Indiana Jones - the First 3
This post is about all three original Indiana Jones movies.
Platform: VUDU (owned movies)
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981, 9.1
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1984, 7.8
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989, 9.2
Director: Steven Spielberg
Watch Date: June 19, 2021
I’m getting closer to being caught up….although writing the last post made me realize that I didn’t create a post for The Nun. I’ll have to go back and do that.
My dad loved the Indiana Jones movies. Interestingly, his favorite installment The Temple of Doom was my least favorite. In fact, let’s start with that one since it comes historically first (1935) even though it was produced second. The cinematic elements of this movie are on par. The shots are beautifully rendered, the costumes fabulous, the casting superb. And then there is the script, which seems to have been written by a 12 year old boy. Total garbage. All it needed was some fart jokes and it would have been a pre-teen boy’s dream. I also find it necessary to point out that, in my opinion, Indiana Jones is NOT the star of this movie, Short Round (played by Ke Huy Quan….who was also in The Goonies). Short Round saves the day and is a total bad ass. This film leaves me wondering what happened to Short Round since Dr. Jones supposedly took him under his wing. Anybody know?
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1936) follows Dr. Jones as he tries to track down the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can get their hands on it. This is where we first meet Marian Ravenwood (who we later see in the 4th installment). I adore Marian. She can totally kick butt, drink anyone under the table, and is sassy to boot. Marian is captured by the Nazis, Indiana finds the Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis steal the ark and leave Indiana and Marian for dead. Marion and Indiana get caught. The Ark is opened by the Nazis and anyone who is looking at the contents is killed by spirits (the face melting here is pretty awesome). The ark is recovered and tucked away by the US government for safe keeping (it pops back up in The Crystal Skull). Indy and Marian are in love. The end.
We pick back up with Last Crusade (1938) where Indiana receives his father’s notebook detailing his search for the chalice (holy grail) that Christ drank from at the last supper. It is said to give those who drink from it everlasting life (I’m not sure that is something I would want….). Indy finds out that his father (played by Sean Connery!!!) is missing. So he goes to look for him and on the way finds a piece of the puzzle his father has been looking for. It appears that the Nazis have played both the father and the son (enter Dr. Elsa Schneider) as they are also searching for the chalice. In the end they find the chalice and ride off into the sunset.
What I love about the Indiana Jones movies are the puzzles you get to solve along the way. I find them fascinating. The Last Crusade isn’t nearly as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it has Sean Connery in it, which earned it bonus points. Movie wise it’s probably an 8.9. Of these three, it is my favorite though. Let’s face it, I really don’t like the 4th one so The Last Crusade is my favorite overall.
I will watch these films many more times before I die.
Photo Credit: imdb.com
