Review of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) by Victor T — 25 Sep 2014

Five years after the disappointing "Temple of Doom", Spielberg and Lucas decided to return to the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" type of story but now adding a new element to make the final chapter of the trilogy stand out: Indiana´s father now joins him in this adventure.

In 1938, Indy finds out that his father went missing while searching for the Holy Grail, soon Indy receives his father´s journal and this tells him that his father is alive and needs his help to find the Holy Grail.

When I saw "Raiders", I loved the story and the characters but really hated the over the top campy vibe which wouldn't allow me to take the Nazi treat seriously but the darker and serious toned "Temple of Doom" destroyed those two elements I loved so I was excited for "The Last Crusade" to redeem the franchise and to end on a good note this beloved trilogy. "The Last Crusade" went to safe territory by repeating lots of the elements that made "Raiders" the beloved film it is: Some of the likeable characters are back, the actually funny comedy returns, Spielberg's classic direction is back, again counts with beautiful locations, a somewhat credible and charismatic love interest, another quest for a religious artifact, and Nazis are again the bad guys. So then what makes "The Last Crusade" a new adventure worth seeing? The answer is simple: Sean Connery as Dr Henry Jones, Indy´s father. The addition of Connery´s character creates a fun dynamic between him and his charismatic son who resents him a little because of the fact that his father was absent for most of his life; it becomes the film´s main plot point, overshadowing the search of the Holy Grail thanks to Sean Connery´s charismatic and funny performance at the same level as Ford is with Indiana. But even if the addition of Indy´s father makes the film stand out and provides some funny moments, it also makes the already over the top campy vibe even more silly and more difficult to take seriously.

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is worthy final chapter of the trilogy thanks to Sean Connery´s performance and the chemistry between him and Harrison Ford, but emulates "Raider of the Lost Ark" too much and lacks its charm.