Rank The Indiana Jones Saga

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark - Absolute classic

2. Temple of Doom - For Gunga Din vibes and the sheer dark side Apocalypse Now, Indy goes insane trope

3. The Last Crusade - Near classic status; perfect ending to the trilogy

4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull


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Why wasn't Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull just called Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls? I think the actual sounds too much a mouthful, almost as if wanting you to just ignore the specific subtitle, the alternate sounds creepier but also quite a bit more exciting and conveying better the actual film.

 

GL insisted on including the word Kingdom.

 

To me, discovering a lost kingdom fits well with the tropes of pulp archaeology adventures. But as a title, it's just too wordy.

 

The use of "kingdom of the crystal skull" instead of just "crystal skull" reminds me of the revelation at the end of the movie that the aliens aren't actually aliens but "interdimensional beings" from "the space between the spaces." It's an extra twist of convolution for its own sake that ads nothing.

 

I quite like the inclusion of "Kingdom." Adds an epic flair. Raiders could've just been called The Lost Ark but that doesn't pack the same punch.

Dial of Destiny is pretty blah.

 

The thing that bothers me about Crystal Skull is that the all the Crystal Skulls in real life were faked. I would rather have that be a plot point then not

 

What I predict:

1. The Last Crusade
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. Temple of Doom
4. Dial of Destiny
5. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

We'll see in a couple of weeks.

 

Thats sounds about right.

 

Most reviews have said it's a step up from KOTCS. The last 2 reviews from the premiere I saw were very favorable.

 

The reality is that no matter how good Dial of Destiny is, it’s going to be very difficult right off the bat to be seen more favourably than the original 3. They've had between 34-42 years to become almost part of us and part of our culture. Even the weakest of them hits a high standard that most studios / film makers could only ever dream of attaining. They have set the bar for all of the cinema industry since they came out in terms of their pacing, structure, action, performances, characterisation, direction, cinematography, score... basically everything. So to me anyone coming out of the cinema saying, "it wasn't as good as Raiders" is basically Captain Obvious and its not a slight on Indy 5 for someone to come out of their first viewing and say that. Its only crime is going to be the fact that it’s following a series of films that contains 3 of the best action adventure films ever committed to film. Much in the same way that any SW film is always judged against the OT.

There are a lot more favourable reviews than bad ones from the US premiere.

 

Very well said.
However, that does rise a question: should they keep making sequels to original "classic" films, knowing full well that it's virtually impossible for this sequels to be as good as the originals? In a way, it's a fool's errand.

 

I'm at the point where they should just recast the character and do another film set in the 30s or something like that.

 

Personally speaking if they still make good films that I enjoy then I don’t see why not. It’s never going to stop. Franchises that have a solid foundation will always be rife for sequels or remakes.

I think they’ll do this. Indiana Jones is too strong a character not to be resurrected at some point. The issue is people accepting someone other than Harrison Ford.

 

Mine's not particularly original. LOL

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark
2) The Last Crusade
3) Temple of Doom
4) Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Though I love 'em all, honestly. On certain days you might even catch me flip the upper and lower pairs amongst themselves.

 

I mean... honestly no? I'm very on board with the Cracked.com article I read over a decade ago that said "Hollywood should stop making remakes (or sequels or prequels) and go back to making rip-offs."

 

Right. You know, as much as I love Indy, I hope that TPTB don't pass the torch to anyone, be it Helena Shaw, Short Round, or Mutt. For me, once you take Indy out of the franchise, what would really make it different from a feature starring , say, "Lara Croft", "Rick O'Connell", "Nate Drake", "Benjamin Gates", or "Robert Langdon" or any of the other characters who were inspired by Indy?

That said... since Disney owns Indy and National Treasure now, and they have more or less a working relationship with Sony and Universal I would not be against Harrison Ford, Ke Huy Quan, Angelina Jolie, Brendan Fraiser, Tom Holland, Nicolas Cage, and Tom Hanks teaming up in a cross over. But that's more up there with my fan boy dreams of a crossover between Indiana Jones, Captain America, and the Rocketeer: a fun way to display my action figures and even sounds could on paper, but not necessarily something that could work well in it's execution.

 

I have to agree. In fact it's part of the reason I hope the franchise doesn't pass the hat on to a new character, even if it is a series of "Short Round" movies. After all, once you take out Indiana Jones from Indiana Jones, what would really separate it from any of the other franchises starring characters like "Lara Croft", "Rick O'Connell", "Benjamin Gates", "Nate Drake", "Robert Langdon", or any other character who was more or less inspired by Indy in the same way he was inspired by James Bond, or Allan Quatremain?

My rank:
1. Raiders
2. Crusade
3. KoTC
4. ToD

KotC had more of the "elements" of Raiders and Crusade ten Temple. That said, the more I watch Temple, the more I find to enjoy. The mine car chase scene, and the scene at the end with the rope bridge are some of my favorites. The whole series has some very wonderful set pieces.

 

Maybe have Shortround and one of Sallah's grandkids go on an adventure. But I really just want a new actor to play Indy in the 30's to 40's. He was inspired by Bond and thus they should do the Bond approach to the casting.

 

Temple 9/10
Raiders and Crusade 8/10
Skull 7/10
Dial TBD

 

Skull 8/10
Crusade 9,5/10
Raiders 10/10
Temple 12/10

 

This one's tough, it really depends on my mood. The only thing that's certain is that Skull is always at the bottom of my list, I think Shia LaBeuf was miscast as Indy's son and his IMO mediocre performance detracts from my enjoyment of the movie.

Crusade - the first one that set the tone for the whole franchise. I like Belloq as the adversary and Marion as the female lead. The stereotypical Nazis are annoying at best.
Temple - Mola Ram is my favorite Indy villain ever. Willie's screams and high heels in the jungle get annoying after a while, but I understand that they didn't want a second Marion. And she did what she had to do when necessary, so that's good. The soundtrack's great and the miniature FX are fabulous.
Raiders - The father-son quips with Sean Connery are great. It's been a while since I last saw the movie, though, so I don't remember it in any detail.


Skull - I enjoy it because it's an Indy movie. I also enjoy the reappearance of Marion, though.

 

Just a note that i will probably be locking this thread and opening a new one for Dial tomorrow or Tues - it's out in the UK on June 28.