This title character has been deemed the ultimate hero in the ultimate adventure movie, and I highly agree.

"Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" is the epitome of what every child of the early eighties wanted to be in their backyards, swinging from branches, whipping things with rope and pretending it's a bullwhip. This picture has engraved itself in my being, which not only do I think it's the best picture of its genre, I consider it one of the top five best films I've ever seen.

"Raiders" follows the title character, as he is commissioned by the department of defense to acquire the Ark of the Covenant before it falls into the Nazi's hands. The Nazi's are already underway digging for it outside Cairo and near to locating its exact position.

The true location of the ark is revealed when a special staff headpiece, holding a crystal in its center, is placed in a special map room at a special height. As you can read, the movie and storyline is pretty special..hehe.

Indiana Jones acquires the headpiece from Marion, a former flame of his, who's father originally claimed it. Once Marion becomes Jones' partner and revive their love interest, the picture takes off.

Masked men chase the two through streets of Cairo. They chase Nazi's carrying the ark in a truck. Jones hides on a German submarine, and of course, nothing can beat the intense supernatural climax of the movie when the ark is ritualistically opened by the Nazi's chief archaeologist Belloq. The picture is nothing short of awesome in story, action and character development.

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasden did well to capture characters' inner and outer motivations with so little dialogue between them. George Lucas of "Star Wars" fame and Phillip Kaufman created the story. However, master director Steven Spielberg (Schindler's List, Jaws) called the shots, and what great shot sequences they were.

Especially in the instance of Act Two's big truck chase, Spielberg showed exactly the perfect amount of information in the most perfect thrilling pace, also a credit to editor Michael Kahn, and Lucas who was an uncredited editor on the project.

Of course, the picture would not be half as entertaining and memorable if it weren't for Harrison Ford (What Lies Beneath) as Indie Jones. From the moment he steps out of the shadows during the main title sequence, Ford can be described with a single word…stud.

In addition, Karen Allen (The Sandlot) added a solid new spice to the genre as a punch-easy tough girl like Marion. Unlike most films similar, Allen was allowed to portray Marion without the damsel in distress cliche. Spielberg shows his originality in this regard as well, among his obvious commercial successes through the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings trilogy) is also a memorable supporting sidekick of Jones' named Salah. His character is loveable and has a handful of hilarious memorable lines, including "Asps. Very dangerous. YOU go first."

As long as I'm talking about memorable quotes, there's always Ronald Lacey to remember as the Nazi torture artist Toht. The dark dressed bad guy who somehow seems to give us a couple laughs as well, especially with quips like, "You Americans are all the same, always dressing for the wrong occasion."

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie of all time is, "Raiders" immediately jumps to mind. I watch it and feel like a 10 year old boy again in the backyard where I grew up.

If you've never seen "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," you've missed the best film of its kind. You've truly missed out on a contemporary classic.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?