Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) review

Many consider it the best of the Indiana Jones films, praising the addition of Sean Connery as one of the best casting choices. Many praise the story and action sequences as being superior to the great Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I for one, prefer the first two instalments over the conclusion to such a fantastic trilogy.

Indiana Jones’ father, Henry Jones Sr, goes missing whilst on his life long quest for the Holy Grail. Leaving to Indy, his diary which contains all his research of the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones realizes that the Nazis are once more after the Holy Grail and will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Realizing that immortality is a powerful and corruptive thing that the Nazis cannot get their hands on, Indy goes on a quest to retrieve his father and ensure the Nazis don’t get caught up with Henry’s diary, which has disappeared.

Once more, the story is very powerful and truly entertaining however I didn’t see it surpass the previous two instalments. The addition of Henry Jones is the wisest choice made in this entire franchise. The goofiness and fun he brings cannot truly be described in words. Sean Connery absolutely perfects that role and gives one of the most entertaining performances I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it does take a fair bit of time for his character to truly make an entrance in one of the greatest ways. His immediate reaction to smashing Indy with a bottle followed by proving that the bottle is a fake is timeless comedy. Not just funny, but it is simply able to define his character through his first few minutes. The relationship that builds throughout the film between Indy and Henry is one of the funniest yet most realistic ever in some ways.

Supporting characters include Ilsa, who I didn’t particularly care about in the film. She just wasn’t as memorable as Marion or Willie from the first two instalments and her character was someone that I wasn’t attached to. It is, however a pleasing sight to see Marcus Brody return for a bigger role in this film. He is surely one of the best aspects of this film. He is hilarious, lost and is basically one of us being on this great adventure. The best sequence of the film is one involving a lost Marcus Brody attempting to communicate with locals, but is incredibly lost! This scene was comedic perfection for the film, especially realizing that this followed Indiana Jones telling the Nazis about Brody’s whereabouts! Sallah too returns in the film, in possibly a shorter role than Raiders of the Lost Ark but he too is placed perfectly in the story.

Much like Ilsa, there is another forgettable character and he is the main antagonist, Donovan. Belloq is one of the most memorable villains put to film. He was perfect for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mona Ram was perfect for Temple of Doom however Donovan doesn’t strike out any real threat or motivation with this film. Thankfully, this is laid aside by some fantastic entertainment thanks to Sean Connery and Harrison Ford, who shared such amazing chemistry. Just like the previous two films, the entertainment is sky high and makes this a fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy…until 2008 came!

Grade- 9/10