Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Best Fantasy/Action of it’s decade?

Ryan Moen
Ryan Moen
Aug 27, 2017 · 3 min read

Movies about archaeologists studying ancient history have been done before, so what makes Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark so special? Here are my thoughts.


First of all I just need to state that this was my first time seeing this movie. I never saw glimpses of it as a child, no bits and parts, nothing. I recently signed up with Amazon prime and long story short I had access to a lot of movies including this one, so I figured, why not dive in to one of the biggest American classic films? I had heard great things and I do enjoy watching Harrison Ford in any movie, and I was more than impressed with his performance in this one.

Indiana Jones is the renowned archaeologist who seems to be the best in the business. Along his journey, he must locate an ancient artifact hidden in the dessert of Nepal, known as the Ark of the Covenant. Sounds easy, but the obstacles that Mr. Jones is up against to do so, is what gives this movie some of the best thrill I’ve ever seen.

The action scenes were, for lack of a better term, fun. Something I admire about old school action flicks is that they can hold a torch next to some of the more modern movies while maintaining a lightweight flow, and by doing so doesn’t make things dark and over dramatic like you might see nowadays. There’s a lot of factors that play into that.

Given the time that this movie came out (1981), I was absolutely blown away by the production of this film. Watching all of the thrill-seeking action scenes mixed with the minor love story, and the perfectly composed music that everyone recognizes when they hear it makes me really appreciate the details of the film making. This makes for a very enjoyable experience.

The cast of this movie couldn’t have been better. Harrison Ford can really hit the nail on the head when it comes to playing lovable characters. Indiana Jones is one of those protagonists that you just automatically love from the very beginning of the story, and the way it feeds off of that is why you want him to succeed so badly. Every predicament he gets into you’re almost at the edge of your seat rooting for him to make it out alive, and that’s exactly because of good story telling and good character development. The supporting roles played a big part too. Usually you get side characters that you tend to not care too much about, but Indi’s love interest, Mary Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen) seemed like just the right fit.

There’s something about a 1980’s movie that makes you feel comfortable in the setting that you’re in. I’m a pretty big fan of the classics that contain a lot of heart, and I think that’s the biggest idea behind what movies today seem to lack. There’s movies like Rocky, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, the list goes on, that really seem to carry this special factor: heart. It doesn’t just feel like a pointless action movie, it feels like a story, like a tale, and despite it’s cliché cheesyness per se, and at times it moves a tad slow for my liking, this is definitely a movie that I think everyone should see at some point in their life, because man was it a fun ride.

Production: A

Character (Development): A

Story: A-

My grade for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark: A

Applaudience

A community dedicated to those who are passionate about film. A collection of handpicked publications about movies, the film industry and fan art.

)

Ryan Moen

Written by

Ryan Moen

Welcome to my page! If you’re looking for short and sweet articles, I’ve got you covered! 5 minute read for reviews of movies and music!

Applaudience

A community dedicated to those who are passionate about film. A collection of handpicked publications about movies, the film industry and fan art.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade