After the successes of Star Wars and Jaws, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas put together two visions: A tribute to the old pulp serials of the 1930s and 40s, combined with the high-flying action of James Bond - no coincidence they cast Sean Connery as Indy's father in Last Crusade.
Anyway, Raiders of the Lost Ark stars Harrison Ford as the globe-trotting adventurer archaeologist Indiana Jones, who embarks on a quest to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant. Aiding him is his former love interest Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen, and old friend and skilled excavator Sallah, played by John Rhys Davies. Unfortunately, the Nazis are also looking for the Ark, and have enlisted the aid of Indy's nemesis Rene Belloq, played by Paul Freeman.
What follows is some of the best action set pieces in cinema - including the iconic boulder chase at the beginning of the film. And John Williams delivers a fantastic score, ranging from eerie and atmospheric to bombastic and triumphant.
Well, since I'm here, I might as well discuss the sequels. Temple of Doom follows Indy, the club singer Willie Scott, and street urchin Short Round as they try and rescue the children of an Indian village from an ancient cult. It's not the best sequel around, as Willie is a very screamy damsel in distress and Short Round can be quite annoying sometimes. However, there is still some great action and some of the darkest moments of peril in the franchise. I can't really fault the filmmakers for wanting to make the characters a little darker and edgier, but it could have been done better in my opinion.
Last Crusade takes a softer and more lighthearted route, with Indy going after the Holy Grail while patching up his distant relationship with his father. It's a far superior sequel, for pretty much the same reasons as the first one. Harrison Ford and Sean Connery work off each other really well, especially when they're bickering.
As for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? I didn't hate it.
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