Raiders Of The Lost Ark Film Review

When you think of icons of cinema people usually think of either writers or directors or sometimes even producers. Very rarely tho do they think of characters with it being even mor rare when you take into account that Harrison Ford has played two very iconic characters both of which have also oddly enough been butchered by Disney but i'm not talking about that lesser film as the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today is the film that really started it all as with out this film being as good as it is then we wouldn't have had the chance to visit a temple of doom or gone on a last crusade or found both a crystal skull and a dial of destiny and so then join me as I review the film that introduced the world to Indiana Jones with the film in question being called simply just "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when it's found out that Naz* German forces want to get there hands on this mysterious object called the Ark Of The Covenant it's up archaeologist Indiana Jones to find it before they do and use it's powers to unleash unknown forces onto the world. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as the films plot is one that's yes dumb but is also dumb in all of the right ways as it knows just what kind of film that it is and isn't afraid of being exactly that whilst also being a plot that can at times be creepy and scary and yet also fun and exciting as well with those things being things that are missed in the more recent sequels with the films plot of course feeding in the action movie serial format with the hero just barely getting it out alive something which could be seen as being an homage to the various cliffhanger endings that all of those old fashioned movie serials would have and it's something that did work back then and works in this film and in this films plot as well as it gives us the audience more thrills then what it might have done where those types of scenes not included in the film but in saying that tho whilst yes this films plot is on the whole really good nobody will ever doubt that fact it's also not a strong plot either as it does feel like that this could be the plot to a TV show rather then a movie only now it's been stretched out to near enough two hours which yes does allow for the films plot to get more focus but also means that it takes more of a backseat to the films action with the plot of the film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones , Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood and Paul Freeman as René Belloq. Also starring in this film is Alfred Molina as Satipo , Wolf Kahler as Colonel Dietrich , Anthony Higgins as Major Gobler , Harry Potter star George Harris as Simon Katanga , Ronald Lacey as Major Arnold Toht , Lord Of The Rings John Rhys-Davies as Sallah and Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt abut the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. As all of this films actors really do turn in some really good performances which given just not only who is starring in this film but also whom is directing this film really isn't all that much of a surprise in the first place as alot of this films actors are a bunch of really good actors in their own right or would go on to become really good actors with there performance in this film only being helped by the fact that they were directed by Steven Spielberg who has proven time and time again that he not only knows how to direct his actors but also how to perfectly cast his characters as all of this films characters are so well cast that it's hard to picture anybody else playing them as there respective actor in this film does such a good of playing these characters with the films best actor of course being Harrison Ford who just simply IS Indiana Jones as while other actors have played the characters both in video games and in the live action prequel TV show he is the only one that doesn't feel like he's playing a character because he is Indiana Jones with him and Karen Allen having such great chemistry together in this film it's no wonder that the fans of this franchise kept on wanting to see more of them together in the latter sequels with this films acting really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film. 

Doing the CGI for this film is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Industrial Light & Magic. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good as even tho this film was made in the very early nineteen eighties the films effects do more then hold up all of these year later with this being due to the fact that not only are a very amount of effects in the final film but also it's due to the that ILM are just that good at what they do in the first place with the fact that there's alot less CGI in this film as there's really only one scene in the whole entire film that's very effects heavy as this is something that does make any bad looking or badly aged effects not really noticeable as the film does have alot more practical effects which means that when you see Indiana Jones crawl under the moving Germen car near the end of the film that's an actual stuntman doing that stunt for real where as today it would be an entirely CGI character doing it with the film only really using CGI when it needs to like to create the beam of light that shows Indy where the Ark is located and when the Ark is opened and we see all of the ghosts come and basically kill all of those that look right at them and that's really it and that's a great way to use CGI as there's no way that you can do any of those scenes without using some small amount of CGI in the first place and while the latter sequels would become more dependent on CGI it was really nice to see an Indiana Jones film prioritize practical effects over CGI effects and only using CGI when it would have been impossible to achieve the effect practically.

Just to let you all know this film is rated PG and unlike all of the modern films today that carry that exact same rating this film actually earns that rating. As the film does show the characters drinking and getting drunk and dieing in horribly brutal ways on top of showing us a really intense scene with Marion bumping into a lot of skeletons when there in Egypt where as today films are to scared to actually earn that rating with it basically being a more glorified and slightly edgy version of the U or American G rating where as films in the eighties actually earned that rating with the best example of this film really earning that rating of course being the face melting scene near the end of the film as there's no way that a scene like that would be allowed in any PG rated film today as it would scare alot of kids that went to see the film but then if parents actually guided there kids like the rating was designed for then there is a good chance that while the kids would still be scared they won't be as scared as they were as they'd know that it was just pretend and yet for some reason films like Frozen and Inside Out and PG rated films and while Inside Out it could be argued does go someway to earning it's PG rating due to having slightly mature themes there's no way that a film like Frozen and Wreck it Ralph both of which are rated PG should even have that rating as neither them nor many other films for that matter truly earn that rating where as this film and many more from the eighties do earn that rating as neither one of those films have anything in them that would require a parent to actually help and parent there kid after watching this movie where as this film has plenty scenes in it that would scare kids and really would therefor require the kids to actually have that guidance from their parents when the movie is over and done with.

