Raiders of the Lost Ark

This is trailblazing stuff - a great action film in the vein of earlier Technicolor swashbucklers. Harrison Ford is engaging and hugely charismatic and his battles with Karen Allen and Paul Freeman make for a considered, slightly dark but funny and memorable piece of cinema. So many great films have a depth in the cast that offers a multi-layered approach to storytelling. Spielberg cast John Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott excellently as Ford's stalwarts. John Williams has a golden baton when it comes to action-scores (akin to Korngold) and the story clearly has a tint of George Lucas' imagination to it. Historically, there is plenty of fiction but that spoils nothing. Not the best of the series, but a very good start...

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My favorite action film of all time due to one of the most iconic death scenes at the end being my personal favorite and being featured in my melt movie lists on many different websites!!!

Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. For Spielberg's American Alan Quartermaine, I can certainly understand what the hype is about, but I've never been a big fan myself. For starters, Nazis are boring. I'm sure they were all the rage once upon a time as a classic villain, but it doesn't do much for me. Harrison Ford, of course, carries the movie, but Karen Allen plays really well with him throughout the movie and is amazing in her own right. If nothing else, Spielberg is able to shoot a powerful atmosphere, and the movie is captivating and engaging. It's not something I can watch over and over, but when I do watch it I know I'm going to get drawn in and have a great time.