Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) Review

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark follows archeologist Indiana Jones who is sent on a mission to discover the Ark of the Covenant and keep it from falling into the hands of his rival René Bellec and his Nazi allies. 

Even after 40 years, there’s a reason Raiders Of The Lost Ark has endured the test of time as one of the most inventive and exciting action/adventure movies of all time. With it’s 1930s serial adventure feel, to it’s nonstop thrills, fucking beautiful score by John Williams, and even it’s barely willing, though always daring protagonist Indiana Jones, this film somehow does the impossible in combining all of these pieces, faithfully, to craft an exciting, live by the seat of your pants thrill ride that never ceases to amaze. Even with it’s comical Nazi villains, there’s always a real danger to be had that toes that line between deadly serious and subtle humor.

The biblical themes that Raiders carries also make for an adventure unlike any we’ve ever seen. We’ve seen people try to steal priceless artifacts a million times, but anyone with half a mind will know that damn near any mythical item from the Bible, least of all the Ark, is so much more intriguing, especially with the supernatural element of unleashing it’s contents on the world. It allows the film, in all of it’s nonstop action, to step back and truly ponder the existence of God and his wrath and damn if it isn’t amazing, even after all this time. 

As I briefly mentioned above as well, between this and Star Wars, John Williams truly made one of the best movie scores of all time. It inspires hope, danger, love, passion, wonder, and so much more, while populating our ear drums from beginning to end, in what gives the movie such an atmosphere that perfectly rivals it’s tone and action. 

Raiders sports an incredible cast, starring Alfred Molina, Denholm Elliott, Ronald Lacy, John Rhys-Davies, Paul Freeman, Karen Allen, and Harrison Ford. Ford as Indy is simply the stuff of legend, and it’s evident how much he loves the world weary wonder that Indy has, acting so well alongside Allen, whose cynical passion will always make her my favorite Indy girl. 

Raiders Of The Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, is an adventure film for the ages (if not one of the best), captivating in a journey to uncover mysteries lost to time, with a biblical history element that will never cease to inspire both fear and wonder. 

9.5/10