A week later, I completed the Indiana Jones trilogy! (No, I’m still not acknowledging the fourth movie. That may change, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.) Thanks for being patient.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade marks the end of the eighties, and the end of Indiana (or so we thought) in cinemas. This time round, Indy takes it upon himself to go searching for the Holy Grail. Yes, that Holy Grail. He discovers that it had been his father’s lifelong mission rather quickly, and later on, meets him along the way. Once again though – as with Raiders of the Lost Ark – those pesky Nazis are also on an expedition to steal the same artefact as our hero, and it’s up to him to finish his mission whilst keeping the German fascists at bay.
Arguably the Indy movie with the most Spielbergisms, this one was the best of the lot in my opinion. Awesome, super realistic scenery (realistic for the 80s at least) with the perfect adventure story to match? Count me in.
Of course I came here for Harrison Ford, but Sean Connery is what makes this movie an absolute laugh riot. Showing off your comedic chops, are you Connery? Love to see it. His presence made even the action-less sequences entertaining, and I can only hope that he brings this humorous, playful Connery to other roles that I’m yet to witness. Please do let me know if you have any suggestions in that regard!
“Three devices of such lethal cunning.” “Nazis. I hate those guys.” The script in The Last Crusade is rife with iconic quotes that will live on forever. A timeless movie in terms of its writing, that’s for sure. Again, this screenplay just pips the debut Indy film for me.
There are two things I didn’t get along with here: First, it’s too long. It’s still good, but I could have done with it being ten minutes shorter. There were sequences that were either poorly edited, or just didn’t need to be there in first place, but I guess some of that remained in the final cut as fan service to die hard Indiana stans.
Secondly, there’s some weirdly blatant sexism in this movie that was most certainly unwarranted and unwelcome. Yes, it was a “different time” in 1989, but it was just so unnecessary and it kind of disappoints me that Spielberg kept those moments in there. Some will probably argue that ”they were only sexist towards the double/triple agent villain!” But you know what? It didn’t sit right with me at all, villain or not.
Witty, exciting, great performances, and brilliant production value. I see now why Indiana Jones is such a cult hero, although it doesn’t quite peak as highly as the original Star Wars trilogy for me.
Nevertheless, unadulterated fun from Spielberg, Lucas and co. Really glad I watched them.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is available to stream on Sky Cinema, Now TV and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
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