jonahcybarra-82318 After two films showcasing the adventures of the whip-wielding, world-traveling archeologist Indiana Jones, Director Steven Spielberg brought the adventures much more close to home in the third film of the franchise. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade sports one of the greatest begins to a film in the history of modern cinema, showing the audience exactly where Indiana Jones began his adventures and gained all of the iconic parts of his persona. This film also introduces audiences to Indiana Jones' father, Henry Jones Sr. played by the esteemed Sean Connery. We are treated to the tense, complicated relationship Indiana has with his father stemming from Jones Sr.'s obsession with finding the Holy Grail. As Indiana races to recover the Grail and his father before the Nazis do, Spielberg takes his audience on the ride of a lifetime all across the world. Technically speaking this film is close to flawless besides a few distracting losses of focus during the scene with the tank fight and one of the more beautiful parts about this film is its continued legacy of utilizing practical effects and props instead of relying upon computerized special effects. One of the best installments in one of the most revered and beloved film franchises in the history of filmmaking, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a true wonder of cinema and all those whom consider themselves to be film experts or critics should watch this film.

Sean Lamberger After two successful big-budget starring vehicles, we finally get an origin story for Indiana Jones. Of course, that's largely to facilitate the addition of a new supporting character (Sean Connery in a wonderful casting as Indy's long lost father, who we'll get to in just a moment) but that extra layer of nostalgia, wrapped around a property that's deeply nostalgic in the first place, manages to avoid numerous pitfalls and serve as an effective prologue. River Phoenix performs especially well as the young Jones, expertly wearing Harrison Ford's mannerisms throughout the long callback, and somewhere along the way we get a worthwhile genesis for the grown-up version's affinity for leather jackets and fedoras.Once the story jumps ahead to a more familiar era (if not precisely the present), it's full speed ahead on the hunt for the mythical holy grail, a lifelong obsession for the father and recent fixation of the third reich. Soon reunited, both Jones boys dance through precarious situations and near-misses in the history books, a full battalion of Nazi soldiers nipping at their heels, before drawing close to the prize. Ford and Connery are dynamic together, boiling down a complicated father-son relationship to a series of glares, grins and grunts. They alternate between bickering testily and slapping each other on the back in camaraderie, and I honestly can't say which makes for a more entertaining watch. There's depth, too, a stinging blend of long-simmering resentment and earnest care for one another, which often bubbles up just in time to enhance the plot's heaviest moments.Naturally, it simply wouldn't be an Indiana Jones movie without big action sets (in which the series somehow manages to one-up itself yet again) or boatloads of witty retorts and punchy one-liners, and those two essential elements combine to give the film a loose, fun-loving quality without compromising any of the more serious moments. All this without going too far over the top, as we saw more than once in the mildly underwhelming Temple of Doom and borderline-disastrous Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It's well-written and purposeful, successfully intense and humorous, an in-the-wheelhouse serial-styled adventure that spans several continents before confronting superstition and cracking several dusty, life-threatening riddles on the path to a biblical treasure. Indy probably should've left well-enough alone, because this chapter is essentially impossible to top.

Torrin-McFinn77 Many say that this is the saving grace of the Indiana Jones saga after Temple of Doom. And I most certainly agree. It's got its parallels with Raiders (ie a biblical artifact, agents of the Third Reich, and of course John Rhys-Davies, who is one of my favorite actors), plus Sean Connery as the dad. Aside from that, this also features one of my favorite sites in the whole Middle East. Just watch and see what I mean. For me, this is one of the better father-son movies. Sure they fight a lot but what parent-child duo doesn't? Maybe they should play this movie more on Father's Day. That would prove that not all father-son relationships are as bad as they seem. As for me, this is my favorite Indiana Jones movie. A lot of the actors from Star Wars are in here, including Julian Glover (who played General Veers), Harrison Ford (Han Solo!), and the late Michael Sheard (who played the first guy Darth Vader strangled in The Empire Strikes Back). And this is the only River Phoenix movie I've seen. He did well as a younger Indy. If you have to see one Indy movie, give this a go!

