Raiders of the Lost Ark Movie Review

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Rent Raiders of the Lost Ark on Amazon Video
Written by: Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay by).  George Lucas and Philip Kaufman (story by)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Alfred Molina, Paul Freeman
Rated: PG [PG-13]
Watch the trailer

Plot
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler's Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.

Verdict
A grand adventure that excels in every facet. Indiana Jones became an iconic character because of this adventure. From the introduction to the final scene, this movie gets it right. While it's likely you've seen it, you've probably forgotten just how good it is.
Watch it.

Review
Amazing. What more can you say about this movie? The first scene is a great introduction to the archaeologist adventurer Indiana Jones. There's very little dialog as he enters a booby trapped cave to secure a golden idol. Of course there's the giant boulder that rushes him out of the cave.

Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones.

The story is great on it's own, but the directing elevates it even further.  You can pause this movie almost anywhere and get a great shot. Every member of the cast was at the top of their game, and then there's the theme song.
Harrison Ford embodies Indy. His boyish charm and confidence make Indy the adventurer we admire. Part of what makes Indy a good character is that he isn't perfect. He and Marion's relationship didn't end on good terms. He's in more than a few fights where he's over matched and has to rely on his wits.

The shadow of the Ark of the Covenant.

The heart of the plot is the Ark of the Covenant, an artifact Indy wants in a museum and the Nazis want as an edge in the war. The fact that the Ark has such a storied history lends credibility to the movie. It's a much bigger impact than a fictional object like the idols in the sequel.
Indy does kill quite a few people, more than I remember. That's mitigated as he's killing Nazis so it doesn't matter. I presume that was a specific choice the film makers made for that very fact.

Indy hates snakes as we learn early on and that comes back in full force when he's dropped into a room full of them. He must confront his past when Marion has the key to finding the ark. Marion is charmed by Indy all over again, it's easy to see why.

In every scene this movie is developing characters and furthering plot.
While this movie lacks the CGI a modern movie would have, the practical effects are perfect. Often times the scene cuts before we see any gore, relying on the audience's imagination and that is quite effective. It's something modern movies should note. I can't imagine CGI replacing the face melting scene, it would be too detailed and show too much. That's the thing about Raiders, it's a product of the time but it's also a classic, using all of it's resources to create an incredible movie.