Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was the first Indy film that I saw in its entirety. It was shown in my film class in my first year of university and I count that as seeing it on a big screen. Upon seeing “The Temple of Doom”, I can understand why people are a little indifferent of that film. I enjoy when Indy goes up against an enemy that is well known to us as an audience. My first experience with “The Last Crusade” was when I was very young. My parents took me to a drive-in double feature and after the first film, "Honey I Shrunk the Kids", it was time for us kids to sleep in the van. I did get to watch the first part of the second film and all I remember was a guy being chased on a train. He makes his climatic escape running down the tracks as the lead pursuer looks on from the caboose heading in the opposite direction. Then in my first year of university, I finally learned what film I had seen all those years ago. “The Last Crusade” has some story archetypes that the first Indy film does not have and that is maybe why I like the third film more than any other Indy film. The supporting cast members are pretty entertaining as is Harrison Ford.

In this Indy story, we learn about his background. It is a father and son story and when creating it, Spielberg started with the basic idea that Professor Jones calls his son “Junior” and Indy calls his father “Sir”. Professor Jones doesn’t call him “Indiana” until the moment when he son needs to hear it. The story then developed from there and that makes the movie great. The focus of the movie is on the relationship between Indiana Jones & his father and that is very relatable. Professor Jones sees his son as a little rebellious even now that he is grown up while Indy feels his father never gave him the love and attention he wanted growning up. The villains and our main characters all go after the grail for their own purposes but our main characters learn what matters more. The opening sequence with the young Indiana Jones is humorous and entertaining. We learn things like how Indy got the scar on his chin (Actually, Harrison Ford had a carpenting accident before his film career) and why Indy is afraid of snakes. I am glad Indy ends up with the cross in the end. In the first film he didn’t get the artifact at the start but in this film, he does. The exposition scene where we learn about the Holy Grail is so good that for a few years, I thought that the legend about the grail having supernatural powers was the actual grail legend and not a creation of George Lucas. I love whenever Indy says “Venice” and Professor Jones says the word “Intolerable”. Hitler signing the diary is so ironic that I almost kill myself laughing. Now the book is even more valuable with his signature. The battle on and in the tank is great fun. I love the end of that sequence because Indy looks over the cliff wondering what everyone else is looking at. Then his father does a double take. After a hug, everyone but an exhausted Indy is off to catch the bad guys but then Indy’s hat falls into frame. I like to think that it is a message directly from Spielberg that echoes Professor Jones’ call to get up. The most important humor that we see in the film comes from Indy and his dad and this is important to the theme. It is important that we laugh at these characters so that later we can feel for them. Donovan's death always gives me the creeps. The heroes riding off into the sunset is not stereotypical when Spielberg does it.

Harrison Ford’s performance hasn’t changed over the course of the three films and the drama he brings is very good. In trying to figure out what kind of father Indy would have, Spielberg and Lucas figured that James Bond himself would be the ultimate dream and it came true surprisingly. I have yet to see Sean Connery in another role similar to that of Professor Jones and I am happy that is the case. It is such a great character but it is something that I wouldn’t have imagined Sean Connery to accept. It is uncharacteristic of him being who he is but it is good to see him having fun. I am glad that John Rhys-Davies is back as Sallah and that Brody becomes an active character. I like Toht better as a villain than Donovan but Donavan is better than Belloq. John Williams once again is the master musician as he creates many themes that rival those from any other Indy film. I am so glad that the Nazis have their own theme that reminds me of Darth Vader’s theme from “The Empire Strikes Back”. The Holy Grail theme is so beautiful especially in the moment that it swells when the knight waves goodbye.

In terms of what you hear in this movie, it is the best of that year in movies. The film won Best Sound Editing and was nominated for Best Musical Score and Best Sound. The movie was the top grossing film worldwide that year while "Batman" was highest grossing in North America. I can tell that with “The Last Crusade” that Spielberg and Lucas were trying to resurrect the same kind of fun that we all had on “Raiders” and they surpassed that goal in many ways. This movie is my favorite film from 1989 and, along with the first film, is one my favorite fantasy movies. The story is dramatic this time with Indy and his father connecting for the first time in many ways. The music is great as is to be expected and the cast play their parts masterfully. It is a great conclusion to the trilogy but we all had a surprise awaiting us almost 20 years later. While many were disappointed, most film critics and myself were pleased.

5 Stars