Following the mixed reception to Temple of Doom, the third Indiana Jones film had some major course correcting to do in order to draw fans back in for another archaeological adventure. In fact, Spielberg insisted that the third film return to a lighter hearted style similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark, or he wouldn’t direct.
In agreement with him, Paramount and George Lucas set about making Indy’s third and (at the time) final adventure a riotous romp for the whole family. Not only did they succeed, but I’d argue it’s the best film in the franchise.
Two years after his discovery of the Ark of the Covenant, Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones (Harrison Ford) is contacted by antiquities collector Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) in the hopes that he may be able to assist him in locating the Holy Grail. Believing the object to be a myth, Jones only agrees to partake in the search due to the recent disappearance of his father, Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) on the very same expedition.
With the help of his trusted allies Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot), and Salah (John Rhys-Davies), Jones embarks on a thrilling quest to find his father, the Grail, and fight more Nazi’s.
In agreement with him, Paramount and George Lucas set about making Indy’s third and (at the time) final adventure a riotous romp for the whole family. Not only did they succeed, but I’d argue it’s the best film in the franchise.
Two years after his discovery of the Ark of the Covenant, Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones (Harrison Ford) is contacted by antiquities collector Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) in the hopes that he may be able to assist him in locating the Holy Grail. Believing the object to be a myth, Jones only agrees to partake in the search due to the recent disappearance of his father, Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) on the very same expedition.
With the help of his trusted allies Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot), and Salah (John Rhys-Davies), Jones embarks on a thrilling quest to find his father, the Grail, and fight more Nazi’s.
Watching The Last Crusade it’s clear that Lucas & Spielberg’s intent really was to just recreate Raiders of the Lost Ark in the hopes of recapturing that lightning in a bottle. Whilst normally that is a huge red flag, signalling a lack of ideas, and a desire to just pander to audience demands, The Last Crusade is arguably the better film out of the two because every moment it steals from Raiders it improves upon.
Similar to Return of the Jedi, The Last Crusade is the most family friendly of the trilogy, and unlike Jedi, I think it works in Last Crusade’s favour by allowing the action to be slightly less grounded in reality and the comedy to be far more pronounced.
The opening scene set in 1912 explores one of Henry Jones Jr’s first adventures as he steals an artefact from bandits to hand it over to a museum. It’s a great action sequence that outperforms anything seen in Temple of Doom, and whilst it’s not as iconic as the boulder chase from Raiders, it has the same level of excitement whilst re-introducing us to the character of Indiana Jones in an interesting way. It does feel a little detached from the rest of the film, because although we’re introduced to Henry Jones Sr. here and his research into the Holy Grail it’s so fleeting that he might as well not be there. But, this said, it’s a really great sequence so I’m glad it’s there. It feels like it had that same energy that Raiders did, and it sets the stage for what’s to come nicely.
Similar to Return of the Jedi, The Last Crusade is the most family friendly of the trilogy, and unlike Jedi, I think it works in Last Crusade’s favour by allowing the action to be slightly less grounded in reality and the comedy to be far more pronounced.
The opening scene set in 1912 explores one of Henry Jones Jr’s first adventures as he steals an artefact from bandits to hand it over to a museum. It’s a great action sequence that outperforms anything seen in Temple of Doom, and whilst it’s not as iconic as the boulder chase from Raiders, it has the same level of excitement whilst re-introducing us to the character of Indiana Jones in an interesting way. It does feel a little detached from the rest of the film, because although we’re introduced to Henry Jones Sr. here and his research into the Holy Grail it’s so fleeting that he might as well not be there. But, this said, it’s a really great sequence so I’m glad it’s there. It feels like it had that same energy that Raiders did, and it sets the stage for what’s to come nicely.
I appreciated how much time Last Crusade spends on solving puzzles too. The sequence early in the film where Indy is in Venice searching for a tablet that holds the location of the Grail. Then how integral Jones Sr’s Grail diary is to the expedition. Plus of course the finale which sees Indy trying to gain access to the Grail chamber and avoiding booby traps. It feels like a classic adventure story and it’s peak Indiana Jones.
But Last Crusade is no slouch when it comes to action either, particularly with vehicles. There’s a great motorcycle chase, a hilarious dogfight, and the iconic tank scene of course. All of the action sequences are larger in scale than anything Temple of Doom or Raiders offered up, and they’re really well put together. The tank sequence in particular is probably one of the best action sequences of the twentieth century thanks to its excellent mix of nail biting action and trademark Indy humour.
Ford’s performance aligns more closely to that of his turn in Raiders. He’s got a lot of one liners, he has compassion of other human beings, and he just generally not an ass like he is in Temple of Doom. But he really is overshadowed by Connery in this film. Connery’s turn as Jones Sr. is nothing short of spectacular, he’s all of Indy’s most lovable qualities wrapped up in one of the worlds most beloved actors. But the film truly shines when they’re on screen together, they have such great chemistry and particularly the action sequences featuring both of them have this perfect balance of Ford doing the ass-kicking and Connery being a comic relief of sorts. He’s never incapable like Marcus is, but you can see that he’s clearly out of his depth when needing to physically defend himself and it makes for some laugh out loud moments.
Visually the film looks a lot like Raiders. Out with the dark and samey looking caves and in with bright desert locales and interesting architecture. John Williams is on point once again with the films score, and it nails that Raiders spirit by giving every scene this uplifting energy to it.
The Last Crusade does often teeter too close to being a copycat of Raiders, but the new elements it adds excel it ahead of what that film achieved. This is the quintessential Indiana Jones experience, and a fantastic way to cap off the original trilogy. If you’re yet to check out The Last Crusade then what are you waiting for?
But Last Crusade is no slouch when it comes to action either, particularly with vehicles. There’s a great motorcycle chase, a hilarious dogfight, and the iconic tank scene of course. All of the action sequences are larger in scale than anything Temple of Doom or Raiders offered up, and they’re really well put together. The tank sequence in particular is probably one of the best action sequences of the twentieth century thanks to its excellent mix of nail biting action and trademark Indy humour.
Ford’s performance aligns more closely to that of his turn in Raiders. He’s got a lot of one liners, he has compassion of other human beings, and he just generally not an ass like he is in Temple of Doom. But he really is overshadowed by Connery in this film. Connery’s turn as Jones Sr. is nothing short of spectacular, he’s all of Indy’s most lovable qualities wrapped up in one of the worlds most beloved actors. But the film truly shines when they’re on screen together, they have such great chemistry and particularly the action sequences featuring both of them have this perfect balance of Ford doing the ass-kicking and Connery being a comic relief of sorts. He’s never incapable like Marcus is, but you can see that he’s clearly out of his depth when needing to physically defend himself and it makes for some laugh out loud moments.
Visually the film looks a lot like Raiders. Out with the dark and samey looking caves and in with bright desert locales and interesting architecture. John Williams is on point once again with the films score, and it nails that Raiders spirit by giving every scene this uplifting energy to it.
The Last Crusade does often teeter too close to being a copycat of Raiders, but the new elements it adds excel it ahead of what that film achieved. This is the quintessential Indiana Jones experience, and a fantastic way to cap off the original trilogy. If you’re yet to check out The Last Crusade then what are you waiting for?