Review of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) by Harpreet S — 10 Feb 2013

I don't see Steven Spielberg as a great filmmaker, and before I state my reasons I think I know why so many people admire his work. I applaud his ability to be a chameleon, as he once said. All of the films I've seen of his look very different from one another; he is talented, knows how to frame a shot, understands compositions, and all of the technicalities. I just finished watching "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" and when I look back it has a classical feel to it, something like a "Casablanca." But it isn't any way near a great film, because overall Spielberg is not that good of a storyteller; he isn't daring, always plays it safe, ultimately a crowd pleaser. He is so very easy to decipher. To give where credit is due, the film has likeable characters, it's moderately well written; I admired a few of the dialogues that combine humor and cleverness. It has beautiful art direction; I particularly liked the use of shadows. But what is so great about it? It's quite predictable at times; we know Harrison Ford is never going to die, we know the leading lady is not dead, etc. And honestly it's not so entertaining as well. It's supposed to be fun but for me it wasn't anything special; there weren't any sequences where I was at the edge of my seat, really surprised or ridiculously thrilled. Looking at some of the locations in the film, I would rather watch David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai," or even Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," which may not be a great film but is very entertaining and has a daring ending. Of course I understand "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is not as serious as those films, just trying to give some examples.

It's been a while since I've seen "Schindler's List," but just from experience I will say that, "Munich," and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" are his three good films. "Close Encounters..." and "Schindler's List" might be his two best. The rest are average pictures: "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Minority Report." All have tremendous potential, but fail because there is a lack of intelligence. In my opinion, he has never created a masterpiece and I suspect his unseen films will not take that leap, too.