A classic, and most deservingly so

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2004)

This film deserves every form of recognition it has received. A perfect mixture of breath-taking action, memorable heroes, delightfully evil villains, well-timed humor, and historical accuracy. Not that all the events in this film are true or that much of it is based on truth, but it is at least based both on real expeditions which Hitler sent Nazis on, and real biblical references to the ark of the covenant.
The highlight of the film is action sequences choreographed so beautifully by Spielberg. There is nothing action films have seen to top some of the sequences in this film. The action is not insanely gory or painful like in Braveheart or Saving Private Ryan. There is blood, but it is not that painful to watch. But the sequence from when Indy is stealing the ark from the plane to when he finally steals it from the truck; that sequence is an all time classic. It starts with a plane the Nazis intend to use to ship the ark to Cairo. Indy fights a plane mechanic first before an intense fist fight with a really bulky Nazi. In the middle, his girlfriend, Marion snags another plane and is shooting off attacking Nazis, and Indy is gradually beating the Nazi, before colliding him into the propeller of the plane right by them. Indy brakes out of the plane which is about to explode. You then see a huge explosion before the Nazi load the ark then onto a truck. You are given a few moments to catch your breath before Indy chase the truck down. The battle when he jumps onto that trunk as intense as anything film can offer you. He fights off Nazi after Nazi. He dangles from the side of the truck, and keeps knocking Nazis out left and right. He finally escapes with the truck and that is that. I know it needs to be seen to be appreciated, but it is the most excitement you could ask for if action is what you seek.
This film however, is more than just a strong action flick. It deals with extremely strong parallels of good versus evil. It really portrays the Nazis as these negligent villains, who seek the ark for nothing but access to a weapon. Indy meanwhile, truly seeks it to see it opened and look at what has been buried for thousands of years. And you see this massive army of trained soldiers with armed artillery who can not fend off one man and his whip and gun.
This is a must-see for all action lovers. And do not think that the film is outdated after 20 years. On technical level, it is. But first of all, the Oscar winning visuals are not outdated by that much; and secondly, what it lacks it lacks in that department it makes up for with timeless ingenious film-making.