Andrew Collins, Empire 105
"I don't know! I'm making this up as I go!" snaps rugged archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones (Ford), when his ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Allen) asks him, "What next?" If it looks that way - and Jones is a likeably unkempt, see-what-happens kind of hero - you can be damn sure director Spielberg and writers George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan and Phillip Kaufman, knew precisely where Indy was going next in this skillfully-assembled adventure.
A truly old-fashioned yarn set in 1936 in which the whip-cracking, vine-swinging "obtainer of rare antiquities" runs rings around Johnny Foreigner (dastardly Arabs, evil Germans, marauding South Americans, Allen even outdrinks some dozy Nepalese), it is only technically that Raiders reveals itself to be a modern film, its Oscar-winning sound and visual effects the real giveaway. Ford, in a career-minting plays what would've been a cardboard cut-out in the 1930s as grubby, coy, impertinent, imperfect, snake phobic and agnostic (describing the Ark's magic as "the power of God or something").
The action rattles along at the globe-trotting lick of Bond (there's even a pre-credits action sequence), and an assortment of Brit character actors like Ronald Lacey, Denhom Elliott and Alfred Molina flesh out the supporting roles. Spielberg took the job as a favour for pal Lucas - although he needed a hit after 1941 - and, lo, went on to make two sequels, the second of which grossed $100 million more than Raiders' $380 million (it only cost $22 million).
In doing so, Spielberg, raider of a lost art, proved that they do make 'em like this anymore. ****
Alan Jones, Radio Times 5-11 January 2002
Evecutive producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg minted fresh thrills from the cliffhanger serials of their youth in this breathless fantasy extravaganza. This brilliantly evocative thirties-set saga is a wonderful Boy's Own yarn that rattles along with the raw spirit of adventure. Hero Harrison Ford is second to none in this definitive action masterpiece, which captures storyteller Spielberg at the very height of his powers. *****
