When George Lucas finished Star Wars, he then began working on a project similar to most films of the 30s and 40s and chose to make it more modern and with the added help of Steven Spielberg and bringing back Harrison Ford from Star Wars, we get Indiana Jones. A series of films that has since gone on to become somewhat of a iconic franchise and everyone loves it. But is it still as good as it was back in the franchise's launch in the 80s? Let's find out:
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Released in 1981 with the name Raiders of the Lost Ark, before being re-branded as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and set in 1936, Jones sets out to find a golden idol that is hidden in a temple filled with bobby traps. He successfully does so, but then is outnumbered by his rival, archaeologist Rene Belloq and the Hovitos and then escapes their clutches to get on his plane and leaves the area. Upon returning to his teaching post, he is then interviewed by two Army intelligence agents who tell him that the Nazis are after something called the Ark of the Covenant which they believe is a weapon which will make them invincible in the ongoing world war. In doing so, they need the assistance of Indy's mentor Abner Ravenwood and the Staff of Ra to acquire the ark. Indy sets out to find the ark and store it somewhere safe so that no one can find it. I actually liked this film because it's iconic, has a lot of things happening in it and at times, is quite funny. I can now see why this film became so iconic. 9/10
Temple of Doom
Released in 1984 and serving as a prequel to the first (as well as having a more darker tone than before), Indy is in Shanghai and manages to narrowly escape the clutches of a mob boss called Lao Che, after a diamond exchange (or something similar) goes wrong, with his side kick Short Round and female gold digging nightclub singer, Willie Scott and the 3 initially head for America before the pilots (who were working for Che) crash the plane into the Himalayas, however the 3 narrowly manage to escape. They arrive in India, only to arrive in a village that believe that they were sent from a Hindu god to find a sacred stone and save the community's children, both of which are near the Pankot Palace and are both being guarded by evil forces with the children going into slave labor and the stone being one of 5 stones that promise fortune and glory. Overall, I found this film to be very odd and weird, but at times annoying. I don't think this is the best film of the series, but it is still enjoyable and funny when it needs to be. 8/10
Last Crusade
Released in 1989 and serving as a sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, the film begins in 1912 where we see a young Indy and his journey towards becoming an adventurer (the latter of which is explored more in the TV series, "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" which I may look at, at a later date). We then move to 1938 where adult Indy gets a chance to complete his life long mission of acquiring a cross that he lost to Coronado all those years ago and returns to his teaching post afterwards. He then hears that his father has been captured by the Nazis in the hopes that he can find the Holy Grail for them, which Indy's father has been doing life long research on. Indy sets out to find and rescue his father while trying to complete his life long mission at the same time, but it isn't long before the Nazis declare war on the Jones boys. Even though it does have a slow start (for the big adventure that is), I find the film to be mostly dialogue more than anything else, but when the action eventually picks up, that's when the film shines. It does however manage to be funny and is a fitting end to the original set of films, until the one below came along that is. 8/10
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Released 19 years after the last film and with the acknowledgement of Harrison's age at the time, being set in 1957, Indiana Jones and his partner Mac (both of which fought in WW2) are captured by a group of soviet agents led by Colonel Dr Irina Spalko, who bring them to a warehouse called Warehouse 51 in Nevada so that they can acquire a crate containing an extraterrestrial being that crashed on Earth in Roswell, New Mexico, 10 years ago. The crate has magnetic casing which makes Indy find it easily, however Mac betrays him and joins the Soviets. Indy manages to escape on a rocket powered sled and heads into a nuclear test site, only to have survived a nuclear explosion in a fridge. After being interrogated by federal agents, he returns to his teaching post and is given a leave of absence because of the incident. However a teenager called Mutt Williams has him go on another adventure to find what is believed to be, "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". The film isn't as strong as some of it's earlier entries, but I do find the combination of sci-fi, action and adventure to be quite odd. Nevertheless, it manages to pay tribute to the previous films quite well and is visually the best in the series. 8/10
Overall, while the films slowly drop their pace as the series goes on, it's an iconic series that I'm sure will be loved by many, for many years to come. Oh and for anyone wondering, Indiana Jones also now belongs to Disney, however Disney have stated that unlike Star Wars, the franchise was not factored in the deal and Paramount continue to retain some rights to future instalments, but should there be another instalment, Disney will have to negotiate with Paramount, the same way they did with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 9/10
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