If you didn't get enough of a biased fanboy review in my Lord of the Rings review then you are in luck because today we are reviewing Raiders of the Lost Ark. I love this movie!!! I love Indiana Jones!!!I feel like everyone loves this movie (except for one friend I had who never saw it because she thought it was a "boy" movie). I love the ride at Disneyland. I was so happy that I got to watch a movie like this and it made me realize that I wish a lot more of the AFI Top 100 movies were movies that I liked. Frick, I just wish more movies were like Raiders. Anyways enough of my gushing love for this film lets get on with the review.
Now once again I may be biased in my view here but I feel Indian Jones is one of the most iconic American film characters of all time. I mean if he wasn't such a huge icon why would the South Park kids feel like this:
So if everyone is this upset about the fourth movie then Indy must be a pretty important character. Also I think he might have inspired Devo to write a certain song:
In all seriousness though, when this film was released it received high critical ratings and one four Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Effects, Best Editing, and Best Sound. It also received a Special Achievement Award for sound effects editing and was nominated for four other Academy Awards including Best Picture. The film also was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry as having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Now we will take a look at how the nerds of the internet have to say:
IMDB = 8.7 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes (Critic Rating) = 94%
Rotten Tomatoes (Audience Rating) = 93%
I guess these rating are okay, but if the internet was really smart they would all be one-hundred percent.
Now get ready for me to start my biased portion of the review (if it wasn't biased already). The acting in this movie is fantastic. The baddies to be honest are not the greatest in movie history. Rene is a decent main bad guy but never seemed to be a real threat. Then we have the Nazis who... well they are Nazis so yeah.... But then we have Arnold Thot, played by Ronald Lacey, who is one of the most memorable villains from my childhood and I believe has one of the most memorable scene in this movie. Now lets move on to the good guys. First we have Sallah. I love Sallah, he is such a great side kick character. He is loyal, knowledgeable, helpful, and just they guy you want with you when you are hunting for ancient artifacts. Sadly, Sallah doesn't have a love interest in this movie, but Sallah can explain why:
Oh gosh! That's a knee slapper! So now we have Marion Ravenwood who is the main/only female character in this movie. She is played by Karen Allen and is fantastic at playing a tough, independent, female rather then the stereotypical damsel in distress. They only thing I need to ask Karen is:
Sorry I love that movie and couldn't resist. Now this brings us to Indian Jones. The main man himself. Indian Jones is a BAMF! He is awesome, amazing, wonderful, fantastic, marvelous, terrific, transcendent, athletic, rugged, tenacious, brilliant, ingenious... I need to stop I could go one all day. But, seriously Indiana Jones was fighting Nazis before it was cool. Harrison Ford was not originally cast to play Indiana, Tom Selleck was going to be the Jones. It is weird to think about now since I cannot imagine anyone else play Indy other the Harrison. Also I don't think Indy would look good with a mustache. Oh I forgot to mention. I am scared of snakes too.
The story is fantastic. I have seen this movie countless times and every time I am still entertained and engaged the whole way through. It is just so fun from beginning to end. I really wish more movies were like this today. The mix of action, adventure, and even just a little campy fun thrown in make this movie a blast. The script is great and combined with the actors there are some scenes of quick wit that are extremely enjoyable. But not only is this movie entertaining but it teaches us many thing.
#1: God hates Nazis
#2: Hooking up with underage chicks is awesome
#3: Marion is hot
#4: Archaeologists are awesome
Now there are some great stunts in this movie and the action is really fun. Now not all the effects are the greatest but I guess some of it comes with the times. One thing that I really liked in this movie was its use of light and shadows. There were a few reveals on Indy that were just awesome, but don't take my word for it:
And lastly the music in this movie is amazing. The theme song was my cellphone ringtone for years. I think it might be one of the most recognizable themes in movie history and it is a shame that it didn't win an Oscar.
All in all I love this movie and I know you know that so I guess I will just get straight to it and share my inflated grade of an A+
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