If only you spoke Horvedos...

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2005)

A pitch perfect homage to the Republic Adventure Serials of the 1940's, directed with energy and assuredness of touch by Steven Spielberg who injects the B movie material with an attention to character and composition missing from the majority of comtempory blockbusters. Lawence Kasdan's script based on George Lucas's story is a masterclass in lean, affectionately crafted action cinema with any extraneous scenes torn out. Thus its effectively a series of finally crafted set pieces laced together with the odd expositionary moment where necessary, moving toward its exceptional climax, possibly one of the best of all time, with boundless enthusiasm, pace and wit. There is a line of argument, particularly amongst European Critics, that the success of Raiders...cemented a trend in American Cinema that had begun with Jaws and then Star Wars for the kind of thrill seeking feature that has lead to the degradation of so much big-budget output throughout the following 20 years. Its ironic certainly, because Raiders is such a well made and perfectly styled creation made with an obvious affection for a lost form that it effortlessly ellipses other films of its type and remains the benchmark by which this type of movie must be judged.