Whip & humor crack equally as well - Raiders of the Lost Ark Reviews

How many times have I watched this film? I've lost count. From the second the movie starts running, it captivates you, & you run with Indiana Jones through the cave & the various other places he runs. As he encounters mishap after mishap & comes out alive, you find yourself cheering for him not as an outsider but as someone standing right next to him. The film magically comes alive. This unique quality comes from the camera shots, the phenonmenual acting, & something else that I can't quite place my finger on. There's something classic here about this Spielberg & Lucas powerhouse production. Karen Allen's portrayal of the breathtakingly beautiful Marion deserves as much recognition as Harrison Ford's portrayal of Indiana Jones, the reluctant hero who always gets more than what he bargained for. At first, it seemed odd that Indiana Jones would be afraid of snakes ("Why did it have to be snakes?"), considering his worldly journeys in pursuit of treasure. Then, I began to understand why they would build a flaw like that in Jones: To make him the reluctant hero who is decidedly more human than the ones who try to kill him would give him credit for. Despite the fact that he hates snakes & the fact that Marion is barefoot in a snake-filled cavern, he makes it out alive & well without so much as a bite. He rescues the beautiful barefoot Marion as well. We love him for his feats in the face of tremendous danger. Ford has a gift for cracking humor equally well as his whip. He creates the illusion of making it all look easier than it actually is. Many other films have tried to combine humor & action, but they lag in places whereas the humor & action in Raiders of the Lost Ark flows effortlessly. George Lucas knew what he was doing when he gave Harrison Ford this role. After all, he worked with Ford extensively as the cocky pilot in the brillant & wildly successful Star Wars saga. Thank God Ford did not pursue carpentry over acting, which is what he was originally told to do after initially disappointing results on film. Perserverance pays off, & Ford is a shining example of this. He's my shining star. This is the one role that Karen Allen will always be remembered for, no matter what else she does. She's the immortal Marion in the immortal classic Raiders of the Lost Ark.