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"70% of all archeology is done in the library", says Indiana Jones to his class, shortly before jumping out of his office window and ending up traveling to exotic places where he finds an 'X' marking the spot for a hidden treasure that leads him to a a lost city. But that's what Jones has been doing since he was a teen, even when he doesn't like it.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade follows the titular hero (Harrison Ford) as he sets out to find his estranged father (Sean Connery), and by proxy try to find the Holy Grail that he has been obsessed with for decades. Things are complicated when they realize that the Nazis, as usual, are looking for the same things.
This has always been a frequent watch for me, even if it was 10 years since my last one. However, after my younger kid enjoyed the first one, I decided to throw this one at him. For the most part, he enjoyed it (although he said there were "too much deaths"). As for me, it was a lot of fun to revisit the film again after a while.
Although it never reaches the levels of the original, it does have a lot of strengths. It has an exciting opening, the addition of Connery is a big plus and his chemistry with Ford is undeniable. It also has a good amount of thrilling and effective action setpieces, even if some of them feel like they are tacked on (the zeppelin ride is one that I feel we could've done without).
However, the film is lacking in the antagonist field. The ones we get are not bad, but they are not that memorable; at least not as much as Belloq or Toht. I've also never liked the way they use Marcus (Denholm Elliot) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies). The former is turned into a comic relief clown, and the latter feels underused and unnecessary.
Still, the film more than makes up for its faults with a really solid last act, which features our heroes in an exotic place, following a map to a lost city. Overall, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of those examples where a sequel almost manages to match the heights of the original, mostly thanks to its leading cast and Spielberg's flawless direction.
Grade:
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
(1989, Spielberg)
(1989, Spielberg)
"So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and 'X' never, ever marks the spot."
"70% of all archeology is done in the library", says Indiana Jones to his class, shortly before jumping out of his office window and ending up traveling to exotic places where he finds an 'X' marking the spot for a hidden treasure that leads him to a a lost city. But that's what Jones has been doing since he was a teen, even when he doesn't like it.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade follows the titular hero (Harrison Ford) as he sets out to find his estranged father (Sean Connery), and by proxy try to find the Holy Grail that he has been obsessed with for decades. Things are complicated when they realize that the Nazis, as usual, are looking for the same things.
This has always been a frequent watch for me, even if it was 10 years since my last one. However, after my younger kid enjoyed the first one, I decided to throw this one at him. For the most part, he enjoyed it (although he said there were "too much deaths"). As for me, it was a lot of fun to revisit the film again after a while.
Although it never reaches the levels of the original, it does have a lot of strengths. It has an exciting opening, the addition of Connery is a big plus and his chemistry with Ford is undeniable. It also has a good amount of thrilling and effective action setpieces, even if some of them feel like they are tacked on (the zeppelin ride is one that I feel we could've done without).
However, the film is lacking in the antagonist field. The ones we get are not bad, but they are not that memorable; at least not as much as Belloq or Toht. I've also never liked the way they use Marcus (Denholm Elliot) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies). The former is turned into a comic relief clown, and the latter feels underused and unnecessary.
Still, the film more than makes up for its faults with a really solid last act, which features our heroes in an exotic place, following a map to a lost city. Overall, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of those examples where a sequel almost manages to match the heights of the original, mostly thanks to its leading cast and Spielberg's flawless direction.
Grade: