Review of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) by Danny R — 25 Jul 2015

Steven Spielberg's glorious third installment in his brilliant Indiana Jones saga is the closest to the original in terms of all its qualities. There's just so much to love in this installment, with the chemistry shared between Harrison Ford and Sir Sean Connery being at the forefront, Connery brilliantly plays Indiana's father Professor Henry Jones Sr.

in the film, and the two of them are magnificent, playing off one another perfectly and delivering some truly hilarious moments, they are absolutely magical together. The story opens with an impressive, fast paced prologue that introduces a teenaged Indiana Jones, played superbly by the late River Phoenix escaping some bandits, as he rescues a historical artifact from them in the southwest desert, it gives us some insight into Indiana's taste for adventure and his fear of snakes.

Fast forward to the future where a grown Indiana receives word from a rich private collector Walter Donavan, well played by Julian Glover who offers Indiana a proposition to find the legendary Holy Grail, when Indiana tells him that the expert he needs for this quest would be his father, Donavan informs him that his father was his project leader on the search for the Grail, but has recently disappeared along with his diary which has all his research information and every cue, as well as a map with no names that shows the location of this mysterious artifact.

Now Indiana who has acquired his father's diary must follow in his father's footsteps, rescue his father from a Nazis castle and find the Holy Grail before the evil Nazis acquire it. The father-son dynamic is a great theme for the story, and The Last Crusade gives us a deeper look into Indiana's personal life more than any other movie in the franchise.

Alison Doody nicely plays the love interest of sorts this time around, and she's great in her role, really adding an interesting element to the story. Meanwhile, two of our favorite characters from 'Raiders' make a welcome return in this installment, the late Denholm Elliott as museum curator and old friend Marcus Brody and John Rhy-Davies as Indiana's Egyptian friend Sallah, they both deliver delightful performances.

Masterful direction by Steven Spielberg who showers this adventure with tender loving care, extraordinary cinematography by Douglas Slocombe, and a magnificent Oscar nominated score by John Williams.'The Last Crusade' is without doubt the best installment since the classic original 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' It is loads of fun with a fantastic cast, stunning action sequences, an interesting story and an epic adventure that you won't forget.

Highly Recommended.