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As a tagline once said: The man with the hat is back.
Fifteen years after he last cracked a whip, the now 80-year-old Harrison Ford returns to global cinemas as Indiana Jones next month in the Dial of Destiny.
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All four Indiana Jones movies so far are now available to stream on Disney+.
But before its bow on the evening of June 28, Disney+ has provided fans and those relatively unfamiliar with the franchise with the opportunity of finally viewing the four previous movies all in place.
To celebrate the arrival of the quartet of swashbuckling Steven Spielberg-directed adventures (although Star Wars’ George Lucas was the man who conceived the series and co-wrote these previous instalments) to the Mouse House’s global streaming service, Stuff to Watch counts down the all-action blockbusters – from our least favourite, to the one we never tire of watching.
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a movie that has its moments.
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Clearly designed as torch-passing exercise that never quite eventuated, this sees Ford’s Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind some mysterious artefacts.
While Cate Blanchett gives great villain as the icy Irina Spalko, Shia LaBeouf never really convinces as Indiana’s sidekick and son Mutt Williams.
Apparently writer David Koepp wanted him to be nerdy, but Lucas refused, insisting that he be more like Marlon Brando in The Wild One – the result was more whiny.
A movie that has its moments, although the surviving a nuclear blast by hiding out in a fridge is certainly not the series’ finest.
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While the presence of Kate Capshaw’s Willie Scott and Ke Huy Quan’s Short Round were polarising, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’s mine chase was a real crowd-pleaser.
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Generally regarded as the least loved of the original trilogy, this much darker tale’s release (along with Gremlins later that year) actually led to the creation of a whole new rating classification in the US – the PG-13.
But while the depiction of a deadly Indian religious cult and a memorably horrifying meal at Pankot Palace (if the eyeball soup, snakes within snakes and giant beetles don’t get you, then the chilled monkey brains served en cranium certainly will) are more than a little off-putting, they actually pale in comparison to the grating presence of Kate Capshaw’s nightclub singer Willie Scott.
Thankfully though, there’s enough thrilling set-pieces – from the Obi Wan Club fracas to the collapsing bridge and the mine chase – to keep viewers appropriately enthralled.
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The two Henry Jones’ (Harrison Ford and Sean Connery) get themselves into some serious scrapes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Yes, there is a little sense of Return of the Jedi about this trilogy-ending tale, with its bringing back of the original antagonists (the Nazis) and plenty of father-son bonding, but it is hard not raise a smile – and your pulse – as the two Henry Jones’ bicker and battle their way towards locating the Holy Grail.
Much of the joy from this outing comes from the genius casting, not only did they get Sean Connery to play Ford’s pop, but they also managed to secure then-hot teen talent River Phoenix to essay the young Indy in a rollicking pre-credits set-piece which aims to explain some of his more quirky character traits.
Highlights include the temple traps, a zeppelin ride, a chase involving a motorcycle and sidecar and lines like, “Since I’ve met you I’ve nearly been incinerated, drowned, shot at and chopped into fish bait”.
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Indiana Jones gets up close and personal with one of his least-favourite creatures in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
A rollicking, globetrotting adventure that still entertains from start to finish.
At the time of its original release, this was hyped as an amazing collaboration between the two top crowd-pleasing directors (George Lucas and Steven Spielberg), but even four decades on, it’s still one of the most breathless, visually exciting movies to come out of that wild cinematic decade that was the 1980s.
Ford is at his cocky and charismatic best, proving Star Wars’ Han Solo was no one-off.
Yes the special effects look decidedly ropey now, but from the bravura jungle-set opening to the truly terrifying Well of Souls and the nightmare-inducing opening of the Ark of the Covenant, this just keeps on delivering.
The Indiana Jones Collection is now available to stream on Disney+.
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