Very Good Start- I hate snakes too

Rating: 8/10 (11 February 2007)

The opening action sequence of this film is as good as any movie you can name, & better than most. The plot involving the Ark Of The Covenant is excellent too. When this film came out, it was the first of its kind.
There are two weak sequences in this movie. The first one is the early one with Jones in the class room lecturing & the female students flirting with him. This piece does little for the film & quite frankly could be cut entirely out of it.
The second one is the opening of the Ark (in a way the climax of the film). This special effects jolly is interesting wizardry for the 1981 time frame, but it gives viewers nothing to ponder as far as what is actually in the ark. Compared with the Last Crusade's climax which has meaning, this one comes up with none.
While this film has humor & the best action sequences of the series, it comes off more with an atmosphere of a later TV series rip-off known as "Tales of The Gold Monkey." On TV this only lasted a season. It is the same with this film, once you have seen it, you have seen it enough.
This was the best of the series until The Last Crusade, but the Crusade took what this started & tied it together better.
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