In my second favorite film of this franchise, Spielberg delivers another addition to Professor Jones' remarkable adventures. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is an amazing example of how a sequel should be. While it reminisces back and makes connections to Raiders of the Lost Ark, it still manages to be an exciting and original story all on its own. Add in Indiana Jones' father Henry, played by none other than Sean Connery, and you've got an absolutely incredible film.
I wholeheartedly love this film for a number of reasons: its humor, characters, and storytelling. The best part of this movie is the inclusion of Daddy Jones, an amazing performance by Sean Connery. Because of this character, this movie has the most and some of the best humor in the entire franchise and it is well-deserved. The introduction of Connery's character makes for some of the best scenes in this film. Indy and his father's clashing personalities create excellent dialogue and make the audience love Connery that much more. It truly shows his range too, as he can go from playing a stern and handsome James Bond to an intelligent but socially inept father. All of the visual gags in this movie work very well too, including the blimp fight scenes and the horse-whistling in the opening sequence. While I know many are opposed to learning about Indy's rambunctious upbringing, I personally loved the flashback scenes that opened this film. It told a lot about the character of Indy while providing a solid motif to reference back to throughout this movie. And let's not forget the absolutely iconic scene where Indy gets an autograph from Adolf Hitler in the flesh.
The actual plot is another piece of this movie that makes it so phenomenal. The writing in this movie harkens back to the original film from 1981 with its use of storytelling and cinematography. A lot of the elements were very similar between these two films, such as Professor Jones teaching at his school and the adventure being a personal, religious-type quest. I loved these comparisons because the audience is able to see how Indy has aged and progressed in all of these years of being an adventurer. I also noticed for the first time around that every Indy film has begun with the Paramount logo transitioning into a nature shot to set up the mise en scène. These kinds of camera subtleties are what make these films so incredibly engaging. The tone of this film is also much more grounded and not too outlandish like Temple of Doom was; Last Crusade fits perfectly as a globe-trotting western.
One thing that I had actually forgotten about in this film that surprised me this time around was that Elsa, played by Alison Doody, was the antagonist of the movie. I love this type of twist in a movie and especially how it fits into this overall franchise. In every film, Indy has a female love interest, no matter how strong or vulnerable, and this film is no exception. Except that it flips this trope around and reveals her to be the adversary. This twist was incredibly well-done and brought a new set of challenges for our main hero. My only issue with this movie's plot is its reliance on puzzle-solving. I personally think that there could have been a better blend of action and suspense when it comes to the brain-benders that Indy and his crew have to tackle. Raiders handled this more effectively, as it did not have as many scenes where the audience might lose interest.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a nearly perfect film. Despite some story elements being a tad bit repetitive, this is an exceptional sequel that surpasses its predecessor by miles. I would strongly recommend this movie to any fan of the genre or someone who has never heard of Harrison Ford's famous adventurer for them to get a true glimpse of how engaging the character of Indiana is. Unfortunately, next up is Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so wish me luck with that.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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