly need to know about Harrison Ford's Indy in 10 minutes flat. Our introduction to Karen Allen's Marion is nothing short of a masterclass of staging, iconography (that shadowy silhouette of Indy cast on the wall, though!), and character dynamics. And the script by writer Lawrence Kasdan is infused with a throwback love for all things pulp, adding a distinct sense of weight and even prestige to a blockbuster that could've easily been dismissed as lowbrow fare. From start to finish, "Raiders" is perfect entertainment and the only candidate for #1 on this list. (Jeremy Mathai)