Indiana Jones was instantly established as one of the most iconic heroes of action cinema in his big-screen debut Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Harrison Ford with equal parts grit and charisma and brought to life by Steven Spielberg’s camera, Indy is a timeless screen legend.
A huge part of what made him so instantly memorable in Raiders is Lawrence Kasdan’s script, which gave him a bunch of exciting things to do. From outrunning a boulder to climbing underneath a moving truck, these are the coolest things Indy did in Raiders.
When He Escaped With The Golden Idol
In the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy defies death to retrieve a sacred golden idol from an ancient temple. His double-crossing buddy Satipo isn’t so lucky, but Indy manages to avoid the booby traps and makes it out of the temple.
However, right outside the temple, his rival, Belloq, is waiting with a tribe of spear-wielding warriors. But Indy still doesn’t admit defeat there. He’s chased by the tribe all the way back to Jock’s seaplane and still manages to live to tell the tale.
When He Threatens To Blow Up The Ark With A Rocket Launcher
Belloq plans to test the Ark’s power on a remote island before presenting it to Hitler and has his soldiers carry it through the desert along with Marion. Indy arrives with a rocket launcher and threatens to blow up the Ark if he doesn’t let Marion go.
He’s forced to surrender when Belloq calls his bluff. As much as he hates the Nazis, Indy could never destroy such a historically significant artifact. But it was still great for the audience to see him facing down an army alone with an RPG slung over his shoulder.
When He Broke Out Of The Well Of Souls
After Indy and Marion recover the Ark in the Well of Souls, they’re found by Belloq and his band of Nazis, who take the Ark and seal the well’s entrance, trapping them inside.
If Indy didn’t think fast, they would’ve been stuck down there until some other civilization uncovered the Well of Souls, centuries later. Fortunately, Indy manages to find an opening in one of the walls, so he and Marion are able to escape in the nick of time.
When He Fights A Mechanic Twice His Size
While Indy is trying to hijack a German plane, he’s interrupted by a mechanic challenging him to a fight on the runway. Despite sizing up the mechanic and determining him to be way too big for him to win, Indy puts up the best fight he can.
Criticisms of Marion being a damsel in distress are invalidated by this scene. Not only does Marion manage to knock out the pilot, she also saves Indy from the mechanic by turning the plane around so the spinning propellors turn the burly German into mincemeat.
When He Swims To The German Sub
When Indy and Marion escape with the Ark, they manage to get it onto a cargo ship headed for London. However, the ship is intercepted by a German sub and the Nazis take the Ark back. But Indy being Indy means that he refuses to give up that easily.
He dives into the ocean from the cargo ship and swims all the way out to the German sub. The crew members back on the cargo ship all cheer for Indy as he rides the sub to its island destination.
When He Outruns A Rolling Boulder
Indy faces all kinds of booby traps on his way out of the golden idol’s temple home in the opening scene of Raiders, making it one of the best adventure movies of all time. Just in case the walls falling down, the bottomless pit, and the arrows shooting out from every direction didn’t kill the intruder, the temple’s designers also installed a giant boulder to chase them out.
As he’s leaving the temple, Indy turns to see a huge, spherical rock tumbling toward him. He runs for dear life and narrowly manages to make it back out the front entrance.
When He Climbs Under A Moving Truck
During the iconic truck chase, Indy is launched through the windshield and left hanging from the front grill of the speeding vehicle. The driver puts his foot down so he can squish Indy into the back of Belloq’s car, so Indy has to climb under the truck. The practical stunts in this sequence are breathtaking.
When Indy gets back in the truck and throws the driver through the windshield, the driver tries and instantly fails to pull off the same impressive feat, making up one of Indiana Jones’ best action sequences.
When He Shoots The Swordsman
No moment sums up the Indiana Jones character better than this one. In the middle of the Cairo melee, a crowd clears the way between Indy and a master swordsman who wants to challenge him to a duel. The swordsman does a bunch of impressive acrobatics with his sword to show Indy the kind of opponent he’s up against. And instead of indulging the swordsman, Indy just takes out his revolver and shoots him.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this scene was originally supposed to have a lengthy fight between the swordsman and Indy’s whip, but Harrison Ford wasn’t feeling well, so it was switched to the now-legendary anti-climax.
