Before I start, I might as well address the "sleeping with underage women" bit which has gotten some controversy in the past few years. After watching Jones' and Marion's first scene together, I definitely raised an eyebrow at the "You knew what you were doing" conversation, and after reading the transcript where Spielberg and Lucas intended for Marion to be 15 and for Jones to be 25 when they had their affair, that aspect of the film stuck out as problematic. Due to that (in addition to Jones being a colonist), I wasn't able to get invested in their friendship and eventual romance. If Jones' arc was of him redeeming himself throughout the film, that would be different, but he instead seemed to be portrayed as noble and charming all throughout.
So yeah, couldn't get invested in the characters this viewing. In spite of that, however, I still think this is a solid action film. It has some memorable action scenes (the opening), a couple terrific magical scenes (the God's wrath scene at the end is outstanding, in particular), and its fair share of humor here and there (Jones shooting the swordsman). Back when I was a kid, this film was everything for me. When I rewatched it a couple days ago, however, I found that the love I felt towards the film when I was a kid wore off. This isn't to say the film aged poorly per se (rather, I think the film aged great for the most part). It's just not my kind of film anymore and I'm no longer the target audience for it. Since I've watched a number of films like Battleship Potemkin, Zulu, The Wild Bunch, Apocalypse Now, Hard-Boiled, Saving Private Ryan, etc since then, which have action scenes that are far more engaging and technically outstanding, that may play a part in why my tastes have moved on. Who knows. Still though, I think this is a great gateway film and it would definitely be among my top recommendations for someone new to classic film.
So yeah, couldn't get invested in the characters this viewing. In spite of that, however, I still think this is a solid action film. It has some memorable action scenes (the opening), a couple terrific magical scenes (the God's wrath scene at the end is outstanding, in particular), and its fair share of humor here and there (Jones shooting the swordsman). Back when I was a kid, this film was everything for me. When I rewatched it a couple days ago, however, I found that the love I felt towards the film when I was a kid wore off. This isn't to say the film aged poorly per se (rather, I think the film aged great for the most part). It's just not my kind of film anymore and I'm no longer the target audience for it. Since I've watched a number of films like Battleship Potemkin, Zulu, The Wild Bunch, Apocalypse Now, Hard-Boiled, Saving Private Ryan, etc since then, which have action scenes that are far more engaging and technically outstanding, that may play a part in why my tastes have moved on. Who knows. Still though, I think this is a great gateway film and it would definitely be among my top recommendations for someone new to classic film.