A Hero is Born

Rating: 8/10 (30 September 2012)

Raiders of the Lost Ark introduced the world to Indiana Jones, an archetypal action hero for all generations. This film shows Indy racing with the Nazis to attempt to uncover the lost Ark of the Covenant from the Christian Bible. Through the movie he faces many dangerous scenarios, cunningly escaping with a combination of wits and physical prowess. Aided by his now-famous whip in tight confrontations, and aided by his professor's cunning in puzzle situations, he skillfully demonstrates the ability to come out on top of every encounter.
In the first scene of the movie, Indiana Jones is on an expedition to some country in South America where he goes into a cave and has to outsmart different levels of puzzles to eventually get a golden idol. He evades every trap, gets to the idol, and then outruns a giant boulder to the exit. Upon arrival at the exit, his archenemy Belloq confronts him with a small army and takes the idol from him. Seeing Indy escape so many perils with such skill foreshadows his ability to escape from great peril throughout the movie.
Pretty early in the movie Indy meets with a woman named Marion who will have some clue about the location of the Ark. It becomes clear that she and Indy had a romantic past and shortly thereafter we learn that she also had a past with Belloq. Whenever a movie has two archenemies and a common romantic interest, the bad guy will take the girl captive and the hero will rescue her. Believe it or not, that all happens later on.
One of the subtleties that are fun to watch throughout the movie is the famous Indiana Jones hat. Throughout every action scene, whether he is in a fist fight, in a pit of snakes, leaping across a bottomless pit, or racing through busy streets knocking over baskets carried on top of people's heads, it stays on his head, never once falling to the ground. Indy's always stationary hat is an adamant reminder of his unrelenting pursuit of good.
The thing that makes Harrison Ford such a good Indiana Jones is how the acting in scenes of endless crises. When he falls into a pit of snakes, with Marion, and the "tomb" gets sealed by Belloq, Ford doesn't revert to cheesy facial expressions or unnecessary gimmicks; instead he faces it with a calm demeanor that shows his analyst nature, always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the less subtle things that are pervasive is the use of the Nazis. They are shallowly developed characters, but that isn't necessary to the storyline. What keeps the story going is the symbolic motif that "Nazis are bad" with anti-Nazi instigations. Nazi symbols burst into flame when near the Ark, the Nazis are all killed when they open the Ark, and when Indy tries to cling to a Mercedes-Benz hood ornament it snaps right off, Mercedes being a German company. The anti- Nazi symbolism used throughout the movie is pervasive enough to be noticed and humored but small enough to not create any serious backlash.
The biggest thing that bothers me about solo action hero movies is that there is never any real fear for the main character. With only one main good guy, when he is in peril early on in the movie, there is always the notion that he will unduly escape and save the day. When a movie encompasses a group of good guys that the story connects, then the audience gets more fearful knowing that at any time anybody in the group could die. Indiana Jones is the sole purpose for this film, so putting him into danger as early as the first scene isn't necessarily for the danger aspect, but simply to build his character and reputation.
Indiana Jones is the, not a, the, archetypal action hero. You can replace dozens of action heroes in other movies with Indiana Jones and you will often find the same result: Good guy saves the day, bad guys lose. Indy set the tone for generations to come for being a noble and skillful hero without accrediting fame or fortune: he taught when he wasn't on an adventure.