Sheila Oliver
7th per.
Cinema Studies
2/12/2010
Raider of the Lost Ark Movie Review
Indiana Jones has everything needed in a good action film. This incldes suspense, danger, and fighting. These three elements descrbe an action film. Nothing fits this more than Raiders of the Lost Ark. This movie is a classic and had some of the best graphics from the time the film was made. This film had many good points and bad points and the focus should be on both. This review will include both points, but the focus will be more on the good points.
First, an action movie should include suspense. The movie is too, predictable without suspense. A person wants to be left guessing what will happen in order to feel that the movie was exciting. For example, when Indiana (Harrison Ford) went into the temple and found the golden idol, he tried to weigh the idol with sand. The feeling of not knowing if Indiana would measure the sand right kept the watcher on edge.On the other hand, there was the scene in the market place with the back swordman. When the swordman showed off his moves, there was an expectation that Indiana would not do anything as fancy. There was no edge to the scene with the way the fight was played out. That is why suspense should be included for an edge to the movie.
Next, a good action film should include danger. Danger is an important key. People want to feel unsafe from just being in the theatre. The dager needs to be shown in a way that drags the watcher into the movie. For example, when Indiana was facing Belloq (Paul Freeman), his rival, he was surrounded by natives with poison darts. The danger came from the talking with Belloq because no one could guess if Belloq would tell the natives to shoot. The danger was in the way Indana talked to Belloq, which sucked the watcher into the movie. A bad aspect of danger is when that is not used correctly. One time incudes when Indiana found Marion (Karen Allen) after he thought she was dead. The danger of someone walking in wasn’t felt because of how loud the two spoke. The danger of the scene would have been better if at least one of the two had spoke in a hushed voice. Danger is a good use if the scene is used correctly.
Lastly, a good action is not complete with out fight scenes. Most fighting will always be good in an action movie. The only bad fighting is when the fighting does not include all the current heroes in the scene. For example, when Marion and Indiana were by the planes, Marion did nothing as she sat in the cock pit of the plane. The scene could have included her doing something. Maybe the scene could have shown her shooting a gun from inside, but that was not included in the scene.. However, there were good action scenes as well. One was after Marion and Indiana left Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), a friend of Indiana. When the market fight started Marion grabbed a weapon. She used frying pans against enemies. Indiana used his whip against most of the enemies. Marion was included fighting in the market scene, which made this an effective fight. There was even a scene of her fighting alone. All fights should include all the heroes in the scene.
In conclusion, Raiders of the Lost Ark was a good action film, even if there were a few flaws. The action film still included fighting, suspense, and danger. Fighting is always good if all the heroes are included and danger is effective if used properly in the scene. Although, the most important aspect is suspense. Suspense keeps the watcher on the edge of the seat, which is what the director wants to get out of his movie. That is the reason why most action movies are so effective. Action movies can be successful if these elements are used properly.