Critic Reviews
| 100 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Plays like an anthology of the best parts from all the Saturday matinee serials ever made.
|
| 100 |
Dallas Observer
Spielberg can never top this. Period.
|
| 100 |
The New York Times
One of the most deliriously funny, ingenious and stylish American adventure movies ever made.
|
| 100 |
Austin Chronicle
Harrison Ford gave one of his most memorable performances as Indiana Jones, a dashing Saturday matinee idol for the modern age.
|
| 100 |
Premiere
Howard Karren
Steven Spielberg turns the pure adventure of Saturday afternoon serials into a solidly entertaining spectacle.
|
| 100 |
ReelViews
Has all the right ingredients: a smart script, a likable hero, a dash of romance, more than a touch of comedy, and a lot of fast-paced action.
|
| 100 |
Variety
Staff (Not Credited)
Spielberg has deftly veiled proceedings in a sense of mystical wonder that makes it all the more easy for viewers to suspend disbelief and settle back for the fun.
|
| 100 |
Chicago Tribune
An adventure film that plays like an old-time 12-part serial that you see all at once, instead of Saturday-to-Saturday. It's a modern "Thief of Baghdad." It's the kind of movie that first got you excited about movies when you were a kid. (Translation for today's children: It's better than anything on TV.) [12 June 1981]
|
| 90 |
TV Guide
Staff (Not Credited)
Ford's performance is an underrated but remarkable achievement; he succeeds in fully embodying a comic-book style hero without ever descending into camp.
|
| 90 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Finds the right balance between reverence and wit.
|
| 30 |
Chicago Reader
Travels fast and straight down a linear plot, and the ceaseless rush quickly becomes monotonous.
|
|
