Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Brad Sturdivant
June 18th, 2021
Few movie series in history are as difficult to measure as a whole than the Indiana Jones saga. On one hand, there’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, which for me is one of the greatest movies of all time. But on the other hand, there’s KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, which is frustratingly bad from start to finish. THE LAST CRUSADE is loads of fun and a worthy sequel to Raiders, but TEMPLE OF DOOM is a head-scratcher, even if you remember that it’s supposed to be a prequel to Raiders.
But if you asked me to create a wish list of movies I wanted to see on 4K, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK would have been at the very top. The Blu-ray transfers were fine, but there were plenty of areas for improvement. Thankfully, Paramount took care with their cherished franchise and delivered an outstanding 4K set.
Audio: Each film is presented with an updated Dolby Atmos track and each film sounds amazing. Indy has never sounded so great and I had never realized how much the surround channels could have been utilized during previous viewings. The updated audio tracks add a new dimension to an old film.
Special Features: There are no 4K exclusive special features included in this set, but the Blu-ray special features disc for each title is included. Strangely enough, the Blu-ray versions of the movies are not included.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK – 5/5
I don’t have enough superlatives to heap on the first Indiana Jones film, even though I’ve seen it now dozens of times. It’s the perfect match of actor personality, director ambition and creative storytelling that hasn’t been done as well since. The world of Indiana Jones is fascinating and the audience is immediately thrust into Indy’s world as we watch him outrun a giant, round rock in the opening scenes.
Video: Everyone loved to complain about the green tint that was noticeable throughout the Blu-ray of Raiders, but to be honest, I found it barely noticeable. Well, those frustrations can finally be pushed aside as the infamous green tint is officially history. There’s very little to nitpick in this video transfer as Raiders looks absolutely fantastic. I’ll repeat myself on subsequent reviews, but Raiders has never looked better and the added color depth and detail add so much to a film that was already one of the best.
TEMPLE OF DOOM – 3/5
I used to love to rant against Doom and complain about how bad it is compared to Ark, especially in terms of character development. Essentially, Indy takes a giant step backwards and doesn’t learn anything after the events of Ark. But then I read the title card and realized that technically, Doom is a prequel to Ark and so the character development knock doesn’t really apply. So now my frustration is with the fact that they chose to go backwards with the character rather than forwards, but I digress. The point still remains that where Raiders was grounded in reality and character development, Doom was just a ridiculous adventure. It has a place, but even now it feels like they could have and should have done better.
Video: Doom has never looked better and it was a nice surprise to see some of the more dated effects shots cleaned up a bit, specifically during the cart chase. The indoor scenes have more detail and color depth, but the screen comes to life during the outside shots or during the brightly lit indoor scenes. The opening moments at club Obi-Wan always looked good, but the colors pop and come to life like never before on 4K.
THE LAST CRUSADE – 4.5/5
From the opening scene with River Phoenix portraying a young Indiana to the emotional climax, Crusade returned Indy to the formula that made him so great in Ark. Adding in Sean Connery as the elder Jones and watching Connery and Ford light up the screen is a blast every time. I still claim Raiders is the best film, but Crusade might be the most fun.
Video: Of all the scenes in all of the Indiana Jones films, the most frustrating to me was the scene in Crusade when the American government officials are speaking to Indy in the library. On DVD and again on the Blu-ray, the scene is dark, grainy and unclear, as if somehow the transfer progress skipped over the entire scene. Well, I’m happy to report that the 4K fixed that issue and that scene, along with every other scene, looks fantastic from start to finish. Once again, you’re going to notice details you missed no matter how many times you’ve seen it.
KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – 2.5/5
Much like Doom, my stance of Skull has softened over the years. When viewed as a series, Skull is a passable addition to the Indy franchise as a secondhand adventure you might see featured in a video game or a graphic novel. It’s just not worthy of the big screen treatment. It doesn’t help that the entire creative team made mistake after mistake from the very idea of including aliens to the infamous nuke the fridge scene. For me, this was yet another reminder of how out of touch Spielberg had grown over the years.
Video: Skull just can’t catch a break. I figured the newest film would have the most impressive transfer, but it does not, at least not in terms of overall improvements from the Blu-ray. Yes, this is by far the best the film has ever looked, but the special effects look “off” and the colors whenever effects are used have a fakeness to them that wasn’t quite as visible on the Blu-ray. Maybe I’m nitpicking, but if there are any fans of this movie out there, they might be a little disappointed.
