Friday, November 17, 2006

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark


In the first of the Indiana Jones series is Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford plays "Indy" the confident and courageous adventurer. It is very interesting when looking at the very first scene of this film, because it really sets the tone for the movie and the character and reputation of Indiana Jones. In this first scene, Indiana Jones is seen forcing his way through the jungle with his team following him. You actually don't get to see Indy's face until he whips the gun out of a man about to shoot him. This demonstrates Indy's "badassness." Even after he whips the pistol out of the man's hand, he continues to show how tough and smart he is, as he manages to go through the booby-trapped temple unscathed as many others have failed here.

Raiders is set in 1936, as Indiana tries to retrieve a golden idol in an Aztecan temple, and as he achieves this, the idol is taken from him and he has to run from tribes people running after him to kill him. He escapes from a seaplane, and is soon back to his teaching job. Indy then sets out to discover the lost Ark of the Covenant, and the Nazis are also after this biblical piece. He then sets out to Nepal to meet an old aquaintance named Marion who holds a very important artifact and will accompany him on the rest of his journey. They then go to Cairo and wrestle with Belloq and the Nazis over the Ark, but Indiana Jones comes through adversity and settles this and the location and safety of the ark.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is definitely a fun movie, one thing that is great about it is that it makes you think of the possibilities. What if the Ark really is real? What if the Nazis really did set out to gain control of it and its power? Another thing that makes Raiders great is the action, and it is full of it. But the film is a bit overdone in that Indiana is the glorified hero, and always saves the day in sometimes overdone ways.

For more info on Raiders:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082971/

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