It has been 19 years since Indiana Jones last cracked his whip, so we thought a refresher on our favorite adventurer might be in order. Jones would be 58 when the action in “Crystal Skull” takes place. But, as Indy himself put it, “it’s not the age, it’s the mileage.”
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Release date: June 12, 1981
Budget: $22 million
Box office: $209 million domestic; $141 million foreign
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Critical reaction: Almost universal praise as well as eight Oscar nominations, including best picture. (It won four.)
Does it hold up? “The first ‘Indy,’ for me, is the most perfect of the three,” director Steven Spielberg says. “I’ve never gone back and said I could have done anything better than what I achieved on that film.”
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Release date: May 23, 1984
Budget: $28 million
Box office: $180 million domestic; $153 million foreign
Critical reaction: “I don’t think there was a good review,” Kate Capshaw, the movie’s damsel in distress, told Empire magazine.
Does it hold up? No need for a critical reappraisal. When Spielberg whiffs, he misses badly.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Release date: May 24, 1989
Budget: $48 million
Box office: $197 million domestic; $277 million foreign
Critical reaction: Tim Burton’s “Batman” got the buzz that summer, but “Crusade” proved Spielberg could still provide expert escapist entertainment.
Does it hold up? “Raiders” may be more exciting, but the interplay between Ford and Sean Connery as his father makes “Crusade” a journey worth repeating.