I got a chance to get a free film on Amazon and wound up using it on this film, which (to me rightly) is generally regarded as a classic and one of the best action movies ever made. I won't go into plot details as I think everyone knows what goes down in the film but it does have high points to me including:
a) The characters. Well crafted and well acted from Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones to Paul Freeman's great turn as Indy's nemesis Belloq. Karen Allen also does a nice turn as Marion and additionally both of the lead Nazi's were well cast.
b) A straightforward plot that did well as a vehicle to move the action along.
c) The little touches all over the place that said "this may be a major studio release but it's still something we wanted to do" like the Nazi monkey, Indy shooting the swordsman (yes I know that was unplanned but it was brilliant) and even Marion and Belloq getting drunk together.
d) Excellent pacing with just the right touch of humor inserted to keep the tone correct too.
There also were a couple of funny things that one may not realize the first time they see it but do come out later like:
a) The key events of the film would have played out the same way whether Indiana Jones was there or not. He had no actual effect on the story.
b) At some point Indiana should have realized that the Nazi plan could never work. Based on what already had been revealed in the plot, neither Belloq nor the Nazis could ever open or try to use the Ark safely, and in fact Belloq insisting they open it first on the island actually saved Hitler and the Nazi leadership from what happened to him had they done so in Berlin instead.
And actually, if you think about it, all three Indiana Jones films that have them pursuing a powerful artifact (Temple of Doom really did not) have this same plot element - ultimately there was no way the bad guys could actually use the artifact.
It's not a real quibble, just an observation on a film that is overall great fun.
a) The characters. Well crafted and well acted from Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones to Paul Freeman's great turn as Indy's nemesis Belloq. Karen Allen also does a nice turn as Marion and additionally both of the lead Nazi's were well cast.
b) A straightforward plot that did well as a vehicle to move the action along.
c) The little touches all over the place that said "this may be a major studio release but it's still something we wanted to do" like the Nazi monkey, Indy shooting the swordsman (yes I know that was unplanned but it was brilliant) and even Marion and Belloq getting drunk together.
d) Excellent pacing with just the right touch of humor inserted to keep the tone correct too.
There also were a couple of funny things that one may not realize the first time they see it but do come out later like:
a) The key events of the film would have played out the same way whether Indiana Jones was there or not. He had no actual effect on the story.
b) At some point Indiana should have realized that the Nazi plan could never work. Based on what already had been revealed in the plot, neither Belloq nor the Nazis could ever open or try to use the Ark safely, and in fact Belloq insisting they open it first on the island actually saved Hitler and the Nazi leadership from what happened to him had they done so in Berlin instead.
And actually, if you think about it, all three Indiana Jones films that have them pursuing a powerful artifact (Temple of Doom really did not) have this same plot element - ultimately there was no way the bad guys could actually use the artifact.
It's not a real quibble, just an observation on a film that is overall great fun.
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