Movie Review: INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE

INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE

1989

PG-13

"You call this archaeology?"

-- Professor Henry Jones

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg that serves as the third installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. This film once again sees our hero, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) doing battle against the Nazis, who are once again on a quest to find a a famous Christian artifact: the Holy Grail. Indy is brought into the chase after wealthy artifact collector Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), who is funding an expedition for the Grail, tells him that his father, Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), has gone missing whilst researching the Grail's whereabouts. Indiana immediately flies to Venice, Italy to pick up the trail where his father left off. He's joined by his close friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), and the two join forces with the young Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), who had been assisting the elder Jones in his search. As the three dig deeper into the Grail legend, it becomes increasingly clear that there are many sides to the tale, both of the Grail and of the people on the journey.

Fans of the Indiana Jones franchise had to wait five years after Temple of Doom for The Last Crusade to hit theaters, but many of them found it to be quite the return to form. It definitely feels a lot more like Raiders of the Lost Ark, and many a fan greatly appreciated the switch back to that particular feel. I've always found to be The Last Crusade my personal favorite in the series, even if it's not necessarily the best of the bunch. There's something incredibly endearing about it as a movie, and it's entertainment factor is only matched by the franchise's first installment.

Part of the reason this film proves to be so good is the fact that we're getting what might arguably be the best screenplay in the franchise. On the one hand, we're getting a clever tale that rivals the quest for the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders, and the twists and turns with that part of the story make this one engaging and entertaining by themselves. It's some of the other facets, however, that push The Last Crusade over the top. The characterization provided by this particular screenplay is the best of the series by far, and for the first time since Raiders, we're given a true sense of being from the Indiana character. We're seeing multiple dimensions added to the character throughout the film, and by film's end, the audience can clearly see that he has changed. And he's not the only character who offers quite a spectacle. By introducing Indy's father into the series, we finally get to see the relationship between Henry Jones Sr. and Henry Jones Jr. We could've made a movie solely centered around that particular relationship, and it probably would've proved to be incredibly insightful and clever, but there's something even deeper going on here.

Although there's always been a facet of either religion or magic or mysticism or what have you in each of the Indiana Jones films, we never really get the sense that Indiana himself is starting to buy into all the hoopla. In Raiders, he merely understands the power of the Ark, but it's not as though he truly comes to respect it. In Temple of Doom, we get a look at an older, more pagan religion, so there wasn't really any sense of conversion on Indy's part. In The Last Crusade, however, there's a definite change in beliefs and ideas on the part of our hero. In order to complete his journey, he's almost required to go through a spiritual conversion, and that bit of personal growth is what makes this film all the more powerful. I know that I only hours ago stated that Temple of Doom was easily the most emotionally powerful of the Indiana Jones films, but after re-watching The Last Crusade, I think I have to change my opinion. With the spiritual change and the relationship between Indy and his father, there's no doubt in my mind that the screenplay allows for this one to take the emotional cake.

The strong characterization in the screenplay also allows for the actors to bring forth some fantastic performances. Of all the Indiana Jones films, I'd have to rank this as the best-acted by Harrison Ford, and a lot of it has to do with the aforementioned points of the script. It gave him the opportunity to flesh out Indy a little bit more than he had been able to do in the previous films, and for that, I think he owes the screenplay a debt of gratitude. It's also a pleasure to see the great Sean Connery on-screen, especially in what might be his most iconic role aside from his numerous portrayals of James Bond. The chemistry between Ford and Connery is so authentic that you'd even start to believe that they could be real-life father and son. They just work that well together. It's astounding, really. We're also getting some good performances from the likes of Doody and Donovan, who's more René Belloq than Mola Ram, and I think that works for the better. Also be on the watch for a short cameo from River Phoenix as a young Indiana Jones that proves to be rather entertaining. The only issue that I had with the acting was the performances by Denholm Elliott and John Rhys-Davies, who both reprise their roles from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Whereas they were both relatively serious characters in the first film, they seem to be more caricatures of themselves this time around. Now, this might be what the screenplay calls for, but it was just a little bit off-putting for me.

And, once again, we're getting a fantastic score from John Williams, who brings a lot of new pieces for this particular film to accentuate the march he established in the first film. One of my favorite pieces from this film is the score he gave to the Grail, which proves to be rather powerful and beautiful, in my opinion. Here's a snippet for your listening pleasure:

At the end of the day, I'd have to say that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is probably my favorite film in the franchise. Although it's not quite as good as the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, the characterization and spirituality of this film pushes it over the top in terms of personal preference. Ultimately, it's one of my go-to films whenever I need a pick-me-up because it just manages to blend all of its themes and tones together so perfectly. It's just a beautifully-made film, and I have to tip my hat to Spielberg for having the guts to give the Christianity bit another go-around. Kudos, good sir.

