(Credits: Far Out / Paramount Pictures / Konstantinos Kaskanis)
The longer the franchise went on, the more apparent it became that Indiana Jones would have been much better off left alone as a trilogy, but nothing will be able to take away the legendary status bestowed upon Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Quite simply, it’s one of the greatest blockbusters ever made, with Steven Spielberg’s direction and Harrison Ford’s instantly iconic performance creating a perfect storm of style, substance, and supernatural shenanigans that only existed in the first place because the filmmaker was stifled in his attempts to make a James Bond movie.
It turned out to be for the best, with Spielberg and collaborator George Lucas reiterating why they built their respective careers on constantly taking escapist entertainment to new levels, crafting a timeless blockbuster that packs the exact same punch whether it’s being watched for the first, fifth, tenth, or fiftieth time.
It would be far too easy to suggest Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Dial of Destiny as ideal companion pieces, so instead, the focus turns to ten action-packed adventures that carry the same spirit as Raiders of the Lost Ark in their own way.
Treasure-hunting adventures like Raiders of the Lost Ark
For the closest thing to an Indiana Jones flick Spielberg has helmed that isn’t part of the franchise, look no further than The Adventures of Tintin, which didn’t end up performing well enough at the box office to generate sequels despite having Peter Jackson, Joe Cornish, Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, and Kathleen Kennedy among its powerhouse creative team.
The rollicking performance-captured adventure may not have parlayed its treasure-hunting story into a follow-up, but Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure most certainly did. So popular that calls for a third instalment have yet to subside despite almost two decades on ice, the preposterous adventures of the leading man’s Benjamin Gates provide a modern pulpy update on the Indy formula.
For another treasure-centric story that spawned a successor, Romancing the Stone also doubles as the film that proved to Hollywood that Robert Zemeckis had what it took to helm Back to the Future, which wouldn’t have happened without Spielberg to further enhance its credentials as a suitable Raiders companion.
For a more martial arts-inspired tale revolving around mysterious cults and Nazi hoards, Jackie Chan’s classic Armour of God will scratch that itch, while Dwayne Johnson – with hair! – and Sean William Scott face a threat even greater than hunting for ancient artefacts when they come up against Christopher Walken’s scenery-chewing in the sorely underrated flop The Rundown.
Action-packed stories like Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark may be an adventure film first and foremost, but it’s also got a heavy dose of supernatural fantasy, and the shared concept of a charismatic hero searching for hidden treasures makes the debut of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl a fitting watch.
Along similar lines, Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy features a dashing, square-jawed hero getting more than he bargained for when it transpires some shiny trinkets should remain buried, albeit with Nazis being swapped out for an undead creature that literally sucks the life out of everyone it comes across.
Mystical powers, plenty of ominous smoke, gnarly practical effects, and a grizzled hero who’s regularly shown to be ill-equipped for the task at hand? Sounds an awful lot like, not just Indy but Jack Burton, the iconic hero of John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, one of cinema’s most enduring cult classics.
The Goonies may operate on a more even-keeled plane of reality than the aforementioned trio, but the beloved caper nonetheless pits a band of kids in a race against time to uncover a hidden pirate ship, while Antonio Banderas and The Mask of Zorro smoulders, buckles swashes, defies death, and fights back against tyranny in a vein very reminiscent of Ford’s derring-do archaeologist.
10 movies like Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
- The Adventures of Tintin (Steven Spielberg, 2011)
- National Treasure (John Turteltaub, 2004)
- Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis, 1984)
- Armour of God (Eric Tsang and Jackie Chan, 1986)
- The Rundown (Peter Berg, 2003)
- The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985)
- The Mask of Zorro (Martin Campbell, 1998)
- Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Gore Verbinski, 2003)
- The Mummy (Stephen Sommers, 1999)
