"At least you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time..."

Rating: 9/10 (2 October 2006)

Steven Spielberg was supposed to direct Return of the Jedi, but Hollywood politics intervened, and instead, we got the Ewoks. OK, the Ewoks were probably going to be in the movie whether Spielberg was involved with the movie or not, but the weakest of the original Star Wars movies is one of those "What if?" moments, as I think about how the saga could have ended if the visionary director was involved. The primary reason for this thinking is that just two years before the release of Jedi was Raiders of the Lost Ark, a collaboration between George Lucas and Spielberg. The story goes that Lucas and Spielberg were trying to come up with a story for a James Bond movie when it looked like they were going to have a crack at the franchise. Unfortunately for them, the Bond people went a different direction, allowing Lucas and Spielberg to use some of the ideas they had in their mind to come up with the character "Indiana Jones," a swashbuckling archaeologist who escapes the inescapable situations, restores truth and order, and gets the girl in the end. The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first of three adventures following Indy around the world, and the movie that features the best of Indy's girlfriends. Fresh off his Han Solo success, Harrison Ford fell into the role of Jones, as Tom Sellick was originally tapped to play the role. The movie is a series of adventures, ranging from the jungles of South America (who hasn't seen the big ball rolling toward Indiana Jones), to the mountains of Nepal, finally ending the deserts of Egypt. Karen Allen plays Marion, a former lover of Indy's, one that has been jilted in the past. We get the feeling the first time we see Marion and Indy in the Nepal bar that Indiana is the type that has trouble keeping girlfriends, and Marion is the only one he could possibly be with. The movie revolves around Indiana trying to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do, as Hitler wants to use the power of the Ark to win his conquest of the world. Breathtaking adventures, fantastic chase sequences, and a wry sense of humor (the scene where Indiana beats his sword carrying adversary is one of the biggest laughs in any movie I can think of) makes Raiders of the Lost Ark an adventure film that holds even to this day. When the movie ended, I was disappointed that it was over, as I wanted the adventure to continue. It did, later in the decade, with two sequels, with plans for the fourth edition to come out in 2008.