Action movies are prone to featuring violence that the everyday person would not survive. Comedies like Home Alone include these segments for comedic relief. However, Indiana Jones is one of many action heroes who has suffered a lot of life-threatening injuries since the beginning of his career.
The Indiana Jones series has stood the test of time and remains one of the most popular action movie franchises. The fifth installment is planned for release sometime in 2023, despite the fact that Indiana would have died on several occasions had it been in real life.
10 Dragged Behind A Moving Truck In Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first film in the franchise. Released in 1981, it's the movie that features the iconic "running from a boulder" scene. Riding on horseback, Indiana Jones is after the truck that contains the ark. He manages to make it to the truck but not without a fight.
As a Nazi throws Indy through the windshield, the g-force drags him beneath the truck while it's still moving. Indy attaches his whip to the rear of the truck and gets dragged along the road. If this was in real-life, Indy would have been skinned alive. However, the scene is regarded as one of the best action sequences in the franchise.
9 The Fight With Lao Che In Temple Of Doom
The 1984 film Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom is the film in the franchise with the most incidences of Indy dodging death. The prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark was set in 1935 in Shanghai. The opening scenes consist of Indy exchanging the remains of Emperor Nurhaci for a diamond owned by crime boss Lao Che.
The fight consists of several life-threatening injuries that should have killed the average person. Indy was poisoned; knives were thrown at him; he was thrown into a bandstand; he was shot with a machine gun while hiding behind a gong; and he falls five stories onto an awning and then into a car driven by a kid. Ouch.
8 Jumping Out Of A Plane In The Temple Of Doom
Indy, along Short Round and Willie, are tricked by Lao Che. They are forced to ride in a plane that is filled with chickens, but what they don't know is that the pilots are in cahoots with Lao Che.
While Dr. Jones, Shorty, and Willie are sleeping, the pilots let the fuel pour continuously out of the plane as they escape with parachutes. Willie wakes up in a panic as the plane is crashing, and the gang jumps out of the plane using only a raft as a way to break their fall on a mountain.
7 The Entire Fight With The Chief Guard In Temple Of Doom
As Indy is trying to escape after freeing the child slaves in Temple of Doom, the Chief Guard gets into a fight with him. The Chief Guard is played by the late professional wrestler and stuntman, Pat Roach. Roach is no stranger to the Indiana Jones franchise as he also played Giant Sherpa in Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Gestapo in The Last Crusade.
Indy gets injured in several different ways during this brawl. Other than the normal punches, he gets thrown into a minecart where viewers hear a loud thump. If that wasn't enough, Indy also gets smashed in the head by a pretty good-sized rock as the Maharajah sticks a knife into an Indiana Jones voodoo doll.
6 In A Fridge During A Nuclear Explosion In Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
This is probably the most ridiculous and least believable moment in Indiana Jones' history. Indy manages to survive a nuclear explosion in a... wait for it.... fridge. That's right, a lead-lined fridge saves this archaeologist from a nuclear test in the 2008 film Kingdom of The Crystal Skull.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull received mixed reviews from the Indiana Jones fandom, partly because of scoff-in-your-seat moments like these. George Lucas, however, insists that it's entirely possible to survive a nuclear blast this way.
5 A Gunshot Wound That Gets Punched In Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Surprisingly, Indiana Jones only gets shot once in the series. He's shot in the shoulder by a Nazi when trying to overtake the truck in Raiders of the Lost Ark – the same truck he got dragged behind seconds later.
If that wasn't enough, the Nazis repeatedly punch Indy in his bullet wound and throw him through a windshield. However, Indiana is somehow able to survive being dragged by a truck just after getting shot in the shoulder. How did he not bleed out?
4 Almost Getting His Heart Ripped Out In Temple Of Doom
During The Temple of Doom, Indy encounters the Thuggee cult after visiting the Pankot Palace in India. The cult worships the goddess of Kali and is after the last two Sankara Stones. The evil cult has been taking children as slaves to mine for the stones in the catacombs.
Indy encounters the cult leader, Mola Ram, as he watches probably one of the creepiest moments in the Indiana Jones franchise. Mola Ram takes out the heart of a human sacrifice and then burns him. Mola Ram also tries to take out Indy's heart when they are hanging on to a bridge.
3 Getting Off The Tank Before It Exploded In The Last Crusade
Another instance that leaves viewers puzzled as to exactly how Indy survived is the tank chase in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy is able to get his father and Brody off the tank and to safety while brawling with the Nazis. He then notices that the tank is about to nosedive off a huge cliff.
Indy somehow makes it off the tank after smashing a Nazi's head into the turret of the vehicle. He quickly runs to safety, but his dad and the others don't think he made it. They start to mourn Indy until they notice that he's survived. Miraculously.
2 The Boulder Scene In Raiders Of The Lost Ark
The iconic boulder scene from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is an incident no average person could have made it out of alive from. Indiana is in South America in 1936 searching for an idol artifact.
While there, Indiana's guide tricks him and leaves him to die. However, Indy manages to jump across the chasm to safety and scoots under, yet again, another small space. The guide is killed by a booby trap and Indy takes back the idol. An actual boulder is chasing after the archaeologist and Indy somehow manages to survive. In the end, Belloq takes the idol back.
1 Indy Being Choked Out In Temple Of Doom
This is yet another instance in The Temple of Doom where Indy should have died. After their wild dinner of snakes, eyeball soup, monkey brains, and more, the gang head off to bed. Indy and Willie flirt a little before returning to their own rooms.
While Indy is in his room, debating whether to go to Willie or wait for her, a mysterious man comes up behind him and starts choking him out. It's not until Shorty hears a struggle that Indy escapes from the hold, which goes on a very long time.