Have a Fun Adventure With Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Harrison Ford has been in several very successful movies during his career. I have seen and enjoyed many of them. I love the Indiana Jones movies despite the fact that snakes keep turning up. I just watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark again.

After an attempt to retrieve an artifact didn't go as planned, Indiana Jones returned to his job as a college professor. He was approached by Marcus and the US government to go looking for the Ark of the Covenant. The government wanted Indiana to find it before Hitler and the Nazis did. Indiana set off on an adventure that took him around the world and reunited him with Marion Ravenwood, a women that had something Indiana needed to find the ark.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was a fun adventure movie. It was somewhat predictable, but it still very entertaining and worth watching. The plot wasn’t so simple it was boring or so complicated that it was hard to follow what was going on. I did think there were some surprises here and there as well. The first several minutes showed Indiana trying to retrieve an artifact in the jungle of South America and how things didn’t work out like he’d planned. That part also established that he had a rivalry with Dr. Rene Belloq, another archaeologist.

The action started during the first few minutes as Indiana had to make his way through various traps on his way to the artifact and it kept up for the majority of the movie. Indiana frequently found himself with unique situations to deal with that tended to lead to the action scenes. He used his whip several times, sometimes against other people. There was a bit of violence here and there thanks to the fights that Indiana got into with others. The violence wasn’t that extreme or graphic, but a few things could still be disturbing to some viewers, especially younger children. There were effects used in a few scenes that were cutting edge when the movie was made but are a bit dated now. They still looked pretty good though.

I love Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark except for one part. Indiana and Marion ended up trapped with hundreds, if not thousands, of snakes. I am terrified of snakes, even in pictures and movies, so obviously, that was not my favorite part of the movie. I have to look away to keep from freaking out, and even then, all the noises they were making still bother me. I really could have done without all the snakes. I do find that part to be a bit scary because of my issue with snakes. Anyone else who has the same sort of fear will probably have trouble with that part as well. I wouldn’t have had a problem if he’d had issues with spiders since even though I don’t like them either, I can handle seeing them in a movie.

Indiana and Marion had a past that wasn’t really explained. They had been involved and things ended badly between them and even caused a rift between her father and Indiana. He looked her up because she had a relic that he needed to find the ark. She was less than thrilled to see him again, but she did end up helping when she wasn’t in some sort of danger. It did seem like they still have feelings for each other. That did add a tiny amount of romance to the movie without distracting from everything else that was going on. Rene was also attracted to Marion, which added some complications. There weren’t any sex scenes or nudity, so people who don’t like to see those things in movies don’t have anything to worry about.

Indiana Jones taught archeology at a college where his classes tended to be made up mostly of females. He would go looking for relics or artifacts when he had time off from the college. He felt very strongly about artifacts going to museums. He remained calm while handling several situations though he had issues with snakes. Harrison Ford was wonderful in the part and I can’t imagine anyone else in the part now. He made Indiana a likable, believable character.

Marion Ravenwood was the daughter of a man that Indiana had studied under several years before. She and Indiana seemed to have a complicated history, though there were still feelings between them. Marion was a strong, smart woman use to taking care of herself, though she did need Indiana’s help a few times. She wasn’t a shrinking violet of a character, sitting around and waiting to be rescued. I did like Karen Allen in the part. Marcus was one of Indiana’s friends who also got him involved in some adventures. Denholm Elliot handled the part fine.

Sallah was helping Indiana look for the Ark. The two men worked well together and got along well. I think they had known each other for a while. John Rhys-Davies was fine in the part. Rene Belloq was a rival archaeologist who had a habit of turning up and using force to take things that Indiana had recovered. He was willingly working with the Nazis to try to find the ark. Paul Freeman was fine in the part. Alfred Molina had a very small part in the first few minutes.

Main Cast

Karen Allen - Marion
Denholm Elliot - Marcus
Harrison Ford - Indiana Jones
Paul Freeman - Dr. Rene Belloq
John Rhys-Davies - Sallah

Steven Speilberg - Director

DVD Information

All three of the Indiana Jones movies were released in a DVD set a few years ago. I have that set. Each movie is on a different disc with a fourth disc for all the special features and extras connected to all three movies. Special edition versions of each of the first three movies were released on May 13, 2008. I believe those releases have extras with each movie.

I love Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark even though I hate the part with all the nasty snakes. Fans of fun adventure movies or Harrison Ford should give the movie a chance.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark ~ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ~ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ~ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ~ The Complete Making of Indiana Jones ~ Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide ~