Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

In an effort to make some worthwhile Retro Reviews this year I asked myself early on:

"What's a series I'd like to review?" 
"What's a series I'd like to revisit that I haven't in a while?"

Indiana Jones came immediately to mind because it had probably been 10-15 years since I've watched them in their entirety and I always remember being enamored by them as a child. 

Raiders of the Lost Ark in particular is as incredible of a franchise-starter as you could almost ever hope to get, capitalizing on the ultra hot talents of an early 80s Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford.

The Indiana Jones films quickly left their mark on Hollywood and beyond as can be evidenced in tons of adventure books, TV shows, similar films, and one of the best videogame series of all time. It's kind of incredible looking back that something so simple - an archaeologist/historian who goes on adventures - could pack so much entertainment into a three-film span, but the "formula" as it were seems to be highly repeatable if the right talent and ideas are involved.

What's even better is that Raiders of the Lost Ark ages fantastically and for every moment that may seem old due to special effects (it usually garners a laugh nowadays) there are still adventurous moments that seem fresh nearly 40 years later. And for those that have seen the film numerous times, its abundance of classic scenes from nearly start to finish is nostalgia-inducing in the best of ways, but still somehow exciting and fun. 

Getting minor gripes that are really splitting hairs aside, Raiders of the Lost Ark only struggles in its age at times and the fact that it throws us right into the thick of Indiana Jones' life with little/no context. The script has a few wonky moments, a few scenes are almost too goofy (Marion pretending to get drunk with the enemy for example) and the editing is decidedly 80s in the sense that sometimes you can't quite tell exactly what's going on. By and large however, these things are minor quibbles in a film that consistently delights at almost every turn.

Bag of sand = weight of gold statue? Great idea!

I get this was "back in the day" but how was
this movie PG?!? This scarred me!!

Raiders of the Lost Ark represents Spielberg at some of his best blockbuster material. He knows exactly how to excite an audience and make them laugh, gasp, cheer, etc -- in a way these films were early blueprints for what works so well with the Marvel films. Raiders of the Lost Ark also does a fairly good job at building the mystery of the hunt too, which I find is sometimes the part that fails the hardest in similar adventure genre stories. We're fairly involved from the beginning wondering why Nazi's are hunting for something, then finding out that it's the Ark of the Covenant, a key item in Bible lore. It has mysterious powers and has been hidden for good reason. But what's that reason? We're eager as an audience to find out. Of course, there's plenty of tremendously fun scenes between all this mystery, mostly with some effective combination of action and humor. Will anyone really ever forget Indy running from a large boulder? Or falling in a pit of snakes, shooting the sword wielding man, or going underneath the jeep? They're all iconic and inventive scenes that often come with several layers of things going on (think similar to Fury Road). 

All of this is anchored by yet another iconic performance full of swagger by Harrison Ford. Unlike Star Wars that has several other memorable characters, Raiders of the Lost Ark is really his star vehicle and it's easy to see why he was and is such a big star. He effortlessly leads as the "hero" and has ample charisma, a large reason why this series continued and was so successful in the first place. What I like too is that he's playing a different character than Han Solo, ever so slightly, but he seems a little less sure of himself and like he counts on luck a bit more so it's just enough to distinguish the two highly similar characters and not make Indiana Jones feel like Han Solo on earth vs. Nazis (though that admittedly would be pretty fun too...).

"Jokes on you guys! I love snakes!"

Upon rewatching Raiders of the Lost Ark, it's easy to see why it has aged so well in cinema and pop culture. It's a tremendously fun film that features a lot of people at the height of their talents and fame, capitalizing on it with a memorable, well made, exciting, and rousing piece of adventure cinema.

CONS

• Given this is the first film in the franchise, it feels a bit like we're thrown into the middle of it without much context of who Indiana Jones actually is
• Some choppy editing here and there
• Handful of special effects didn't age well at all

PROS

• A tremendous adventure led by Spielberg's direction with Lucas' assistance
• Builds mystery well and the overarching story is simple, but exciting. Something about Nazis trying to acquire mystical artifacts will always be interesting
• Laced from start to finish with iconic and memorable scenes, most of which have some memorable and well set-up action
• Iconic original score and main theme
• Harrison Ford plays the charismatic hero once more and does it effortlessly
• That Ark really does some damage!!
• Perfect formula of thrills, fun, humor, etc. 

Retro Rath's Review Score |

10/10 - Instant Classic