Excellent Action/Adventure movie

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2008)

I'm writing this review just four months before the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and I'm thinking about what exactly made Raiders so memorable. It's a throwback to action serials from the 1930's, and it has a certain timeless feel, something that most 80's movies don't have. But a lot of credit has to go to Harrison Ford for portraying a flawed hero who got by by the skin of his teeth. He also has Ophidiophobia, a fear of snakes, which makes the snake pit scene all the more suspenseful yet humorous at the same time. Indiana Jones has become one of the most iconic film heroes of our time. There's always something appealing about treasure hunters, I guess because we want to be them, but the kind of treasures Indiana Jones goes after are more rare than just treasure chests filled with gold. One of the reasons Raiders works better than its sequels is its treasure hunt plot. It drives the story completely and is not obscured by any other element. The Ark of the Covenant is surrounded by an aura of mystery and danger that the other artifacts didn't have. The actual hunt for the Ark is fascinating too. The map room scene is one of my favorite sequences in the film.
A lot of credit has to go to the supporting cast. Karen Allen portrays Marion Ravenwood, an old girlfriend from Indy's past. Even though her character is uneven (she goes from tough tomboy to damsel in distress a lot), she is still the strongest love interest in the series. She had a personality that was compatible with Jones, and the love story in Raiders is really the only believable one in the series. Sallah, played by John Rhys Davies, is just a really funny character. "Asps. Very dangerous. You go first." Paul Freeman is Jones' main rival, Belloq, who does not really emerge as a particularly memorable character but he still delivers a fine performance. Ronald Lacey's character Toht is probably the most memorable villain in Raiders, because he's just so creepy.
The action of course is top notch. I love the old fashioned sound effects, especially the guns, the explosions, the punching sounds, and of course, the whip! Everybody remembers the giant boulder sequence, but there are plenty of other scenes that are even more exciting. The truck chase is the best action sequence in the film. Indy hijacks the truck with the Ark in a scene reminiscent of the finale of Stagecoach and has to fight off all of the Nazi escorts. The Ark has an excellent payoff scene too. After hearing so much about the Ark's power, we are shown just what it can do in a jaw dropping moment that almost earned the movie an R rating.
This movie was almost not made at all, even with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' names attached to the project. Spielberg had just made 1941, probably his biggest flop, but I still find it amazing that the script was turned down by so many studios. Michael Eisner from Paramount recognized the movie's brilliance and said OK. Star Wars made Harrison Ford a bankable actor, but Raiders of the Lost Ark solidified his image as an action mega star. Indiana Jones is the character he is most identified with. Just think, Tom Selleck was nearly cast in the role. I wonder if the character would have been as memorable with him.
One last comment: Thank you John Williams for giving us another classic theme, the Raiders March!