When George Lucas came to Steven Spielberg with the idea for a rollicking action-adventure about a globe-trotting explorer locking horns with the Nazis over an ancient Biblical artifact, the Close Encounters director saw undeniably the best adventure movie of all time.
However, adventure movies have been playing on screens since the advent of filmmaking, with contributions from some of cinema’s finest directors, so there’s plenty of tough competition for the genre’s top spot.
Raiders Is The Best: It Harks Back To Old Adventure Serials From The ‘30s
George Lucas was inspired to create Indiana Jones by the old adventure serials he grew up watching as a kid. These were pulpy, action-heavy stories that moved from chapter to chapter at a rapid pace.
The unique seven-act structure of Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay harks back to the bite-sized plot progression of those serialized adventure tales, while the production design perfectly recaptures the aesthetic of those early serials with a modern filmmaking eye.
Closest Contender: Up
When Pixar released a trailer for a movie in which an old man makes his house take flight with a ton of balloons, skeptical audiences thought that the studio had finally jumped the shark. And then Up hit theaters and left that skepticism in its dust by using the story of a flying house as a giant visual metaphor for a widower dealing with grief.
En route to fulfilling his wife’s lifelong dream, Carl Fredricksen s forces with a talkative Boy Scout named Russell and contends with his childhood hero, who turns out to be an abusive maniac.
Raiders Is The Best: The Story Is Airtight
From Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay for Raiders is airtight.
Based on lengthy story discussions with Lucas and Spielberg, Kasdan masterfully boiled the plot down to its essence and turned in a script that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of its hero, as well as the spirit of adventure itself.
Closest Contender: The Goonies
One of the most prized gems in the Amblin crown, Richard Donner’s The Goonies follows a group of down-on-their-luck suburban kids who decide to spend their last weekend together following a treasure map to a pirate’s lost fortune.
With an impeccable cast of child actors bested only by Stand by Me, The Goonies has everything audiences could want from an adventure movie: pure action-packed escapist fun.
Raiders Is The Best: John Williams’ Score Sets The Mood Perfectly
While Spielberg’s dazzling visuals and Ford’s charismatic performance go a long way towards creating the sense of escapism that Raiders of the Lost Ark has to offer, what really sweeps audiences off their feet and takes them along for the ride is John Williams’ mesmerizing score.
The most memorable track in Williams’ score is obviously “The Raiders March,” but compositions like “Desert Chase,” “Marion’s Theme,” and “The Well of the Souls” all suit their scenes perfectly.
Closest Contender: King Kong (1933)
In the timeless, iconic story of King Kong, explorers capture a gigantic ape living on an uncharted island and take it back to New York to turn it into a glorified circus act. In one of film history’s most memorable climaxes, Kong escapes from captivity and scales the Empire State Building.
There aren’t a lot of monster movies that make the audience feel bad for the monster, but the ones that do are usually the best the genre has to offer, and that’s certainly the case here.
Raiders Is The Best: The Action Sequences Are Masterfully Crafted
From the opening temple raid to the Nazi truck chase to the airplane fight, some of the most breathtaking action ever committed to film appears in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Spielberg’s filmmaking has all the hallmarks of great action cinema: inventive setups, increasingly raised stakes, well-constructed suspense, clarity of movement in the framing and editing, and most importantly, a palpable sense of fun.
Closest Contender: The Princess Bride
Adapted from William Goldman’s self-aware fantasy romance novel of the same name by Goldman himself, Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride is a brilliant satire of fairy tales, taking the stock characters that are usually confined to the background of these kinds of stories and putting them in the spotlight.
Framed by a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading the story to his grandson (Fred Savage), The Princess Bride briskly moves from scene to scene in an escapist adventure anchored by such wonderful actors as Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, and André the Giant.
Raiders Is The Best: Indiana Jones Is The Genre’s Most Iconic Hero
Ask pretty much anyone in the world to name the protagonist of an adventure movie off the top of their head and they'll likely say Indiana Jones.
Ever since Harrison Ford strode onto the silver screen with a fedora on his head, a bullwhip at his side, and a satchel slung over his shoulder, Indy has been one of cinema’s most beloved and recognizable icons.
Closest Contender: The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
John Huston’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is the definitive cinematic portrait of the corrupting power of wealth, as a pair of hotshot young hustlers journey out into the desert with an aging prospector in search of a fortune in gold.
Humphrey Bogart makes for a compelling lead as the guy who’s sure his friends will try to screw him out of his share, whose increasing paranoia ironically makes him the one to keep an eye on.
