INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
A film review by Randy Parker
Copyright 1996 Randy Parker
RATING: *** (out of ****)
(Review written in 1989)
With INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, Steven Spielberg and
George Lucas have finally fulfilled an informal agreement they made in 1979
to make a trilogy of movies about an adventurous archaeologist modelled in
part after James Bond. In this alleged final installment of the series,
Professor "Indiana" Jones embarks on a quest for the Holy Grail, an
endeavor that takes him from the United States to Venice, Austria, Berlin,
and the Middle East. During his adventures, Indy must contend with Nazis,
religious fanatics, rats, a femme fatale, and perhaps most challenging of
all, his father.
THE LAST CRUSADE begins with an extended flash-back to 1912. River
Phoenix, doing his best Harrison Ford impersonation, plays Indiana Jones as
a teen in a humorous sequence that establishes the hallmarks of the
character: his fear of snakes, his hat, his whip, his scar, and his love of
adventure. Then the film shifts to 1938 with Harrison Ford once again
reprising his most famous role. Actually, THE LAST CRUSADE contains quite
a few familiar faces as LOST ARK alumni Denholm Elliott (as Marcus Brody,
the curator who once got lost in his own museum) and John Rhys-Davies (as
Indy's faithful ally, Sallah) both have returned for Indiana's last
adventure. The cast also includes Alison Doody as the requisite
love-interest, an Austrian art historian who has nothing in mind but her
own self-interests.
In many ways, THE LAST CRUSADE is the antithesis of INDIANA JONES
AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. In fact, Steven Spielberg claims that he made THE
LAST CRUSADE to apologize for the gloomy, gruesome violence in TEMPLE OF
DOOM. Where DOOM showed excess, CRUSADE shows surprising restraint;
Spielberg has toned down the violence considerably. Where DOOM was dark
and mean-spirited, CRUSADE is light-hearted and good-natured. Spielberg
and company play this one for tongue-in-cheek laughs. Whereas the
relentless, non-stop action in TEMPLE OF DOOM completely overshadowed and
overwhelmed the characters, the action in LAST CRUSADE takes a back seat to
character development.
The first third of THE LAST CRUSADE is untypically slow, but the
pace immediately picks up the moment Sean Connery hits the screen. Connery
is brilliantly cast as Indy's father, Dr. Henry Jones, a professor of
Medieval Literature who has devoted his entire life to locating the Holy
Grail at the expense of estranging himself from his son. Playing against
type in a tour de force performance, Connery is hilarious. A far cry from
his days as 007, he's bookish and blundering--making him totally ill-suited
to his son's dangerous lifestyle. Connery's welcome presence on screen
keeps THE LAST CRUSADE from being just a retread of the first two films.
Connery always seems to inject life into his movies, whether they are good
(THE UNTOUCHABLES) or mediocre (THE PRESIDIO), and THE LAST CRUSADE is no
exception.
The heart of the movie, making it special, IS the father-son
relationship between Connery and Ford, who play off each other well and
build an amusing rapport. The movie is at its best when Indy and his
father bicker and nag at each other, especially during their attempts to
foil the Nazis. The friction between the Jones boys runs especially high
whenever Henry Jones infuriates his son by calling him "Junior." When he's
around his father, Indy often feels intimidated and defensive, and Harrison
Ford effectively portrays these emotions. THE LAST CRUSADE is the first
film in the series to grant Ford an opportunity to give Indiana some depth
and humanity. Eventually, of course, the two men overcome their
estrangement to forge a relationship of warmth, tenderness, and mutual
respect.
When it comes to action, THE LAST CRUSADE falls short in comparison
to its predecessors. Although the movie is well-paced, not one of its
action sequences is memorable or terribly original, and the film never
really got my adrenaline pumping. THE LAST CRUSADE is fun and exciting,
but it's not dazzling or awe-inspiring. In my mind, nearly every action
sequence in RAIDERS is a classic, and although TEMPLE OF DOOM goes
overboard, the film is undeniably tense and hair-raising. By contrast,
CRUSADE is too tame and fails to distinguish itself from imitators of the
series, such as ROMANCING THE STONE.
The plot is also disappointing. Except for substituting the Grail
for the Ark, the movie is just a regurgitation of the RAIDERS story line,
with Indy once again racing against the Nazis to unearth a powerful
religious artifact. And unfortunately, THE LAST CRUSADE is the only film
of the trilogy without any lasting impact. Whereas RAIDERS left us stunned
and awe-struck and DOOM left us disturbed and exhausted, CRUSADE is
memorable mostly for Sean Connery's performance. The movie also suffers
from being the third in the series; it faces higher audience expectations
and must labor harder to achieve originality and to avoid repetition.
But perhaps it's unfair to draw so many comparisons between THE
LAST CRUSADE and its predecessors. While it may not be a classic, THE LAST
CRUSADE is certainly an appealing crowd-pleaser that never fails to provide
old fashioned, larger than life entertainment. And while I was somewhat
disappointed, I have to admit that I haven't had so much fun being
disappointed since INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. I'll definitely
miss Professor Jones and his wild escapades, but I have to admire his good
judgement in knowing when to hang up his hat ... and his whip, for that
matter.
-----------
Randy Parker
rparker@slip.net
http://www.shoestring.org
Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: After The Temple of Doom, a somewhat disappoint sequel to Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Indiana Jones returned for a third outing in 1989. The Last Crusade is a nice end to the trilogy, although there has been talk of a fourth Indy film coming someday, whenever George Lucas finishes the second Star Wars trilogy. By then, Harrison Ford will look like the old Indy from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Anyway, The Last Crusade was a much better movie then Temple of Doom. It had a much better story, and they kept more in tradition with Raiders of The Lost Ark. Indy once again searches for legendary bible treasure. This time it's the Holy Grail which is supposed to give the drinker eternal youth. This time Indy is joined by his dad, played marvelously by Sean Connery. The two of them are great on screen, and its a delight watching the banter between father and son. A few other Radiers alumni join in as well. Denholm Elliot returns as Marcus Brody with a little bigger part, John Rhys-Davies returns as Sallah and even the Nazis return. Indy's love interest is Dr. Elsa Shneider who turns out to be a traitor. We start out by seeing young Indiana Jones, played by the late River Phoenix. From there, Indy travels to Venice, Austria, Berlin and the Middle East. There is plenty of action and a lot more humor in this film to keep us very much entertained. someday I hope we will see a fourth Indy film, but for now it's a nice way to end a wonderful trilogy.
I give Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Review written October 13, 1999
