Review of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) by Russell G — 01 Aug 2014

With this third excellent Indiana Jones movie, the series solidifies itself as true classics. They raised the bar for action and adventure movies by masterfully balancing pure fun with excitement and bits of humor.

Harrison Ford has shaped a unique and memorable hero character that will greatly define his impressive legacy. There are noticeable similarities to Raiders of the Lost Ark in the structure but new characters, and a slightly expanded back-story makes it just as strong as a standalone adventure.

Sean Connery is amazing. He and Harrison Ford have a great chemistry together. Their playful bantering while facing extreme danger is quite funny. It is by far the most humorous of the trilogy. Amazingly, at no point does the action or intensity suffer from the comedy; it is a harmonious balance.

Alison Doody may lack the fire and spirit that Karen Allen does, but she is a far more enjoyable female counterpart than Kate Capshaw. The opening flashback scenes featuring River Phoenix as a younger Indian Jones have a pleasant vintage quality to them.

They are so enjoyable it led to a television series spin-off about young Indiana Jones. As with the other Indiana Jones movies, the perfect soundtrack, exotic settings, stunts and adventure are all epically exciting.

What really defines this series though is a great hero accompanied by fun companions who influence the story in important ways make it interesting. It is toughly fun in a way few movies ever achieve, and I love it just as much as the first one, maybe even a bit more.