The Worst Indiana Jones Movie According To Steven Spielberg
Every film director — even the most genius among them — carries around a few regrets in their body of work. Steven Spielberg has a series of huge victories on his resume: "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Schindler's List." The accolades go on. But even he's had some failures, including "1941" and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence."
Even among his successes, like the blockbuster "Indiana Jones" franchise, the director has his least favorite. The series — which follows the adventures of Henry "Indiana" Jones (Harrison Ford) — is comprised of five films: "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and an upcoming, currently untitled upcoming fifth film, which is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2022.
That's a lot of stories about an archeologist-slash-professor who can't keep himself out of Nazi and/or snake-based trouble. But which is the director's least favorite?
It's not 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'
For those who loathe "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" — which quickly became controversial among fans when it was released in 2008 — no, that's not Steven Spielberg's least-favorite "Indiana Jones" flick. But his answer might not surprise them: according to comments from Susan Lacy, filmmaker and documentarian who has interviewed the legendary producer and director for her 2017 HBO documentary "Spielberg," the director's least-favorite Indy movie is "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (via New York Daily News).
Lacy did not state any reasons for this choice, but "Temple of Doom" has always been a controversial subject for Indy fans. While some love the large-scale action scenes and dazzling set design, others have derided the movie's plot and supporting characters. Particularly unpopular among fans of the film are Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), Doctor Jones' love interest, whose damsel in distress helplessness has been compared unfavorably to Jones' previous and much more capable love interest, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).
Fans will be able to weigh in on their least favorite installment when "Indiana Jones 5" comes out in 2022.