When I was a child, I wanted to grow up to be Indiana Jones. Not an archaeologist or a history professor but the man himself. Every bank holiday, when one of his adventures would be playing on TV, I would be glued to the screen. As soon as the credits started to roll, I would be running around outside humming the iconic John Williams theme thinking I was on a globetrotting adventure. My garden in Armagh would become a jungle in South America as I’d swing off the branches of trees (nearly breaking my neck in the process), unearthing rocks and pretending they were some sort of ancient artefact.
My imagination soared thanks to the sense of adventure these movies instilled into me, but for all the wonderful things about them, my love of the series stemmed from the titular character. He is the ultimate underdog. Time and time again he fails, but his perseverance in his race against time to save the day is what makes us root for him, making the character endure to this day. Behind all of his roguish charm he is a flawed person that made (and still makes him) so relatable to this day.
The brainchild of George Lucas, the origins of Indiana Jones stretch as far back as the origins of Star Wars. At the time, Lucas envisioned a serialised adventurer travelling across the world retrieving artefacts with a supernatural quality. But Star Wars took most of his attention, so Indy was put on the back burner. That was until a holiday with Steven Spielberg in Hawaii after the release of Star Wars brought the idea to light again. The two stuck up a conversation about what they wanted to do next. Spielberg spoke of his desire to make a James Bond film, but Lucas told him that he had something better in mind and told him all about Indiana Jones. Spielberg loved the idea so much that the pair met up with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan to plot out the film. Over the course of three days, they bashed out the story for what would become Raiders of the Lost Ark.
With the story in place, the next step was to find an actor to fit the fedora. Spielberg originally wanted to cast Harrison Ford, but Lucas was reluctant after working with him twice already (on American Graffiti and Star Wars), so they auditioned multiple actors for the role. Their top choice was Tom Selleck who gave a terrific screen test but ultimately he was unable to take the role due to his commitments with the show Magnum PI. At this point, Spielberg floated the idea of Ford again, with Lucas accepting. After presenting Ford with the script (which he loved) he accepted the role, changing the course of cinema history.
Raiders of the Lost Ark saw the intrepid archaeologist in a quest to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis led by Indy’s egotistical rival René Belloq. What makes the film the classic adventure it is known as today is how everyone is at the top of their game creatively. Spielberg directs the film with so much energy and pace that the thrills, terror, humour, and romance sweep you into the character’s world, taking you on an unforgettable adventure with one memorable set piece after another. The second Harrison Ford emerges from the gunfire smoke you recognise right away that he is perfect for the role without saying a word. He embodies the flawed heroism of the character with a touch of Humphrey Bogart to his performance, which oozes with so much natural charisma that makes it clear that it was a role he was born to play.
Opposite him, Karen Allen is wonderful as the plucky Marion Ravenwood who has perfect chemistry with Ford. Paul Freeman is suitably slimy as the villain Belloq, with Ronald Lacey evoking Peter Lorre as the creepy henchman Arnold Toht. Of course, you can’t speak about Raiders of the Lost Ark without bringing up the score from John Williams, whose work in the film stands amongst his best work from his illustrious career. While Spielberg keeps the film moving at a breakneck pace, Williams weaves the interchangeable tones of the film through his score. Without it there would be no Indiana Jones as we know it today. With all of the elements in front of and behind the camera in perfect alignment, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of (if not the) greatest on screen adventure of all time.
Following the success of the first film, Spielberg and Lucas took inspiration from Lucas’ own Star Wars series by deciding to go down a darker route with The Temple of Doom. Set a few years before the events of the first film, the second entry in the series sees Indiana Jones alongside his young sidekick Short Round and nightclub singer Willie Scott being flung into an adventure in India. Here they are tasked with retrieving a Sankara stone and rescuing the children of the village from the evil Thuggee cult. Truth be told, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this film when I was younger because of how dark it was. Even though faces melted and heads exploded in the previous entry, human hearts being ripped out from living victims was a step too far for me. With maturity I have come to admire the film as it tries to do something different instead of being a retread of the first film.
