Review of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) by Johann M — 20 Jul 2017

You know, I wanted to see this because I mentioned it in my review for Wither. The context in which I mentioned this in that review was to mention a film that 'heavily borrowed' from another film that, obviously, came out prior.

The discussion I was having, with myself, in the review was basically talking about rip-offs. And I know what you're thinking, particularly if Raiders is one of your favorite movies of all time. 'Raiders, a RIP-OFF?!?!?! I will KILL you'.

I never said Raiders was a rip-off, but there's a film from the 50s, called Secret of the Incas, that Raiders clearly borrowed from. And if you're trying to deny that fact then you must be a fan boy.

Heavily borrowing from something that already existed isn't illegal. If you use it as inspiration and you go forth with your own unique story and stylistic choices, then you can use that as a jumping off point to bigger and better things.

And you can certainly make that case for Raiders. It took what already existed and added onto it with great characters, great writing and great action. Another reason I wanted to watch this was simply because of the fact that I don't remember watching this film in ages.

Like, seriously. I don't have any recollection of watching this after my teens. And if I did watch it when I was younger, then I retained very little of it. I mean, then again, how could I forget the melting Nazi faces, right??? How could ANYONE forget that, particularly when a lot people watched this when they were very young.

But, seriously here, what can I say about Raiders of the Lost Ark that hasn't already, literally, been said in the ensuing 36 years since its release. There's nothing that I can add to this film's legend that will highlight something new that someone who's watched this may not be familiar with.

Some people might not know this, but the actor who plays Belloq had a fly land on his lower lip and the slide into his mouth during one of the climactic scenes. This guy, being a pro, completely no-sold this fly and just went about his monologue.

That might be something that some people don't know. But I only know that because I just noticed it completely out of nowhere. Then I went back in my own subconscious and realized that I saw it in a YouTube video some time ago.

I didn't remember that it was this movie until that precise moment. But I digress. There's nothing I can say about this. Harrison Ford is great as the handsome, charming rogue. The film is impeccably scripted, everything that you see happens for a reason.

While I knew that this film was violent, particularly for being rated PG, I was still legitimately surprised at how violent some of the scenes actually were and how they were able to get by with a PG rating.

I wish the MPAA was as loose with its ratings as they used to be in the 80s. Karen Allen and Harrison Ford have great chemistry. They achieve a balance between antagonistic while being still madly attracted to each other that's difficult to achieve.

As I mentioned, there's some top-notch action here as well. The fist fights themselves are simplistic, but effective. And the giant car chase scene would fit in nicely in a Mad Max movie of this era, perhaps it would have been a little more over-the-top, but I still think it would have fit.

I'm not going over the story, because then I would be here forever. But, yea, this film was pretty damn fucking great. There's a reason why this is one of the most enduring action adventure films of all time and why it's a film whose influence is still felt today, especially in video games like Uncharted.

I'm not gonna sit here and say that this is the best movie ever made, because it's not. But it is a movie that any self-respecting film geek must watch at least once. Then maybe get the special edition DVD and behold at how this film was put together, which would then gain you a new appreciation for the mastery that is on display here.

I can't complain in the slightest, I had an absolute blast watching this and I would highly recommend it. Yes, this review totally sucked, but it's Raiders, the movie speaks for itself and there's nothing new I can really say that hasn't already been said.

Two thumbs up for this movie, for sure.