Review of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) by Christopher T — 09 Sep 2015

[8/30/15].

I don't feel like writing individual reviews so I'm just going to provide some of my thoughts on the Indiana Jones franchise now that I have all 4 films on Blu-Ray. First things first, the video and audio quality is sharp and crisp from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to 'The Last Crusade,' these movies couldn't look better, in my opinion. There's a new fresh of life in the films, thanks the HD transfer; and being able to see so much detail from the sweat on the characters' faces to the clarity of the production sets or some of the gorgeous shots of the jungle/temple/etc, it's basically like watching a movie released in 2015. Yes, some of the effects haven't aged very well, but the picture is mostly consistent and it definitely impresses. I've never seen the Indiana Jones movies before ...not entirely, I mean. And to be frank, I love all of them. Yes, even the fourth one (don't kill me). Wait, let me correct that: I love all three of them and I like the 4th one. The first three films, I'd rank highly not just as action-adventure films, but I'd rank them highly in general-George Lucas hadn't become so sensitive about everything during this time and Steven Spielberg was a in a position where he could do no wrong as far as movies went; they had competent writers, great cinematography, the production values are A class, the CGI is kept to a minimum, and with a likeable Harrison Ford in the title role. Indiana Jones was destined to succeed and that was clear as ice with the release of 'Raiders,' that's the film that ultimately came to define the entire series-character-wise, sound-wise, booby trap-wise, etc. Indy freakin' headshots a guy and the camera even gives you a good shot [ha, pun] of the bullet hole! Like, c'mon, that would never fly with today's politically-correct/"everything is offensive" parents. It honestly shocks the hell out of me that Spielberg and Lucas were behind all of this [*rolls eyes at Han Shot First and the E.T special edition*] That aside, everybody involved with that movie knew what they were doing; it's no coincidence that 'Raiders' is so much damn fun. The second film, in my opinion, is more fun than 'Raiders', that's not to say that I think it's better, but I do think that it's easier to enjoy. 'Temple of Doom' is the darkest film in the franchise and what I love about it is that it takes everything good about 'Raiders' and completely repackages it. It's very rare for a sequel [actually, 'Temple of Doom' is a prequel to 'Raiders'] to feel similar to the first one and yet take a totally different approach and style. I know, I know: "Alien" and "Aliens," 'Terminator' and 'T2,' 'New Hope' and 'Empire Strikes Back,' hey, we don't see follow-ups like those anymore! 'The Last Crusade' introduces Indian Jones' father-played by Sean Connery-and I bring that up because the chemistry between Henry Sr. and Henry "Indiana" Jr. is undeniable. I mean, by the time the end credits began rolling, I thought to myself: "I'd love to see those two go on another adventure, you know, just from start to finish have them explore the exotic cheese on the moon or something." There's a cool little scene involving Berlin [that shares an uncanny similarity with book burning scene in "The Book Thief"] where Hitler makes a hilarious "cameo". Oh, and the tank sequence is SO boss! And now *sigh* we have to talk about 'Crystal Skull,' look, I'm not burying this film beneath the previous three films just because everyone else does, I'm burying it because even in HD it doesn't look anywhere near as stunning as 'Raiders,' 'Temple,' or 'Crusade.' There are a lot of elements that I'm glad Lucas and Spielberg brought back: Harrison Ford is the big one, the Marion character, the sense of fun and adventure that we think of when we think of these types of movies [despite not being as exciting as the previous three], Mutt and Dr. Jones have decent chemistry [not as good as that of Jones and his father, though], and other little details. I even like the nuclear blast scene that everybody shits on aka Nuking the Fridge--I'm not afraid/ to take a stand. Anyways,the biggest con--and this is something that I'm basically biting from Chris Stuckmann-is the fact that Indiana Jones is never in real danger in this fourth movie. In all the other ones, Indiana Jones is lagging behind the villains, getting his butt kicked (only to win by luck or heart), or narrowly escapes from a high-risk situation, and in this one Dr. Jones is always on top of things. *end of non-Marty material* Another thing is that Indy is not a selfish dude, in 'Temple of Doom,' he says that he wants the stones for fame, and then by the end [after he sees the village he's saved] he doesn't even want the stones to be put in some museum. That, and the lack of a good chase scene where the stakes are high hurt the film's appeal overall; the chase in the jungle-with its swordfighting and monkey accompanied swinging-doesn't come close to topping the "simple" desert truck chase from 'Raiders.' In short: Indy Four just doesn't have the same level of urgency or feeling of greater good that the others had, but, to give the film credit it took a script that should have failed and made it work more or less, which was only possible due to Ford returning to the famous role. If I've neglected to mention one crucial reoccurring element of the four movies, then it would be that of John Williams' legendary film score-that man was on a roll in the late-70s to the 80s, and the Blu-Ray mixes his scores at the forefront sometimes with great force; the desert truck scene in 'Raiders' couldn't be more intense. I don't want to go on and on [because I could, try me] about the music, but there's no doubt that had the job gone to someone else-even for 'Crystal Skull-the films would have lacked the same punch. Everything that needs to be told musically is done so masterfully; does the scene need crazy action music? Done. Does the scene need something tender because it's about romance? Done. Is this the scene where Indy barely overcomes the odds? Done, here's the famous march that everyone likes. Heart being ripped out? Done. And on a final note: I actually got on the Indiana Jones ride at Disney in California, which was based on the mine car chase from 'Temple of Doom,' a LONG time ago-one of the few times that I've been to any amusement park as a matter of fact-and yeah it was fun, that's all I wanted to say. I do recall a large boulder like the one from the beginning of 'Raiders' and that was pretty wicked. There's no plans for a fifth film yet since Disney acquired Lucasfilm mainly due to them wanting to focus on Star Wars, but the question remains: will there be a fifth Indiana Jones? I'd love to see another one. Granted, we may never quench our thirst for the nostalgia that comes along with such a project. Everyone's getting older and Star Wars is kind of the way (not that I mind because Star Wars has better chances of satisfying movie-goers than a fifth Indy film) since Disney's already said that they want to focus on Star Wars before they even start to think about writing a script for a new Indy but, uhhh, never say never, right? One more thing-I know, I know, I keep adding shit. Fuck you. Kidding. I love you if you're still reading this-the reason I don't dislike the Nuke the Fridge scene is because the franchise as a whole has had some ridiculous moments. Granted, it's more plausible for Dr. Jones to survive falling out of a plane on a raft than it is for him to beat a nuclear blast. Still, let's not pretend like Indy hasn't had some over-the-top moments in the past, if anything, it's those moments that have made the franchise worth viewing over and over again. Indy could zap back 65 million years, ride a comet, crash onto the Earth's surface with the force of a trillion atom bombs, create the largest tsunami ever, walk out unscathed, find the last dinosaur, ride it, eat it, live in Africa until encountering man's earliest ancestors, and I wouldn't doubt it for a second. That's it, folks, and kudos if you've read this far. Seriously, you da real homiez.