Heartbeat, excitement, exhilaration, and determination

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2012)

If there was ever an action movie that loves other action movies while succeeds at trying out new things for a change it's definitely Raiders of the Lost Ark. This is a classic, unforgettable, and a truly fantastic adventure film that completely blows others out of the water. Just in the opening scene we are treated to delightful cinematography, impressive effects for the time, and a nail-biting setup combined with extraordinary music to foreshadow the string of events that will soon follow.
Indiana Jones is a compelling character, from the way he looks and talks, but just the way he fights. Every move he makes seems well thought out and genuine rather than just constant instincts and "think-fast" scenarios. He is produced by Lucas, directed by Spielberg, and played extremely well by Harrison Ford.
Action films nowadays have no real story. It's usually about a sentence in length. The same can sort of be said about Raiders. It centers around Indiana Jones , an archaeologist who usually goes on risky, death-defying adventures to try and recover ancient artifacts. The US Government hires him, one day, to go in search of the Ark of the Covenant. His mission, that he chooses to accept, is to find the ark and return it to the government before the Nazis uncover it.
Right off the bat, this story transforms into a globetrotting adventure. Indy teams up with his old flame Marion (Allen) and it becomes clear that he is more concerned with finding the ark than drumming up another relationship. A beautiful dodge to a cliché so commonly used. The main villain is a man in a black cloak named Belloq (Freeman). He is involved with some of the most gripping action scenes in the film, most notably the one in the bar.
The special effects, at least now, appear to be a bit cheesy. We currently live in an age where we can build anything our heat desires from the ground up on CGI. Still, in Saturday morning serials, clearly the feel Spielberg wanted to capture, special effects are supposed to appear a little hammy. I'd take Raiders's action sequences over incomprehensible, score-driven scenes of peril with monotonous digitized backdrops we are so used to today. I'd also take its music, suspense, cinematography, buildup, and characters over anything today as well.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is an ecstatically giddy adventure film with one jaw-dropping scene after another. It captures the age of films we'll probably never see again. The age where everything was done for a purpose, and adventure scenes actually played like an adventure. This has the right amount of developed story and the right amount of exhilarating action scenes to be considered the perfect and most satisfying adventure film ever made.
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, and Paul Freeman. Directed by: Steven Spielberg.