Indiana Jones Reviews: Our Verdict on All Five Films

Cinvibe's verdicts on the five Indiana Jones films are opinion, and they run in release order from Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981 to Dial of Destiny in 2023. They cover the movies, not the video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which is a separate product. Every verdict is Cinvibe's own take. Is Indiana Jones worth watching? Yes, and the sections that follow show where to begin and which film suits which viewer. For a full ranking with reasons, see indiana jones movies ranked.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), directed by Steven Spielberg, is the film to watch first because it sets every rule the series follows. In 1936 Indy escapes a booby-trapped temple in Peru, loses the golden idol to his rival René Belloq, and is then sent to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. It cost $18 million and grossed about $390 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, and it runs a tight 115 minutes. Lucasfilm has noted that the snake sounds were made with a cheese casserole, which says a lot about how practical the whole thing felt. My verdict: it is the one film I would hand to anyone, including people who have never seen a fedora on screen.

Temple of Doom (1984), also directed by Steven Spielberg, is a prequel set in 1935, so it comes before Raiders in story order. It opens in a Shanghai nightclub with Willie Scott and Short Round, ends the first act with a plane crash and a raft ride down a mountain, and then turns toward a starving village in India that has lost its children. Lucasfilm says the original title was Temple of Death, and the tone fits that. It cost $28 million and grossed about $333 million worldwide. In my opinion it is the most divisive of the early films, yet it has the set pieces of a series at full confidence. Watch it after Raiders if you are comfortable with a darker story.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), directed by Steven Spielberg, is the best sequel in my opinion, and the pick if you want the series at its warmest and funniest. It opens in 1912 with River Phoenix as young Indy earning his fedora, then jumps to 1938 when Walter Donovan asks Indy to find his missing father. Sean Connery plays Professor Henry Jones, and the father and son pairing carries the film. It cost $48 million, grossed about $474 million worldwide and runs 127 minutes, with the Venice section and Elsa Schneider keeping the pace up. Spend time with Henry Jones Sr and Marcus Brody and you will see why fans return to it.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), directed by Steven Spielberg, is the biggest earner of the five and the one fans argue about most. It moves the series to 1957 and Cold War Soviets led by Cate Blanchett as Colonel Irina Spalko. Indy survives a nuclear test by hiding in a lead lined refrigerator, and then Shia LaBeouf's Mutt Williams asks for his help. Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood, though Sean Connery did not come back. With a $185 million budget it earned about $787 million worldwide. It could be argued the tone is the weakest match for the earlier films, but the opening Nevada sequence is a real set piece.

Dial of Destiny (2023), directed by James Mangold, is the longest film at 155 minutes and the latest in the series. It opens in 1944 on a Nazi train, then jumps to 1969 and an ageing professor at Hunter College in New York, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as goddaughter Helena Shaw and Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Voller. It cost $300 million and grossed about $384 million worldwide, so the box office fell well short of the budget's weight. In my opinion the 1944 opening is strong work, and the film is more emotional than its reputation suggests. No sixth film has been announced.

If you are new, watch Raiders, then The Last Crusade, and decide about the rest after that. If you want the chronological story, the indiana jones movies in order page lays out both orders, and the indiana jones timeline shows where each film sits. For the whole series at a glance, start at the indiana jones movies hub, and check where to watch indiana jones before you pick a night. The numbers behind each film are on the indiana jones box office page.