Synopsis (according to imdb.com)
Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.
LET ME EXPLAIN...
At the risk of being lambasted for this, I don't get the love affair everyone seems to have with this movie. I watched it a number of times growing up, and it's enjoyable enough, but it's never been anywhere near the top of my favorites list. I was further mystified when a fellow AFI blogger watched this movie for the very first time just recently (you can read her post here). That right there goes against my thought that people love this because it's one of those classics they grew up with. Apparently not!
Having said all that, I feel the need to state again that I don't dislike this movie. I like it. It's a fun adventure, and Indiana Jones is arguably the most iconic character in movie history (he was also perfectly cast by Harrison Ford...makes me wonder how successful this franchise would have been if George Lucas's first choice - Tom Selleck - had accepted the part instead).
What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Not really sure. I'm probably not the best person to answer this question, but here are some of my guesses:
- The pure adventure of the story is possibly unlike any other.
- It was the introduction of one of the most iconic, heroic characters in movie history.
- Great stunts, faraway locations, and classic action sequences.
Those all seem like fairly weak arguments to me. Oh well. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, winning 5 of them (Visual Effects, Film Editing, Sound, and Art Direction, as well as a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing).
Complaints:
Well, the incredibly erroneous assumptions this film took regarding the nature of the Ark of the Covenant is something I, being a Christian, had trouble accepting, even just for the sake of enjoying the story. This issue also made the ending really lame and ridiculous for me. Additionally, I felt the movie did a poor job explaining things sometimes (who exactly was that creepy German guy with the glasses? Why/how the heck did the natives know to perfectly coordinate hiding the truck from the ensuing Nazis? Etc.). Also, Marion was a pretty annoying character.
LET ME SUM UP...
Fun adventure with a classic movie icon. However, the poetic license the film takes, in both storytelling and the Ark itself, leaves me a bit underwhelmed compared to the seemingly vast majority of people who absolutely love this movie.
MY RATING: 7.5/10 (0.5 lower from my previous rating)
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