Marion is a character that on paper should have been really annoying and if she was created today she would have been exactly that. However she's also an example of how to write an actually strong female character as she's funny and forceful and yet also willing to admit when she doesn't know something that Indy does and is more the  willing to step aside and let him do what he does best and while there relationship does come across as being a bit forced at times due to the fact that the characters barely spent any screen time together before she's believed by Indy to be killed it doesn't change the fact that she is a good character and it's very easy to see why the makers of Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull brought the character back and made her Indy's wife as those to do go together not perfectly but well enough to make it work as they need each other due to the fact that each possess qualities that the other possesses with the only thing that would have made there romance in this film work in terms of the film being if the makers of the film actually had the characters not only spend alot more time together on screen but also have them talk things out and talk about what happened in their past as that way they'd both be able to start to move on from it and it would help to make their romance feel all the more real and heck there's even a whole section of the film in Egypt where the characters could have talked but they don't as that's when Marion gets kidnapped and you could even make the argument that having Marion fall in love is part of what makes her a strong female character as it's common place for people to fall in love with each other even those that aren't always right for them with it not being a sign a weakness that a woman has fallen in love with someone but rather it's a sign of them being human that they have fallen in love with someone.

As this films title would suggest this film does have the characters looking for the mythical Ark Of The Covenant. Something which is based off of a real object of the exact same name however how much of the real object was put into the movies version of it does remain to be seen as for all we know the real life version might not be as evil as the movie version is with the films version pretty much being something that warns you against evil as only truly evil people would go looking for it and the power that it claims to have within it whereas people who aren't evil would do anything within there power to stop the evil people for getting it in the first place with this being something that's present in the films very plot as the films villains are all after the Ark for it's power where as both Indy and Marion are only going after it to stop the Naz*s from getting their hands on it and that's really it and while the Ark doesn't really have a good design to it it's one that's become truly iconic in it's own right and it is fun to see the characters chasing after this thing that was real at one point in time as it makes the film itself seem all the more real as a result of it but in saying that tho it would have been nice if the makers of this film had Indy be tempted to use the Ark himself as it is something that would have made him seem more human and while he is decently done as a character he's presented as someone who is always right and never does anything evil in the film and therefor it would have been nice to see him have that moment of temptation much like he does in Last Crusade only to realise that he doesn't need absolute power to be happy as he has the one that he loves to be happy.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fifty five minuets and nineteen seconds. Which is a perfectly decent amount of running time for this film as this film really does have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place and while it could be argued that this film is a bit on the long side this is a film that really couldn't be any shorter as it would mean doing harm to the films plot due to the fact that alot of the films scenes that advance it's plot are in these long scenes and therefor you really can't make any cuts to this film without doing any serious harm to it's plot in the first place but at the same time tho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely either as why the film does give it's plot alot of focus and attention it also doesn't fully develop it's plot either not to the point where it's hard to tell what the plot of the film is meant to the in the first place but enough to make you question what's going on in the film itself like for example why does the American government want the Ark Of The Covenant in the first place as they gain nothing from it even tho it would mean stopping the Naz*s from having it and while the films characters do come off fairly better with them being fully formed characters and getting alot of development as a result of that there some things that could have been handled like for example René Belloq openly defending Marion which granted is only done because of the fact that it's hinted that he's in love with her but it's also something that does come out of nowhere and doesn't make sense interms of the character of René Belloq in the first place but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action that really does mean that I gave to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With this films action being the best of the film itself as you can tell right from the first action scene in the film that the makers of this film had alot of fun in coming up with some really fun and creative action scenes with the makers of this film just really going out all of with this films action not only interms of the action itself but also interms of just how creative that they can be with the films action as alot of the locations and set ups for action that we get in this film are things that haven't been seen in other films or at the very least not in ones that aren't openly parodying this film as that's how truly iconic that this films action scenes really are with the best action scene in this film being when Marion is being held captive by the German with the Ark Of The Covenant with Indy going from car to car trying to catch up with them fighting Germans along the way something which does result in Indy being thrown out of the front window of the car behind Rene and when he is about the squashed between the two cars Indy goes under one of the cars which is still moving slowly making his way to the back of the car to start over again which is just such a cool action scene and the fact that it was done for real is something that does make it the best action scene in the whole film as someone could have been killed when it was being filmed with the rest of the film having alot of really good practical action scenes in it as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall it's not hard to see why this film is tied with Last Crusade as being the best Indiana Jones film as it really is just that good of a film with the film having alot of heart of humor in it and also not really being afraid of being a dumb action packed movie something that is something that does make this film alot of fun to watch in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Indiana Jones fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images really from this very film being the really great the official Indiana Jones fandom wiki page this is really because of the fact that really all of the images that I really indeed got and really used from the official Indiana Jones fandom wiki page are all really high quality really with all of the images that really are all and of course really currently up and on the really great and the really solid the official Indiana Jones fandom wiki page really are all being really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being fairly high in definition.