Every Indiana Jones Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Dial Of Destiny)

Although often considered the weakest installment in Spielberg's original trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom remains one of the director's most visually impressive and visceral works - a superb horror show that indulges in the series' adventure serial inspirations in the best, most nastiest ways.

A prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom sees Harrison Ford's eponymous explorer on a quest to recover a Sankara stone from a murderous Thuggee cult in India. Along for the ride are Short Round, Indy's orphan sidekick (played to perfection by a young Ke Huy Quan), and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), a famous American singer operating in Shanghai who tags along almost by accident.

Whereas the four other Indiana Jones films are all globetrotting adventures, Temple takes place in just two locations. We're treated to a glorious opening set-piece at the Club Obi-Wan in Shanghai, before then spending the remainder of the runtime in Mayapore and Pankot Palace, the so-called Temple of Doom from the film's title. This isn't a negative, though. By rooting the bulk of the film in Pankot, Spielberg is able to marinate the film in dread, having Indy and co. navigate the labyrinthine passages of the palace before unearthing the real horror of the Thuggee cult's lair.

It's understandable why Temple's darker instincts proved jarring when it was released, but the second Indiana Jones film is truly magnificent and, from a visual and set design point of view at the very least, a series high-point (it should earn that plaudit for the "Anything Goes" number alone). It's a gorgeous effort - Spielberg and Slocombe capture the twilight with a fantastic mix of matte paintings and wide angle lenses, aided excellently by the visual artists at Industrial Light and Magic. Pankot's interiors are also mind-blowing in their scale and grandeur, whether it's the sacrificial chamber or the mines where Mayapore's children endlessly toil.

Temple of Doom is more than just a visual showpiece, though, and despite its darker inflections, this is an Indiana Jones movie with truckloads of heart - exemplified best by Quan's performance as Short Round. We may be introduced to Indiana through "fortune and glory", but after that opening Temple of Doom turns into a great big romantic battle for survival and humanity. It speaks to the heart of Indy, as well as the dark, sometimes ugly roots of his inspirations - which is why it remains one of Spielberg's most compelling efforts, as well as Indiana Jones' greatest adventure.