Nope, I’ve never seen a single Indiana Jones movie before in my life. Don’t be surprised though – I’d never seen a single Star Wars movie before 2016 either. (Don’t worry, I have rectified that and also seen every episode of The Mandalorian. I have learned from my mistakes.) For the very few – like me – who have never seen one of these babies, here’s a quick synopsis.
We all know who Indiana Jones is, even if we’ve not seen the films. He’s iconic. He needs no introduction. As a professor and celebrated archaeologist, Dr. Jones is leading a relatively normal life since his days as the danger-loving Indiana and is working in a university. One day, the US government approach him in order to hire him. The thing is, they need help to locate The Ark of the Covenant. What awaits Indy, however, is a group of Nazis who are also looking for the same artefacts in order to use them for their own gain.
Early eighties Harrison Ford really was the most handsome man in the world, wasn’t he? He’d already acquired quite the fan base as Han Solo, and then he swooped in to take on yet another hero in Indiana Jones. There’s no wonder that so many movie nerds are in love with the guy – myself included.
One thing that Spielberg does so phenomenally well is create a strange and foreign world instantly (even if they are technically on planet Earth in this instance). Everything from the burnt amber lighting to fully-realised characters to outstanding set design; it all works to immerse you into the action from the get go. This movie is probably one of his best in that regard, with Jurassic Park arguably being the only superior entry to his resume.
I simply cannot review this film without mentioning that utterly iconic theme music. We all know that John Williams is excellent, but this score just solidifies for me that he’s the best film composer of all time. Instantly recognisable, triumphant, timeless music that will live on forever. That’s Indy. That’s John. Just play the video below and you can thank me later.
Not only is Raiders so technically magnificent, the narrative is so well put together – it has pace, an interesting story, and perfectly placed action sequences, which was to be expected. What I didn’t expect however was to be so wowed by the cinematography. I know it’s Spielberg, but some of these shots are s t u n n i n g. No wonder Indiana Jones is perhaps one of the most iconic movie characters of all time when he’s framed like that.
Overall, this movie just has everything. The most pleasant surprise? There are moments of pure comedy within it.
I wish I could see this on the big screen because I absolutely bloody loved it.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is available to stream on Now TV, Sky Cinema and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
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