I Just Watched All the Indiana Jones Films for the First Time. Here’s What I Thought.

Indiana Jones is a pop culture icon that was introduced in 1981 with the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film’s huge success led to Indiana Jones sequels, television series, video games, and even comics. It’s had a lasting impact, inspiring filmmakers, television, film, and video games.

This iconic franchise was created by George Lucas in 1973. He wanted to create a film series that would be similar to the movie serials of the 1930s and 40s. A film serial is a movie divided into episodes that would be screened at theaters weekly, as part of a series. Lucas proposed his idea of the character “Indiana Smith” to Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was on board, but wanted the name changed from Indiana Smith to Indiana Jones.

I’ve always known about Indiana Jones, but I had never actually sat down and watched any of the movies. So, being a Steven Spielberg fan, I decided to finally give this popular film franchise a try. Here are my thoughts on the Indiana Jones movies, but beware that there may be spoilers.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Let’s begin with the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, from 1981. This movie is set in 1936 and follows Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), an archaeologist and professor. He is sent to Egypt to assist the U.S. government to retrieve the lost Ark of the Covenant. The government discovers that Hitler is in search of the ark in order to have a powerful army. Indiana’s journey reunites him with his former love, Marion (Karen Allen) Ravenwood, and his friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies). With their help, he must stop archaeologist René Belloq (Paul Freeman), who is assisting the Nazis, from unleashing the power of the ark.

Overall, I thought this was an entertaining adventure movie with lots of action and silly moments. The movie begins with an action-filled scene in which Indiana Jones retrieves a Golden Idol from a temple. I thought this was a good way to start the film, as it absorbed me into the story right away.

The acting in this movie was great, and I also liked most of the characters. One of my favorites was Marion because she was so fun and cool. I loved her outfits, especially the one with the red pants and white blouse that she wore in the Cairo scene. Sometimes the movie became confusing for me, but I still really enjoyed it and would definitely watch it again.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Next up, from 1984, it’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This story takes place in 1935, a year before the events of the previous film. Indiana Jones must help a village whose sacred stone was stolen along with the village children. He is joined by his sidekick, Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), and nightclub singer, Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). To retrieve the stone, they travel to Pankot Palace where they discover a secret cult who are using the children to find more of the sacred stones.

Just like Raiders of the Lost Ark, I found this to be a fun movie with endless adventure. It begins with a musical sequence where Willie Scott is performing the song “Anything Goes.” I loved this as the beginning scene because it’s fun and reminiscent to musicals of the 1930s. Other scenes like that of the raft jump or mine carts were thrilling, and gave me the feeling of being on a roller coaster, which I thought was cool.

This film is known for being darker and scarier than the others in the franchise, and I can definitely see why. Some scenes, like the one with the cult, felt more violent than moments from the previous movie. But, I did really enjoy Short Round and I feel like he brought some joy and humor to the story. Aside from the intense and strange moments, I thought this was an enjoyable film.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Now we move on to the third film, from 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This film is set in 1938. Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), an art collector and acquaintance of Indiana Jones, is in search of the Holy Grail and wants Indiana’s help to find it. He informs Indiana that his father, Henry Jones (Sean Connery) was away searching for the ancient artifact, but disappeared. The quest to find his father takes Indiana Jones on another exciting and dangerous adventure.

I thought this film was really fun, and I think what stands out the most is the relationship between Indiana Jones and his father. There were a lot of fun and touching moments between them. Even though Indiana has a complicated relationship with his father, he loves him and is willing to risk his own life to save him.

Like the previous two films, this one had lots of fun adventure scenes. One of my favorites is when Indy and his father are riding on a motorbike together. I also enjoyed the plot twist in this movie, and was definitely not expecting that jumpscare with the Grail towards the end.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Next, we have Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, from 2008. It’s 1957, and greaser, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), speaks with Indiana Jones about the disappearance of their mutual friend, Oxley (John Hurt), who discovered a crystal skull. They travel to Peru in search of their friend, but are captured by Soviet agent leader Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), who wants possession of the skull. While en route to the city of Akator to return the skull to where it belongs, Indiana Jones goes on another wild journey.

Given that this movie was made 19 years after Last Crusade, I was a bit worried it would have a different style and not feel like a classic Indiana Jones adventure. But I actually thought the movie was really fun, and I definitely enjoyed it more than I expected to. It was well-paced and very entertaining.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Indy movie without some creepy animals. This one had a scene with a bunch of ants, which I thought was really nasty. But the majority of the movie was fun, like when Mutt and Indy are speeding on a motorcycle. I also thought Harrison Ford and Karen Allen did a nice job portraying their characters once again, and it made me happy to see them reunite.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

And finally, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This movie was released in 2023 and was directed by James Mangold. This film takes place in 1969, where we see a much older Indiana Jones living alone and soon to be retired. He is suddenly plunged into chaos when his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), visits him and requests to see Archimedes’ dial, an ancient artifact that her father left in the hands of Indiana. From there, Indy is on a non-stop adventure from being chased by CIA agents to facing some scary eels in the ocean. All the while, he is being chased by Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a German scientist who is also after the dial.

From all of the Indiana Jones movies, I think this one was my least favorite. The overall tone was a bit sad, and I thought the movie in general felt a little slow and confusing. There were a lot of characters to keep up with, which made the story tricky to follow. I also feel like some of the characters didn’t feel as memorable or likable as characters from the past movies.

But of course, there were things about the movie that I did enjoy, like the opening scene. I thought the de-aging visual effects were impressive and the scene did a good job at bringing back the vibe of the first three films. I think my favorite part about this movie was just seeing Indiana Jones again, and seeing him reunite with Sallah and Marion.

Final thoughts

Watching the Indiana Jones movies was a really fun experience, and I enjoyed them so much more than I thought. I’ve always pictured these movies as scary, filled with endless creepy crawlers. But they weren’t nearly as intense as I imagined, and I actually didn’t mind the creepy animals too much.

One detail that I loved from all of the movies was the spotlight moment for Indy’s hat. Whether he was reaching for his hat in a time of danger, or it simply rolled back to him, this recurring element brought both suspense and humor to the movies. That’s why I thought it was perfect how Dial of Destiny concluded with a shot of Indy’s hand grabbing his famous hat. There’s no better way to close the film franchise.

And of course, the soundtracks for these films were done amazingly well by John Williams. I’ve always loved the “Raiders March” song and the soundtracks in general, even before having seen the movies. So hearing the music in each movie was perfect, and it’s cool how he composed the score for every film.

Overall, I thought Indiana Jones was a really fun adventure film series. The stories and characters were exciting, the acting was really good, and the action and thrills were endless. It’s no wonder that these movies have been such a huge influence to so many films in the action/adventure genre.