INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK - REVIEW


Many have tried before or since the Indy franchise to recapture the magic and the fun of the old adventure serials with efforts like Romancing The Stone, The Phantom, Doc Savage or Alan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold but all have come short of Spielberg's classic trilogy. So what makes Indiana Jones so successful?

For one thing you've got the iconic casting of Harrison Ford as the archaeologist-turned-adventurer which feels like the role Ford was born to play: cool, witty, always on-the-ball, occasionally goofy, strong, good-hearted, a ladies' man...he's the ultimate action hero.

He's Han Solo with a whip and leather jacket, can't go wrong with that.

Then you've got the Lucas/Spielberg/Williams trilogy of movie masterminds, a team which, in the 80's anyway, were at the top of their game. Fresh from Star Wars, Lucas knew how to produce a catchy flick, The Berg could direct a masterpiece in his sleep and John Williams' scores were about as memorable as any film music can possibly get!

They all capture the look and feel of the old serials perfectly and the film is complete with ridiculously evil villains (Ronald Lacey's nazi is pretty terrifying to look at), double-crossers, an ever-so-slightly annoying love interest (Karen Allen) and cheesy supernatural happenings.

All in all, this is the best possible start to any franchise and most people's favourite Indy movie: it's fun, clever, stylish, action-packed and unforgettable.

Classic.

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