The Last Crusade




The dog? You are named after the dog?

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is an adventuring archaeologist who goes around the world looking for rare artifacts. In this movie he is drawn into a search for the Holy Grail when a rich man (Julian Glover) thirsting after the Grail's immortality informs him that his father has disappeared. It appears that Dr. Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) was heading a search for the Grail along with lovely Dr. Schneider (Alison Doody). The Nazis have also taken an interest in the Grail and are the ones who kidnapped Dr. Jones. So it's up to Indy to save his father and find the Grail. Along the way he gets help from his clueless friends, Marcus Broody (Denholm Elliot) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies).

After The Temple of Doom, this series took a dramatic u-turn. While the second movie was extremely dark, The Last Crusade went for a lighter and more comic approach. Nearly every chance it gets, it goes for a joke. At times it sacrifices believability to do so. For instance, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Marcus and Sallah were regular guys, but here they're hopeless buffoons. But it almost always seems to pan out and works surprisingly well overall. Maybe it was time to stop taking itself seriously for a moment and poke some fun at the franchise. In fact, even Indy is at the center of some jokes. This actually makes him seem more human, as in the first two he was made out to be ... well ... Indiana Jones. But here we see more than ever that he isn't always right and he's hardly invincible.

What really makes this movie so great is the characters. While Sallah and Broody are good and sometimes hilarious, Sean Connery takes center stage as bumbling Henry Jones. He and Indy aren't close, and it is a genuine joy to watch their journey to getting to know each other. There are two roads Indy traverses in this adventure, one to better understanding of his father and a solidification of his faith. These threads intertwine, and it is through one he is able to gain the other.

Everyone does superb work here. It was a great idea pairing Ford and Connery together, and it works out perfectly. The two work well off each other and the supporting cast. Doody does all right as Indy's love interest, and the bad guys get the job done.

As for the movie, it wastes no time drawing you in for a quick two hours. The pace is fast and the action awesome. Spielberg does, once again, fine work here. My only complaint is the script. While it's extremely funny, sometimes it doesn't hit the mark. Especially in the opening third, where it isn't always up to par. And though the opening scenes show us a young Indy and explain several interesting things about him, it does feel a bit silly.

Immensely entertaining. It brings us back to the formula in Raiders, but shakes things up with a completely new take on the series.



-The Gnome