Indiana Jones and the
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
I had never seen this picture up
until now and I must say I was missing out on a lot of great stuff motivating
me to create an epic character like Indiana Jones or Jack Sparrow. Raiders
of the Lost Ark is the first entry in a series of films featuring probably
the greatest fictional globetrotter there ever existed. In this first adventure
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is first presented to us in the Peruvian jungle
where he is seeking some sort of artifact that he eventually lose to his bitter
rival Belloq (Paul Freeman) a French archeologist, who is later shown to us to
be working for the Nazis on the search for the lost Ark of the Covenant. After
a hard day’s work Indy is asked to find the Ark but first he must stop in Nepal
where he must get a medallion that is being kept by his live interest Marion Ravenwood
(Karen Allen). Afterwards they head to Cairo where they’ll face Belloq and the
Nazis as they search for the mystical Ark.
I have never been a huge fan of
Spielberg because most of his movies are all box office hits and I don’t know I
sometimes feel like he does his movies only for money. But I must say that
after watching this flick I’ve come to love him. Surely I had seen Jaws
and Jurassic Park before, who hasn’t? But this picture was one that I
had never gotten the chance to see, one that features both him and George Lucas
working together on a really awesome flick. Everything in this movie is
certainly spectacular. I, like everybody else, loved the score, the characters
and their backgrounds, the action scenes and of course the comedy relieves.
What else can I say? Nothing else, overall the film is just fantastic two hour
thrill ride that will have you going out and buying yourself a bullwhip, a
leather jacket and a fedora.
Rating:
5 stars out of 5.
Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
This film might be better than its
predecessor. In the prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark everyone’s
favorite archeologist is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone
which has been stolen by a religious tribe. Indy (portrayed by Harrison Ford)
agrees after learning that this tribe practices black magic, child slavery and
human sacrifice leading him to an adventure of epic proportions with his
friends Short Round (portrayed by Jonathan Ke Quan) and Wilhelmina “Willie”
Scott (portrayed by Kate Capshaw).
Although many will probably disagree
with me, and others probably will, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
might be equal or perhaps even better than the first entry in the Indiana Jones
franchise. I will say this the film has a bit of a darker tone than its
predecessor but it is all relieved by the comedy of Short Round, who is pretty
badass if you ask me as well as a very loveable character, and Willie, who can
be a bit of a bitch at times and at bit annoying but it all adds to the comic
relief of the flick. The movie’s villain is certainly a heck of a lot more
sinister than the ones in the first picture. Mola Ram (portrayed by Amrish
Puri) is a sick bastard, I mean every time he performs a ritual he takes out
the person’s heart out. Any way back to the overall film, like its predecessor
the Temple of Doom has a great score by John Williams and the mise
en-scene is simply great, not to mention Spielberg’s great direction which can
never be doubted. Overall the film is just great and another fun thrill ride
filled with lots of great action, suspense and even a little bit of comedy.
Rating:
5 stars out of 5.
Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade (1989)
The greatness continues in this one.
In this third entry of the Indiana Jones franchise Harrison Ford returns as
Indiana Jones in a journey far greater than his previous ones. After learning
that his father (portrayed by Sean Connery) is missing after searching for the
mystical Holy Grail Indiana Jones, better known as Junior by his father, goes
to Italy where he hopes to find what led to his father’s misfortune. Sadly Indy
falls into a bigger problem when he learns that the Hitler and the Nazis want
the mystical object to rule the world. Now Dr. Jones along with his father,
Marcus Brody (portrayed by Denholm Elliot) and Sallah (portrayed by John
Rhys-Davies) must get to the grail first before the Nazis do so first.
This third installment in the
brilliant adventure film series is as great as the first two in the franchise
or perhaps even better. The Last Crusade truly shows us that no matter
who Indy is pitted with either a love interest, Short Round or even his father there
will always be some fresh comedic and action performances in each flick. This
entry in the series is certainly the most lightest and certainly the funniest
one in the franchise to this point. Without a doubt The Last Crusade is
also the most religious entry in the series involving the Holy Grail and
whatnot. This picture, like its predecessor, is also really fun thrill ride
which is what Indiana Jones is really about, entertaining a vast audience with
awesome action spectacles, great comedy relief, fantastic storytelling and even
better character developing. Overall the film is just another piece of
Spielberg/Lucas magic that could be watched multiple times and would never get
tired of it.
Rating:
5 stars out of 5.
Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The latest installment is good but
not as great as its predecessors. In the fourth entry in the famous franchise
Indiana Jones (portrayed by Harrison Ford) with the help of his son Henry Jones
III A.K.A. Mutt Williams (portrayed by Shia LaBeouf) and his future wife Marion
Ravenwood (portrayed by Karen Allen) must take the mystical Crystal Skull to
its sacred temple before a group of Russians led by Irina Spalko (portrayed by
Cate Blanchett) get their hands on it.
Kingdom of Crystal Skull
certainly is a wild and fun thrill ride like all of the Indiana Jones movies.
But there are certain things in the flick that leave me quite uneasy like for
example some of the acting which is a bit off especially John Hurt’s who seems
to be overdoing his character a bit. Also during the plot there’s a bit of a
big hole between “talk and act”, in other words there seems to be a part of the
film where there’s a little of talking and little action. But I guess in a way
that balances out the picture. Other than those few little things this film is
pure awesomeness and it is as entertaining as its predecessors.
Rating:
4.5 stars out of 5.
