Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Now that Back to the Future is out of the way, it's time I tackle another franchise that I have yet to review. With that said, let's take a look at the Indiana Jones films starting with, what else? Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Plot: Indiana Jones is an archaeologist who braves all sorts of booby trapped temples to retrieve treasures. Shortly after attempting to retrieve a golden idol, two Army Intelligence agents come to his university and inform him that Nazis are looking for the Ark of the Covenant. So it's up to Indiana to find the Staff of Ra and use it to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do.

Let's be honest here; this is easily another one of these films where I have to ask "what can I say about this movie that hasn't been said many times before?" This is a fun, somewhat funny, exciting action film that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have created in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. You have sword fights, booby traps, natives, brawls, gun fights, car chases and so on that are all fun to watch. I could name a few parts that stand out the most but...let's face it, you know them. There are so many parts of this movie that people like, that there's hardly anything forgettable about this film. The characters are very memorable; Indiana Jones is ranked #2 on AFI's top heroes and...while I personally wouldn't put him that high, I can see to a degree why they would. He is very heroic character with his skills with most notably his whip and coming up with ideas generally fast, and his massive knowledge in ancient civilizations and languages, and yet he has his weaknesses such as his massive fear of snakes. And then there's easily the most loved Indiana Jones companion, Mariam. Yes she gets captured a couple of times, but she still has a strong, tough fighting spirit, and she just has this fun personality that in the long run, you can tell that the chemistry between her and Indiana works. If I had one problem with the film - it's really one of these total nitpicks - I would have to point out something that The Big Bang Theory states in one episode that questions Indiana Jones' importance with the whole journey of finding the Ark. But that's really a nitpick that you can really look over and just enjoy the film.

And that's my review for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I know this was a very generalized review, but honestly that's coming from having trouble saying anything the you more than likely don't already know. It's a fun, funny, exciting action film that so many people know and enjoy. If you haven't seen it, then go do so. But chances are, you probably already have.

Rating: 95%