One of Spielberg's best films!

Rating: 10/10 (15 March 2006)

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.
STORY: The movie opens up with a sequence where the famous archaeologist Indiana Jones is searching for a golden idol in a temple in 1936 South America. He manages to find it but gets it taken off him by rival archaeologist, Belloq. Indy returns to America where he works at a univeristy. He gets informed that the Nazis are searching for the Ark of the Covenant in Cairo. Even worse, the Nazis are lead by Belloq. He is sent to Cairo with the help from allie, Sallah and the beautiful Marion Ravenwood to recover the lost ark before Belloq can take something away from Indy again.
THE GOOD: Raiders of the Lost Ark is perfect in every way possible. First I'll start with the acting and characters. Harrison Ford was perfect for the role of Indiana Jones. The movie would've sucked if Tom Selleck got the part. Karen Allen was great and good-looking as Marion Ravenwood. Paul Freeman was also good as the main villain, Belloq. John Rhys-Davies was also great as Sallah. Danny Devito would've been too comical.
The screenplay was great as well. The love scenes are far from cheesy. I rather liked the scene where Indy tells Marion to kiss ever part of his body that doesn't hurt, and they end up kissing each other on the lips. Indy's smart comments were great as well, especially "Didn't you guys ever go to Sunday School?" When the dialogue tries to take itself seriously, it does.
The action probably the best thing about this movie. From the famous boulder scene in the beginning, to the truck chase in the Cairo desert, you'll be on the edge of your seat the whole time. And who could forget the scene where Indy runs into the swordsman, and shoots him! Classic! The special effects were great as well, especially as there wasn't any CGI back then. The fibreglass boulder at the beginning looks like sheer stone. Most of the snakes in the Well of Souls sequence were hoses but you could not tell. The explosions were real, and there are a lot of them in the Indy vs Large Mechanic fight as they fight under a plane as Marion shoots things with the planes turret. Finally the scene where the ark gets opened is one of the greatest scenes ever filmed with horrifying effects that will make cower in terror(I mean scary, not bad).
THE BAD: You must be joking! BOTTOM LINE: Raiders of the Lost Ark is a perfect film. A must see!