Steven Spielberg's filmography can more or less be siphoned off into one of three types of films: intense, emotional historical drama, sugary-sweet schmaltz and eager-to-please blockbuster. The first type gave us Schindler's List and The Color Purple, so I can't complain too much. The second gave us E.T. and...yeah, enough said about that shitty film. The third has the most variance as Jaws and Jurassic Park are lumped in with War of the Worlds and Minority Report. Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first entry in his Indiana Jones series, thankfully avoids landing in the schmaltz category. Unfortunately, it's neither as thrilling or jubilant as the best of Spielberg's blockbusters. For the most part, Raiders of the Lost Ark just kinda sits there like a dried-out lump of clay, moving from Point A to Point B with great efficiency but little passion. There's nothing outlandishly bad about the film; I just can't find anything to get excited about in the exotic locals, nice, if a bit too on-the-nose action sequences, cartoonish bad guys and hilariously awkward attempts at making Karen Allen's character a woman who can defend herself. Raiders may be supreme popcorn entertainment for some, but I'll stick with Jaws, thank you very much. C+
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