Barely holds my interest any more...

Rating: Null/10 (10 March 2002)

I used to love this movie not too many years ago. Now it all seems so cliched and cartoonish and downright boring. What's come over me? How come I can't be like all the other happy happy people who worship this movie without fail, without question, as if this movie is the (ahem..) Holy Grail of all Adventure Movies?
It probably has to do with either one of two facts: either, one, I'm just turning into a sour old fart (not entirely unthinkable); or, two, and perhaps more germane, I've simply seen way more compelling and awesome fantasy-adventure-escapist movies in my time that beat the pants off of ROTLA.
As much as I know that fact number one may (sadly enough) be the truth, I'll just stick with number two. Let's face it, there are much better action-adventure movies out there. I won't bother posting a list of my favorites. Instead I would actually invite you to think about it, and look for your own favorites. Yes, they ARE out there...
Well, so hate me if you must for not jumping on the band wagon and shouting the praises of this movie to the heavens. But I'm just a little sick and tired of all the hoakey Hollywoodized characters, the unbelievably impossible escapes (yeah, that submarine ride that Indy takes is a hoot!), the cliched characters (yeah, Nazis act like Nazis, and Arabs act like Arabs, etc. etc.), the stupid fight scenes, that cringeworthy drinking competition that Marion pulls off in Nepal, and on and on. Booorring!
It WAS a good movie for its time though, and I will always have high praise for ROTLA for the way it added some real spice to the genre and helped launch better such movie projects in the years after it was released. But for now, I think it is best to store this relic in a long wooden box in a huge dark warehouse - right next to that box containing the Covenant of the Lost Ark.