Are ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Actually the Same Movie?
Star Wars fans are a passionate bunch. The science-fiction franchise has been around for four decades and although the films have become classics, they inspire intense fan debate on a regular basis. The sequel trilogy is particularly divisive, with many fans blaming the filmmakers involved with ruining the franchise that they love so much.
Recently, however, a good-natured discussion occurred on Reddit, that saw fans comparing the most recent Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker, to another classic movie, which also happens to be from the mind of George Lucas.
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is a cinema classic
In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. The movie, starring Harrison Ford as the intrepid archeologist Indiana Jones, was an instant hit, and did a lot to bolster George Lucas’ standing as one of Hollywood’s top directors. The next few years saw two hit sequels, followed by another sequel in 2008.
The Indiana Jones franchise also spawned a television miniseries, comic books, novels, and many video games. The effect that the series has had on pop culture is immeasurable, and for many fans, it is one of the greatest film franchises ever committed to the big screen.
The plot is relatively simple but remarkably effective. The story follows Indiana Jones as he races Nazi troops to try to find the mysterious Ark of the Covenant. Ultimately, both Jones and the Nazis come into contact with the Ark, leading to an intense sequence where the Nazis are confronted with the true power of the Biblical artifact.
What is ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ about?
Over four decades after Raiders of the Lost Ark hit theaters, The Rise of Skywalker was released. The film was widely promoted as being the finale to the story of the Skywalker family, bringing a dramatic end to a familial saga that billions of people around the world love and cherish.
The film itself was controversial, with many slamming the creative direction, the acting, and the writing. Still, for many, it was an emotional and satisfying conclusion to a blockbuster saga.
The storyline of The Rise of Skywalker is very different from the plot of the previous film, The Last Jedi. The film features Rey, along with her friends Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca, as they search for a mysterious dagger that would enable them to locate the wayfinder device and defeat the evil Sith Lord, Darth Sidious.
Fans recently compared ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ to ‘The Rise of Skywalker’
While Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Rise of Skywalker are very different on the surface, some fans on Reddit recently discussed the two films, revealing several key similarities in the plot and pacing.
One poster praised the plot of The Rise of Skywalker as being very “Indiana Jones-like” while another directly contrasted the two movies by stating: “Indy gets a headpiece that leads him to the location of the map room that points to the location of the ark, at one point he thinks Marion dies but later he finds she is alive and was captured by the bad guys, he gets the ark and the bad guy’s face melts. Rey gets a dagger that points to location of the wayfinder that leads her to the location of Exegol, at one point she thinks Chewie dies but later she finds he is alive and was captured by the bad guys, she gets to Exegol and the bad guy’s face melts.”
Fans loved the comparison, even though The Rise of Skywalker was still deemed as the inferior film by many of the Reddit commentators. As one fan stated, “the whole thing raises more questions than it answers,” and while it features many of the same elements as other classic adventure movies, it seems as though it will always cause some serious fan division.
