Raiders Of The Film Vault : RiffTrax

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2008)

It's a film I hadn't seen for years, until just now when the little one and I watched the RiffTrax version. We used to avidly follow MST3K's erratic adventures on Sci-Fi Channel UK until axed in the early Noughties, now it's reborn we've found a whole old new world out there to see again anew!
Story has hunky archaeologist trying to discover and then rescue the Ark of the Covenant through a sea of sweaty action adventures with Nazis, Arabs and snakes but this time with the bonus of 3 disembodied voices constantly taking the mickey out of everyone and everything on screen. As with all of the MST3K past classics it can be hit and miss  the misses are cues for the tumbleweed but when they hit it can be side-splitting stuff. I agree with my daughter in that I think they were better tearing into terrible old and/or dubbed movies (who can forget the unclassic Prince Of Space?), but they obviously would like to reach a broader audience with shorter memories  and as they say, some movies ask for it! This is the only way to see modern films, the only trouble being the process is irreversible - to watch the original in the original frame of mind ever again is impossible. I have no idea how they've got round copyright issues, just glad they did  or if they didn't, keep on running boys!
The film itself? There can't be really much left to say about a film that has sunk into movie-fans collective consciousness like this one has - it was OK then, but it's much better now.