When A Man Loves His Adventure

Tonight's marathon deals with two iconic adventurers who go on a quest for two different reasons. the first is an archaeologist who studies ancient artifacts and seeks to bring them back to his museum for fortune and glory, and the other is an ex soldier who agrees to help a beautiful librarian in finding a deserted temple that holds an ancient mummy inside of it. These two larger than life heroes are Indiana Jones and Rick O Connell. Whether their searching for the ark of the covenant, unearthing a dead mummy or stumbling across a temple of doom, their adventures are full of excitement, terror, burning romance, sheer spectacle, and heart. we have on our thrilling menu for this evening:

Raiders Of The Lost Ark 1981, The Mummy 1999, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom 1984, and The Mummy Returns 2001

There is a beautiful story arc at work here with all four films. Not only are they very similar in terms of style but they blend together beautifully. Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Mummy work as great popcorn blockbusters with tons of rollercoaster excitement and heart. Two great male characters are introduced such as indiana jones and Rick O Connell, men who not only present themselves as being tough, competent, and the best at what they do. They also manage to wow the pants off two potential love interests in the films played by both Karen Allen and Rachael Weisz. We begin the evening with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford's dynamic trio effort titled Raiders Of The Lost Ark.  Nominated for a total of 8 academy awards including Best Picture and winner of four total, the story centers around an archaeologist and adventurer named Indiana Jones who ends up being hired by the United States government to find the ark of the covenant before the Nazis reach it first in their effort to seek control of mankind. Accompanying Dr. Jones on his journey is ex lover Marion Ravenwood, harboring not only the key to finding the ark of the covenant, but also feelings for Jones. Raiders Of The Lost Ark remains one of the cinemas most thrilling adventure films, and is a terrific start for a night of sheer spectacle and thrills. The second film in the lineup is Stephen Sommers blockbuster titled The Mummy. Nominated for an Oscar for best sound and being the first monster horror film in decades, the film centers around an American soldier serving in the French Foreign Legion played by Brendan Fraser, going on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaoptra with the beautiful librarian Evelyn played by Rachael Weisz. While performing such a historical dig, they accidentally awaken an ancient Mummy that has the power to wipe out the world. The Mummy remains one of the best adventure films in recent times because of how it follows the same formula as Indiana Jones and executes them in a similar fashion of excitement and enjoyment. The film also contains a romance that blossoms between the two leads much like Indy and Marion. The next film brings Indiana Jones back but this time centers him around two new sidekicks named Shortround and new love interest named Willie Scott. The Temple Of Doom centers around Indiana arriving in India after a plane crash, and being asked by a local village to find a mystical stone. Seeing that the village is desperate in getting their stones back,  Indiana agrees to retrieve the stone and while doing so comes across an evil scheme being developed within an ancient temple. Generally considered to be the worst installment of the first three Indiana Jones films for reasons being too dark and supernatural, Temple of Doom succeeds in providing more of the over the top insane thrills that made it's predecessor such a huge hit, while also possessing some dark moments such as hearts getting ripped out of chests. The fourth and final movie of the night brings it all together with the second installment in the popular Mummy franchise titled The Mummy Returns. Reuniting Brendan Fraser and Rachael Weisz with the talents of Arnold Vosloo, Dwayne Johnson, John Hannah, Oded Fehr, and Patricia Velasquez, the sequel centers around the mummified body of Imhotep being shipped to a museum in London, where he is awaken once again beginning a campaign of rage and terror that involves the rising of the scorpion king. While not as fresh and inventive as the first film, Mummy Returns succeeds as a worthy sequel because of the high energy action it brings to the table, and sheer epicness of it's scope.

So what do these movies ultimately say message wise? Raiders Of The Lost Ark basically implies that some things are worth fighting for and keeping from the clutches of the Nazis. The person you would least expect could become one of the world's greatest heroes. The Mummy says that some things are not worth unearthing and crusading after because of the possible consequences that lie within raising them from the dead. The Temple of Doom says to never underestimate the power of something you don't fully believe in, and child slavery is never justified. If so then call Indiana Jones to save the day. The Mummy Returns essentially says that family is important and to never doubt your true roots. Some things are not worth unearthing....twice.

Our heroes for this evening: