What is the best movie franchise of all time is a hotly debated issue, and there are certainly plenty of contenders for the crown. Star Wars is way up there, along with the Harry Potter films, the Marvel franchise and more. And fans of each will happily expound their merits and claims to the title for hours.
But that’s just their opinion, and in ours, none of the above can hold a candle to the Indiana Jones franchise! For a start, Harrison Ford and George Lucas were involved. Lucas is, of course, the brains behind Star Wars, and Ford as Han Solo helped tie the first films in that series together. But for Indiana Jones, they were joined by another legendary name in the world of films; Steven Spielberg. And now, let’s look at the other reasons.
The main character is cool
Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, and Frodo are all great characters portrayed by great actors. But admit it; would you really want to be them, or date them if more appropriate? Dr Jones, on the other hand, is the epitome of explorer cool and has been the inspiration for a huge number of related products like video games and even popular online slots games.
Everyone can enjoy it
Without knocking them, there seems to be a Marmite quality to other famous franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings. Most people either love or hate them. And even if you do have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, casual watching of these films is usually made impossible. This is because at least one other person in the room will be an obsessive fan. They’ll supply a non-stop commentary of insights, theories and fun facts while watching, and usually at any other time, they get an opportunity, making typical enjoyment impossible.
Not so with Indiana Jones. Whenever Indy shows up on her small screen, he’s greeted like an old friend, and everybody settles down to watch a piece of great cinema without feeling the need to echo the dialogue, explain hidden meanings, etc.
No unnecessary padding
Without naming names, we’re sure you’ll agree that some of the films in other famous franchises, and parts of films in others, just didn’t hold up. Whether it’s a good film made overlong by unnecessary scenes, or a good franchise spoilt by some basically bad movies, there are flaws. In the Indiana Jones series, all four films are strong, and the backstories of the additional characters who were introduced fit logically into the overall storyline development.
It made archaeology cool
This alone is deserving of some sort of award, indeed. And although an expert will tell you that Dr Jones’ handling of artifacts probably makes him the world’s worst archaeologist, the films inspired a resurgence of interest in this important branch of Science.
Indiana Jones frequently tops lists of “Greatest movie Characters”, and we think that the franchise which bears his name should now also receive its rightful recognition. The points above alone should be enough to prove our point, but if you’re still not convinced, just watch the series again!