Movie Review Summary

Grade: A

Should You Watch It? Yes

Movie Review: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

1981

PG

"I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogie man. Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am."
-- Indiana Jones

Raiders of the Lost Ark is an Academy Award-winning 1981 action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg that serves as the first installment in the ever-popular Indiana Jones franchise. Renowned archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is approached by United States Army Intelligence after they intercept Nazi transmissions about an excavation in Cairo that may be digging in the lost city of Tanis in the hopes of finding the Ark of the Covenant. Because Jones has a penchant for acquiring rare artifacts and antiquities, the Army wants him to take possession of the Ark before Hitler and the Nazis can wield it as a weapon at the front of their own armies. To help in his quest, Jones makes his way to Nepal to find his old professor Abner Ravenwood, who is an expert on the city of Tanis. Instead of finding his mentor, however, Indy finds his daughter Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), with whom he had had a past romance. With the Nazis nipping at their heels, the two take one of Abner's Tanis artifacts and make their way to Cairo in the hopes of beating the Germans to the prize. Little do they know that the Nazis have enlisted the aid of one of Indiana's chief competitors in the French archaeologist Dr. René Belloq (Paul Freeman).

Ever since I was a child, I have been a bit of a fan of the Indiana Jones series, and to have the opportunity to review the original Indiana Jones adventure is quite a treat for me. It's going to be a little difficult not to be biased about reviewing this film because it has become so ingrained into my own consciousness; however, I think that so many people out there can probably say the same thing about this particular film franchise.

Let's start by taking a look at the cinematic landscape in which Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. By this time, Spielberg had made quite a name for himself with films like 1975's Jaws and 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Although both of those films had managed to garner both critical and audience endorsement, Raiders proved to be a different kind of film altogether. It marked Spielberg's first real foray into the action-adventure genre as he tried to bring to life a type of 1930s serial, and boy did he do it successfully. But more on that in a moment. We also need to understand the star-power of Harrison Ford in making Raiders a success. By this time, he had appeared as Han Solo in both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, so it goes without saying that he had become quite the household name. He had even had a bit of a cameo in 1979's Apocalypse Now. But it was the high-profile inclusions of Spielberg and Ford that made this film a must-see for many a film-goer back in 1981.

Raiders of the Lost Ark manages to succeed on a number of levels. First, we're getting a clever and original story that effectively keeps the audience engaged from the opening scene. By taking the Ark of the Covenent, a familiar artifact from the Bible, I think that a lot of people were able to relate with the story. This film proves to be very Christian-based in its mythology and storytelling, and because the Christian population (at least in the United States) is relatively high, you can be sure that many a viewer had some sort of previous knowledge of the Ark going into the film. Another reason the film works so well is that we're getting a very clear sense of good versus evil. Much in the way that Star Wars was able to establish the good guys and the bad guys quickly and clearly, Raiders manages to do the same with Indy and his adversaries. You can easily see the enemy in the form of the German Nazis, who have become almost synonymous with evil in the seventy years since World War II; however, I think the better differentiation between good and evil occurs in the opening scenes when we meet both Indiana and Belloq. It's immediately made clear as to which man has the higher moral fiber, and from that moment, we know for whom we should root. I also thought the dialogue was very well-written, and the characters are incredibly well-crafted. We easily get a sense of each character after only a few moments with them, and this ability to relate to the personalities on-screen only helps to bring the viewer in further.

I also thought that the cast performed rather well throughout the film. As one can imagine, this is Ford's show all the way, but he has some rather deft supporting actors that complement him quite well. I think Allen manages to keep pace with Ford's Indy, even if she goes a little over-the-top here and there. Freeman proves to be a fine central villain, bringing a little bit of brains to the antagonists side. He's not likely to be remembered as one of the better villains in cinematic history, but his Belloq is definitely worthy of at least an honorable mention. From there, we move onto some of the minor - albeit important - characters. We're getting a fun turn from John Rhys-Davies as Indy's friend Sallah as well as a pitch-perfect turn from Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody, Indy's friend and boss. On the villainous side, I have to take the time to mention Ronald Lacey, whose creepy performance might be the most memorable in the film. Overall, however, the entire cast brings forth their A-game, making this quite the ensemble performance.

Raiders of the Lost Ark would go on to be nominated for eight Academy Awards, and it ultimately took home four Oscars: Best Art Direction; Best Visual Effects; Best Editing; and Best Sound. One of the categories it lost in, however, was for Best Original Score. Now, those of you who have been reading me for a while know that I will skip out on an opportunity to mention the great John Williams, and seeing as he composed the score for this film, I have to bring him up yet again. It's one of his better scores, and as with most of his work, it manages to fit the film perfectly. Here's the theme, for your listening pleasure:

At the end of the day, Raiders of the Lost Ark has become one of the most well-received and most-beloved films ever to be released. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), which allows its followers to score the films they've seen, currently ranks Raiders as the 23rd greatest film of all time. The American Film Institute (AFI) currently lists it as the 66th greatest film. And Rottentomatoes.com currently gives the film a 94% approval rating based off critical reviews, and I will leave you with the site's critical consensus, which sums up my own thoughts on this brilliant piece:

Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humor and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.

Movie Review Summary

Grade: A+

Should You Watch It? Yes