A Spielberg Classic

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2017)

Raiders of The Lost Ark is a 1981 film directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, and John Rhys-Davies. It was distributed by Paramount, being labeled as an Action Adventure film. I have seen the film many times before and would gladly give you my opinions and observations to you.
The film is set during the 1930's where professor/archaeologist Indiana Jones (Ford) has almost went away with a valuable golden idol from South America. He then finds out at the Nazis are trying find the biblical "Ark of the Covenant" and unleash it's power to give their regime an extra edge. It is up to Indiana to find it first with the help of Marion Ravenwood (Allen) and stop the Nazis in their tracks.
I liked most of the main characters in Raiders, Harrison definitely steals the spotlight as Indiana in most of the scenes he's in. But the film doesn't make him overpowered or less relatable (which is a good thing). He has to fight off against seemingly impossible odds and strong brutes that give Indie a real challenge. Marion serves as a great companion to him and is more likable than the other two female leads in the next films. I'd even go far as to say the Egyptian Monkey was a good actor.
There's a lot to like about this film and the IJ trilogy in general. The cinematography is great, grand, and in-camera. John William's musical score is still memorable to this day. From my point of view, this film is a lot "ballsier" than most PG-13 films today with people melting and exploding fantastically. My only gripe with Raiders is that Indiana survives death by a pretty big amount, really hindering on my suspension of disbelief.
Raiders has a lot of Christian imagery, the "macguffin" of the film (Ark of The Covenant) is a reference to the Bible. And the attempt to summon it's spirits contains a Jewish ritual. But that's all I can think of in terms of themes and such. The film is just a really great action adventure film.
After learning about the film for years, this film was widely known for decades and was a critical and commercial success. Young kids could be traumatized, but that would prevent them watching a great film, heck I've watched Robocop since I was 8. Adults will really like this, teens will also. I actually don't know anybody who doesn't at least appreciates Indiana Jones. No matter what your opinion on the film is, I will respect it.
Overall, I give Raiders of The Lost Ark a 9/10