DeuceWild_77 I still don't understand why this movie became the fans favorite of the franchise and it was even critically re-praised, when the vastly superior "Doom" is, constantly, bashed. I was lucky enough to watch the original three in the cinema and ironically, i've watched them by the correct chronological order, my first was "Doom", then a re-run of "Raiders" and 5 years later, now as a teen, i attended, enthusiastically, the premiere of "Crusade", but it ended with me left the movie theater in a total state of disappointment. Where do i start ? Firstly, it lacks the excitement and thrills of the previous two installments, when we think about the most memorable scenes of the franchise, "Raiders" have the most iconic and unforgettable opening like if a comic book came alive; the sequence in Nepal when Indy and Marion reunite; the swordsman in Cairo; the Well of Souls; the truck chase and so on. "Doom" have a 'glamour-ish' opening which reminds the classic musicals of the golden age, mixed with the exotic war dramas from the 30's & 40's and a bit of Bond thrown into it, plus the escape from the plane; the spike chamber; the black sleep of Kali Ma; Mola Ram (which was one of the best villains ever put on film); the mine chase and the rope bridge. "Crusade" have a lacklustre opening sequence where Indy, at the young age of 13, in a total of 10 minutes screen time acquires all his future trademarks: "It belongs to a Museum"; the ophidiophobia; the chin scar; the mastering of the whip and even his Fedora hat given away by a man who was supposed to be Abner Ravenwood, the future Indy's mentor, but he was ended up credited in the cast list as "Fedora Guy", because Lucas at the last moment, opted to exclude the Abner connection. One of his first dumb moves. For the rest, they gave us a tepid boat chase; the rescue on the Castle Brunwald; the zeppelin; the tank chase in the desert which was an unimaginative re-hash of "Raiders" and the anti-climatic 'grand finale'. Secondly, the McGuffin in this one isn't as exciting as the Ark of the Covenant or the Sankara Stones, and once again it's a Jewish / Catholic artifact that resembles too much of the Ark and even have the Nazis as, once again, the evil nemesis spreading their greediness towards the power of the Grail. Thirdly, the characters, Ford has been saying that this was his favorite Indy, but what he said doesn't mean that it rings true, because he looks bored / uninterested for almost the entire movie and his acting looks and sounds more Ford playing himself than Ford playing Indy. The lack of conviction is apparent here, he grew tired of the character after the difficult shot of "Doom" and, at this time, he was establishing himself on a more demanded roles in drama films. Connery was cast, not because that the best actor to play Indy's dad was the former James Bond, but because Sean was fresh from his Oscar winning role in the B.O. Hit, "The Untouchables" and his name had became trendy again after almost a decade into oblivion. Connery's roles in the acclaimed, "The Name of the Rose" and the sleeper hit, "Highlander" which he played the witty old mentor to younger folks, convinced Spielberg & Lucas that he could do the same for Ford and 'cash in' on Connery's crescent popularity of his middle-age comeback & Oscar winning. Connery gave an inspired performance with lots of heart and integrity, which earned him the SAG and BAFTA nominations, no question about that, but he wasn't the best pick to play Henry Jones, Sr. Charlton Heston should have been the perfect choice. Not only he resembles much more Ford in the looks, acting style & 'screen persona', but also Heston's jungle adventure movies from the 50's, such as "The Naked Jungle" or "Secret of the Incas" were major inspirations in the conception of the Indiana Jones' character and his perilous adventures around the world. The late great Denholm Elliott returns as Marcus Brody, this time with more than a glorified cameo, he's also on the track of the Grail, except that in "Raiders", Spielberg & Lucas established the character as an adventurer / archaeologist like Indy in his younger days, but here he serves the purpose of the buffoon / comic relief, a distracted erudit that "gets lost in his own Museum". John Rhys-Davies also returns in this installment, but his character Sallah have as much importance to the plot as his brother-in-law's camels. A total waste of two great actors !! Julian Glover and Alison Doody are too weak villains, they look like Disney Channel next to Arnold Toht or Mola Ram. Doody is, certainly, the nicest Indy Girl to look at, but the worst in the acting department (yes, Kate Capshaw was way better !!). Michael Byrne as Colonel Ernst Vogel is the only menacing of the bad guys, but he can't save the whole. Last, but not the least, River Phoenix sporting a late 80's haircut style, played Indy at age 13 in 1912, a bit 'off', but we accept it as Indy is well-known for being a misfit. The late actor gave an acceptable performance as young Indy, after he played the son of Ford in the underrated, "The Mosquito Coast" and studied his mannerisms and dialogue delivery. In short, "Crusade" still delivers, it have nice production values; not-so-exotic, but still okay locations; great cinematography by Dougie Slocombe; the master score from John Williams (even if it was the weakest of the original trilogy); stunning art & costume design and some impressive stuntwork like the previous two movies, but lacks in the thrilling department and the magic started here to disappear, maybe making this the last one (before the "Crystal Skull" crap resurrected the franchise some 19 years later...) was a good decision by the main trio.