Having said that, some aspects of the film just don’t work. One of which is the character of Willie Scott played by Kate Capshaw. Capshaw does a great job at playing the role, but the main issue is with how the character is written as a screeching weakling who is in constant need of rescuing for the most part. I understand that Spielberg and Lucas didn’t want another Marion Ravenwood but making Willie Scott the complete opposite to her feels like a big misstep. Aside from that, Ke Huy Quan is a joy to watch who like any child watching wants to be Indiana Jones. Amrish Puri carries a malevolent presence as the cult leader Mola Rum and Ford is more playful this time round despite the darker overtones. It also has some terrific set pieces handled brilliantly by Spielberg, with the mine cart chase being a highlight.
The third entry takes a back-to-basics approach in the form of The Last Crusade, where Indy teams up with his father in a quest to find the Holy Grail before it falls into the hands of the Nazis. Although I recognise that Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably the best film in the series, for me The Last Crusade is my favourite thanks mainly to the inclusion of Sean Connery as Indy’s father, Henry Jones Sr. Although the film is about a quest for the Holy Grail, it is really a quest about Indy finding his father after the two have become estranged over the years. Connery nails the role with a gruff but eccentric performance that makes you believe that he is Indiana Jones’ father without question. Amidst all the humour in their bickering and the excitement of the adventure, the manner in which the two become closer again carries so much emotional resonance, it is hard not to love the movie.
The opening sequence, which sees a young Indiana Jones (played perfectly by River Phoenix) being chased by some robbers for taking the Cross of Coronado from them, is a great start to the film and from there the action escalates from a boat chase in Venice right up to the tank rescue in Hatay, reinvigorating the globetrotting aspect of the series. It also features some of John Williams’ best work in the series with so many new themes that add to the humour, the sense of wonder and the emotion in the film. In terms of the supporting cast, Julian Glover’s strait-laced turn as businessman Walter Donovan feels like another riff on a character like Belloq but Allison Doody is very good as the duplicitous professor, Elsa Schneider. The return of Marcus and Sallah from the first movie are welcome additions, as the ending culminates with the perfect John Ford inspired shot as they ride off into the sunset alongside the Jones boys.
With this kind of ending, you would think that this would be the end of the adventures of Indiana Jones but regrettably that was not the case. 2008 saw the release of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The story this time finds Indy working alongside a young greaser called Mutt Williams (who turns out to be his son) on a quest to rescue an old friend (Harold Oxley) and an old flame (Marion Ravenwood) whilst uncovering the mystery of the crystal skulls. Without a doubt, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the weakest entry in the series and this stems from the idea that it all feels so unnecessary with Spielberg explicitly stating he was reluctant to return to the series with the story in place.
It’s always great to see Ford back in the role but he is deserving of a much better film than the mess that is the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The opening sequence at Area 51 is classic Spielberg and works really well, and I’ll go as far as including the ‘Nuke the fridge’ moment which has faced unfair criticism over the years isn’t as bad as I remember it compared to the latter half of the movie. When you think of how the character has in the past parachuted out of a plane on an inflatable raft, surviving a nuclear blast isn’t entirely outside the realm of believability. The problems seep in once Indy and Mutt are in the Amazon. It is here where the ugly look of the film becomes more apparent as there appears to be an over reliance on CGI, which is a shame when you consider how the series was renowned for its physical stunt work in a real world environment.
The script attempts to do an inversion of the father son dynamic from the last film between Mutt and Indy but it doesn’t work entirely, and the main story itself is so weak that not even a filmmaker of Spielberg’s calibre and a supporting cast including Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone and John Hurt can salvage it. I know it is a film that has moved from the 1930’s serialised adventure into the realm of 1950’s B-movie sci-fi but the inclusion of interdimensional beings (which is a lazy excuse not to call them aliens) doesn’t fit in with the MacGuffins with religious connections of the previous films. Although it presents a happy ending for the titular hero, the same can’t be said for the audience.
Unperturbed by the disappointment of the fourth entry, Disney have pushed forward for one last on-screen adventure for Henry Jones Jr. in the form of The Dial of Destiny which will surely be the final film in the series. Although there are concerns with James Mangold taking over the directorial reins from Spielberg and the film getting a tepid response from the Cannes film festival, there is still hope that it will somehow redeem Indy’s last quest for fortune and glory, and end the series on a high.
These movies have meant the world to me growing up. They let my imagination soar as a child and nurtured my love of movies growing up. It’ll be sad to see Harrison Ford hang up his fedora for good, but I am grateful to have shared in the adventures of Indiana Jones with millions of people worldwide.
Find Joe on Twitter: @jmcelroy07