Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

"It's not the years, it's the mileage." Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is virtually *the* perfect action-adventure blockbuster. It's hard to imagine anyone who hasn't seen this movie (between 1 and 50 times) and loved it! Like the first two Star Wars films (and similarly with all my friends), Raiders of the Lost Ark sure caught my imagination and set my adrenaline pumping! (I still get jazzed just thinking about the movie.) These three films were made by the two "bad boys" of independent cinema at the height of their imaginative powers. Raiders was a perfectly crafted showcase of what the best scriptwriting, acting, editing, sound effects, and pre-CGI special effects can do. The first ten minutes set up the story but so much happens that you've seen as much as in 30 minutes of any previous movie -- and it only gets more exciting! I love Indy's derring-do panache, all the script's humorous bits ("I don't know, I'm making this up as I go"), and Marion's infectious spunk (two words which in another context would be malodorously unhygienic). Don't tsk-tsk the shooting of the swordsman; that scene is not a slam against Arabs, just a (cheap) shot at the duel or swordfight as a cinematic convention (which is why it was funny in 1981). Indy is after all the ultimate pragmatist who doesn't believe in anything but his own fists -- until he and Marion are saved by "the power of God, or something." The audience is happy when the maudlinized Nazis get their comeuppance from the Ark (for which kids under 10 may want to cover their eyes). All this and there's no sex -- now that's pure unadulterated storytelling and an action movie for the ages! 5 stars.