Raiders of the Lost Ark is the firs movie in one of my all time favorite trilogies. This is one of those movies that is a must watch every once and awhile and I just simply love to watch. Growing up Indiana Jones was an adventure hero that had a great ability to make even archeology seem like an awesomely exciting career choice and made the use of a whip seem really cool and something that every hero should use. I loved the fantasy aspects related to the Ark and the Covenant made things even more fun for the adventure and they take it all completely up a notch by creating the ultimate villain for a movie in using the occult belief from the Nazis and the fact that Indy is racing to prevent them from getting a hold of this priceless artifact. This is one of those movies that I really wish I could and have had the chance to see it in theaters and so I am still kicking myself that I missed the re-release for one week only earlier in September of 2012.
Harrison Ford IS the role of Indiana Jones and his performance is nearly perfect. This is probably his second most memorable role and along with his performance as Han Solo in Star Wars will be the roles that people will always remember Harrison Ford for. Ford has many more facial movements and voice inclinations in Raiders of the Lost Ark then the old grumpy man role that he seems to play time after time now. Ford use to be dynamic, adventurous and as wisecracking as the best of them onscreen. Everyone will remember Indy just as much for some of his lines as much as they will for the action sequences. Countering Harrison Ford we have Paul Freeman as Rene Belloq. the role of Belloq even though French embodies the villainry of the Nazis because even though he wants to try the power of the Ark for himself, he is still working for the Fuhrer. The rivalry between Belloq and Indy makes it work even more because they both represent opposite sides of the archeology spectrum. Karen Allen plays Marian Ravenwood, a former flame to Indy and yet we still see that spark is still there. The chemistry works well onscreen that you feel her initial pain toward Indy and then as her heart softens the audience feels that as well. The supporting cast perform well also and I think everyone takes a liking to Sallah immediately because he has that feel of the adventurer uncle that you rarely see.
Spielberg and Lucas put together an amazing story that works and at the same time it is a fun fantasy adventure movie that takes fun liberties. Those liberties though while they may not be plausible they do not have to be in this type of movie simply because everything is meant to be fun and enjoyable for the audience. I love the feel that Spielberg and Lucas take with this as an attempt to pay homage to adventure comics of the 1930's. The hunt for the Ark of the Covenant is more then just an excuse for an action adventure movie, everything has been meticulously thought out and the story is intertwined perfectly with the action sequences. Nowadays movies seem to come up with the action first then try to fit or mold the plot to all the action sequences, where Raiders of the Lost Ark has worked the Covenant story so well into the plot that it only makes the action that much more enjoyable and it is what has made Raiders of the Lost Ark stand the test of time.
The action for Raiders of the Lost Ark is simplistic, but that is what precisely was needed for everything that is going on. It is because of everything that is going on and how well written the story is that somehow it just makes the action work all that much more. An interesting aspect that you may not see much nowadays is with Indy being both a doctor and a professor, yet he still has no problem when it comes to having to kill someone.This all leads to probably my favorite scene in the movie that is a perfect mix of action with even comedy, is the fight sequence in Egypt with a band of native hired mercenaries. The wisecracking part of Indy comes out as one of the mercenaries comes out and Indy is stuck with this mercenary blocking the path pulls out a large Arabian sword and he shoves of his fanciness with the sword as he takes some swings, Indy responds to this by nonchalantly pulling out his pistol and fires to eliminate the threat. John Williams has brought an amazing score to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the theme has probably one of the most recognizable sounds to it that most anyone would recognize what movie it is from after merely one bar. This music has a great ability I am sure to taking anyone back to remembering the first time they ever saw this movie. Williams has a great hand with his score as well because it never takes away from the movie.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first movie in one of my favorite movie trilogies. Indiana Jones probably gave a bunch of kids the dream to be an archaeologist thinking it would be a globe trotting adventure. Harrison Ford is lights out and along with his role of Han Solo these two roles will go down as his most memorable ones. I am still in awe every time I watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, at the way Spielberg and Lucas intertwined the story/fantasy aspect with great action sequences so well. With Raiders of the Lost Ark being part of one of my favorite trilogies and since it is the introductory movie to Indiana Jones, I am giving Raiders of the Lost Ark four and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a must own for anyone that is a movie buff. Just remember when it comes to the Ark that "we have top men working on it."
-The Movie Man
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