Raiders of the Lost Ark was absolutely brilliant, while Temple of Doom was pretty good if disappointing. The Last Crusade improves on Temple of Doom while just lacking the brisk efficiency of Raiders. It looks fabulous and has a great music score. The script is deliciously witty especially with the interplay between Ford and Connery, and the story is engaging. The action is epic, and I liked the neat sequence at the beginning that explains things such as Indy's fear of snakes and how he got the scar on his chin. Steven Spielburg does an excellent job directing, while both Harrison Ford and Sean Connery(in a masterstroke of casting) are perfectly cast as Indy and Indy's father. On the whole, exciting, witty and fun. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989
Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989
Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Plot summary
An art collector appeals to Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. He learns that another archaeologist has disappeared while searching for the precious goblet, and the missing man is his own father, Dr. Henry Jones. The artifact is much harder to find than they expected, and its powers are too much for those impure of heart.
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Not as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark but an improvement on Temple of Doom
The least of the trilogy, but still crowd-pleasing, old-fashioned escapism
Third time lucky for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who followed 1984's INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM with this engaging comedy/adventure yarn which doesn't equal the dizzy heights of the previous adventures - it's a little too samey to do that - but still proves to be a better-than-average film of its type. My only complaint is the reliance on back projection, something not seen so much in the previous two films, which actually dates this more than RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK despite the fact that RAIDERS was made eight years later (the poor effects are highlighted in the plane fight sequence). The film expertly blends comedy and adventure to make a fun, action-packed romp.
Once again, the formula is familiar and offers up a ton of cliffhanging set-pieces. There's the opening train chase involving River Phoenix's young Indy; a thrilling fight on a boat which is being torn to shreds by a huge propeller; boat and motorbike chases; an excellent bit of action on a tank; and of course the finale which turns the deadly traps - a staple of the series - into an art form. The film is nicely violent in parts, with bloody shootings and a surprise decapitation, and bad guy Julian Glover gets a superbly gruesome demise after drinking from the wrong chalice and disintegrating into a skeleton at the film's conclusion - a scene which had me cowering behind my seat in tears when I saw it first as a kid.
Harrison Ford effortlessly adopts the Indiana Jones mantle again after a five-year break, and despite looking slightly older he carries off the action and wisecracks with aplomb. Sean Connery - an actor I really didn't used to like very much - also acquits himself well with what is essentially the bumbling sidekick role (after the success of LETHAL WEAPON at the cinema, buddy-buddy movies were everywhere). Thanks to the presence of Connery's sidekick, there isn't an annoyingly ditzy female lead for a change, although Alison Doody gives her money's worth as a smouldering Nazi spy. Julian Glover excels as the smooth villain and it's nice to see Brits John Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott in major parts of the story. A thoroughly exciting - and funny with it - slice of old fashioned escapism, the kind they just didn't make in the 1990s.
If They Couldn't Get The Ark Of The Covenant, They'll Settle For The Holy Grail
When Indiana Jones went on his last crusade in search of the Holy Grail, the adventure took him to such far flung places as Venice, Vienna, Berlin, and the fictitious kingdom of Hatay in the Middle East. Well he wasn't just searching for the Holy Grail.
A mysterious millionaire who's been a benefactor of archeology played by Julian Glover has hired the senior Henry Jones, who's always been a Grail seeker to look for it. But he's turned up quite missing and it's up to Harrison Ford to find his father.
In an inspired piece of casting Sean Connery plays the senior Doctor Jones and the chemistry between Ford and Connery is fine. Connery is so good in the part that he makes you forget that it's usually Connery who gets to do the action stuff. Ford of course bares the burden of it while rescuing Dad from the clutches of the Nazis. They too are in pursuit of the Holy Grail. I guess if they couldn't get the Ark of the Covenant, they'll settle for the Grail. They've got a lovely female scientist in the person of Alison Doody in on the hunt.
While I was watching Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, the thought struck me that this was also the plot of Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy. Of course with a budget a gazillion times more. But in that film Bud and Lou are in pursuit of Klaris the Mummy, Marie Windsor and a couple of henchmen are also after it, and so are the followers of Klaris led by Richard Deacon intent from not letting the secret out. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade also has a group of people who know the secret of the Holy Grail, where it is, and they're not letting ANYONE remotely near it.
Indiana Jones regulars like John Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott are also here and I also like the performance of 81 year old Robert Eddison in his next to last film as the Grail Knight. His is an astounding story and the last shot of him is for me the most memorable moment of the film.
The first Indiana Jones film came out at the beginning of the Eighties and it's fitting and proper that this film came out as that decade came to a close. It's a worthy successor and in some ways superior to the first two films and a grand show.