Ford, Spielberg and Williams take a bow, Lucas not so much.

Rating: 7/10 (19 April 2020)

I can certainly understand why this film has such a cult following. The direction by Spielberg is as good as you'd expect, with some particularly incredible stunt choreography. This is probably one of the cleanest looking films of the eighties, drenched in vivid colour and containing some dazzling special effects. And of course the John Williams score is iconic and perfectly fitted to the film. But it's Harrison Ford's performance that steals the show and is arguably the main reason for the popularity of the Indiana Jones series. He looks perfect for this role and delivers just the right balance of dryness and bravado, working well with a fairly unimpressive support cast.
Despite all this, I never found Raiders to be a particularly good story. It's all a bit excessive and farcical, and having a completely invulnerable lead character just devalues the action scenes. I do feel nostalgia is a big contributor to the film's high ratings, similar to the equally overhyped Rocky series. Good fun but a bit too slapstick to really be considered a classic.