Indiana Jones – cracker of whip, finder of antiquities, Raider of Lost Arks, winner of recent poll for the greatest screen character of all time, seeker of fortune & glory – there’s no-one quite like him. Heroic, funny, smart, industrious, decent, it’s not hard to see why he won. Although there continues to be a wide range of opinions about the merits of the fourth film in the series, the prevailing view is that it was a significant down-tick compared to the original trilogy.
Likewise, the jury is still out on whether the handing over of the reins for part 5 to James Mangold is a positive or negative step – needless to say it will be longer than any of us could originally have envisaged before we see anything resembling an end product on which to pass formal judgement.
What cannot be reasonably argued against is that the original trilogy is one of the great film trilogies and that Indy himself is a compelling, all-time fantastic character. Which brings us to the task at hand – to consider the moments in the franchise that have created and defined who Indiana Jones is and the moments that have cemented in the collective consciousness just what a milestone character he is.
- Eyeing up the gold figurine – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Now of course, none of this helped in the end – the temple collapses around Indy and he barely escapes with his life, but it sets out an important stall early on. Indy is careful and considered. He doesn’t go wading in, sprinting into danger where angels fear to tread, he considers his moves, looks around, weighs it all up. We see exactly the same thing at the end of Last Crusade – each of the three trials considered carefully, even as his father fades fast behind him.
2. I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go along – Raiders of the Lost Ark
It might be lashing himself to a rope bridge before taking a machete to it, it might be pushing a giant statue through a wall to escape an increasingly inhospitable snake pit, it might be stealing a plane that he doesn’t know how to land. The point is, he keeps going – moving forward towards his objective without necessarily being able to explain how he ultimately got there.
3. It’s not the years, it’s the mileage – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indy is as perfectly cast as anyone in film history – it’s not just getting the right actor, it’s capturing him at the right point in his life. Not actually that old, but looking bedraggled and tired and believable as someone aged not by the years he has lived but by the adventures he has had and the places to which he has journeyed. That’s what he means when he says that line to Marion. It’s not the passage of time that has changed him, it’s where he’s been, what he’s done, what he’s seen.
When Belloq says Indy’s about to become part of one of his archaeological sites, he’s not far off the mark – long before Indy looking genuinely old in Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls (which is the second and final mention of that instalment that we’ll have here) we recognise that he already has plenty of miles on the clock. To be honest it is an indispensable part of what makes Indy work as a character.
His versatility, his resourcefulness, his accumulated wisdom, all of this would make little sense if he was still wet behind the ears. He can get through the prologue to Last Crusade (on which more shortly) on the strength of his energy and wits, but his later adventures required there to be a lot more under the hood.
4. Creating an Icon – Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
It is breathtaking stuff and a feather in the cap of Spielberg, screenwriter Jeffrey Boam and (of course) the late, great River Phoenix. Without wanting to spend too much time on a negative heading, when you consider Lucas spent three prequel films trying (and failing) to adequately create a believable, compelling and effective back/origin story for Darth Vader, the breathless achievements of the opening eight and a half minutes of Last Crusade shine even more brightly.
5. Don’t Lose The Hat (or the whip)! – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
It is such a small moment, such a simple touch, but vital again in establishing and reinforcing character traits. Indy really likes his hat (as he does his whip) and although he could get another just like it, he likes that one and doesn’t want to lose it. In a film (and indeed a franchise) of near misses, close calls and last minute rescues it is a great moment of making the time for one last thing and reinforces the significance and importance of these accessories.
6. Indy shoots first – Raiders of the Lost Ark
What was originally thought up as a matter of expedience turns out to have been a master-stroke of character work. Yes, Indy is resilient and resourceful, but we already saw that as he fought off multiple assailants earlier in the scene and he would go on to get pummelled by a Nazi adversary a few short sequences later. What this scene gave us instead was something else – quick wittedness, a willingness to take a gun to a sword fight, a man with limits in terms of how long he can keep going (he’s not Rama from The Raid) and someone who will find the quickest, easiest answer to any problem.
Is it cheating to shoot someone who is expecting a sword fight? Thankfully Indy is perfectly happy with that (Han Solo was too, but that’s a point for a different article altogether).
7. Didn’t you guys ever go to Sunday School? – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indy has been brought by Marcus Brody to see a couple of guys from US military intelligence who want to talk to him about a former mentor, Abner Ravenwood and a communique that refers cryptically to Tanis and the headpiece to the Staff of Ra. These gentlemen are confused but Indy is immediately on the ball, describing the map room in Tanis, the form and function of the staff and its headpiece and all of the associated history and mythology of the Ark of the Covenant. When they question whether he’s talking about the actual Ten Commandments, Indy starts talking about Moses coming down from Mount Horeb and as Indy encounters blank faces, comments “didn’t you ever go to Sunday School?”
Indy may be a dauntless explorer, but he has also put in his time in the library. He studied, paid attention and knows his stuff, making him the ideal resource for the US army to rely on here – equipped in every way for what lies ahead of him. Swinging across chasms and avoiding booby-traps is no help on its own, if you don’t know what you’re looking for and where to start searching. As Henry Jones (Snr) says in the Last Crusade, “goose-stepping morons like yourself should try reading books instead of burning them”.
8. “I love you” sends him all a-fluster – Raiders of the Lost Ark
One of his students quietly blinks and as he peers closer it transpires that she has written “Love You” on her eyelids. Rather than taking a pass at her though, he becomes flustered and hesitant, clearly not knowing quite what to do with himself. Yes, he gets the girl in each of his adventures (even if they don’t always survive to the final curtain), but he is not some globe-trotting stud. The attention and affections of his student (and she is clearly not alone in how she feels) genuinely throw him and he remains largely oblivious to the sheer volume of his students who are quite smitten with him.
9. Good in a fist fight – Raiders of the Lost Ark
There’s something almost magical about the way he seems to be wearily saying “okay, I’m coming” as he climbs down from the aeroplane wing in Raiders to fight the Nazi soldier, who as best we can tell just emerged from his tent because he loves a good punch up. As was often the case with Bond, Indy cannot match his foe for brute strength, but sand in the eye, sucker punches and ultimately a helpfully timed propeller all work just as well in his favour. We can see that he can take a good punch and dish them out too, but as always, it’s a combination of perseverance and going with what works.
10. If Adventure Has A Name – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade
How much does a name matter? Think Marty McFly or George for your protagonist. Henry or Indiana. Peter or Maverick. Johns McClane, Matrix, Rambo and Utah, rather than a load of Alans or Garys (apologies to all of the Alans and Garys out there – you are fine men, just underrepresented amongst screen heroes – if it makes you feel any better, there aren’t many Davids either).
Indiana sounds adventurous, exciting, dynamic. It certainly sounds more so than Henry. A name can and does matter so much and can help to establish character before you’ve heard them utter a word or seen them take a step. Why do you think all of the heroes in The Matrix call themselves Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Cypher, Tank? Because they sound cool, that’s why. Indiana Jones is a great and evocative name. So great I named one of my kids after him. And not one of my sons.