Quick recap: Han Solo is in a race to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do.

Fun (?) fact: During filming, nearly all of the cast and crew contracted food poisoning at some point, except Steven Spielberg who only ate cans of Spaghetti-Os.

My thoughts: As seems to be the case with really popular movies lately, this was my first time watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. I don’t really have a reason for not watching sooner, except that Adventure movies aren’t really my thing. This movie didn’t change that for me, but I can at least appreciate what it did to the genre.

I’m certainly not on the Spielberg Hate Wagon ( great band name, FYI), but his director trademarks can be tiresome. Thankfully, Raiders of the Lost Ark kept sappiness and deep seated daddy issues at bay. I am glad, however, that he stuck with his old pal John Williams to create a wonderfully memorable soundtrack. It’s not my favorite of their collaboration, but it was perfect for the movie and really amped up all the action scenes.

The action scenes themselves were the main ‘wow’ factor and I loved the homage to older adventure films where it seemed someone was in danger every few minutes. It’s delightfully ridiculous at times, but also amazing to see how perfectly executed everything is. And Harrison Ford was perfect for the role, of course. No one can play know-it-all ass like he can. Dare I say that I prefer him as Indiana Jones over Han Solo? I feel like I should soak myself in holy water for even thinking something so blasphemous.

My only complaint with the movie is a very minor, personal one, as most complaints tend to be. Being the geek I am, I was most on the edge of my seat during any conversation about the Ark of the Covenant. There’s so much history here! Archeology has interested me for a long time so I’m probably the only person out there who could’ve gone with more talking and less action.

Final review: 5/5 because of course!

Up next: Planet of the Apes