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: THE ROCK

THE ROCK

1996
R

The Rock is a 1996 action film directed by Michael Bay. The film follows the terrorist plot of General Francis Hummel (Ed Harris) who goes to extreme lengths in order to force the government into compensating the families of soldiers killed during secret black ops missions. He and his team of similarly disgruntled Marines take hostages on the island of Alcatraz in San Francisco, setting up base inside the famed prison. They soon inform the government of their demands: a sum of $100 million dollars that will partially serve as reparations for the aforementioned families. If the money is not delivered, the Marines will launch four missiles containing a highly toxic chemical into the heart of the city, an attack that could cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. In an act of desperation, the government quickly calls leading FBI chemical biologist Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) to help defuse the weapons. However, when issues arise concerning the prison's layout, FBI Director James Womack (John Spencer) reluctantly agrees to call upon a man named John Mason (Sean Connery), the only man ever to escape Alcatraz prison. After crafting a deal that would allow Mason to go free after helping with the operation, both he and Goodspeed head into the prison with a group of Navy SEALS to help stop the Marines' plot.

Although the plot we're given is a little bit on the straightforward and simplistic side, it never fails to turn even the slightest bit boring. Michael Bay has long been considered one of the lesser directors on the Hollywood scene, bringing more style than substance to any of his films. However, The Rock does serve as a bit of an exception, in my opinion. The screenplay is rather well-written, not taking it self too seriously but never really delving into anything too silly and rote. In a way, it lets the action do the talking rather than being mired in strange twists of logic or anything of the like. It's straightforward in that we have a man with a warped sense of justice who is out to kill innocent lives battling against men who will do anything to stop him. It's good versus evil, end of story. Although, you can easily argue that our "bad guy" really isn't all that bad, but you'll have to watch the movie to see exactly what I mean.

I think the casting is also top-notch. We get an all-star cast with the likes of Oscar winners Connery and Cage and Oscar nominee Harris. Those three alone make this movie worth watching. Yes, Nicolas Cage does know how to act, and this film serves as evidence. I know he's been mired in a lot of drivel in the past few years, but once upon a time, he was an Oscar winner, so you better believe he's got some sort of talent. Connery is simply Sean Connery, almost playing off himself and his career bravado (in fact, we even get a quip about how John Mason's training came from British Intelligence - clever clever, Mr. Bond). Harris does well as a conflicted man; we're never truly sure if he's completely prepared to do what he's planned to do. We also get some good performances from the likes of John Spencer, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn and John C. McGinley.

To be honest, the only real issue I had with the film was the musical score, which was composed in a collaboration between Hans Zimmer, Nick Glennie-Smith and Harry Gregson-Williams. Now don't get me wrong - the music composed for the film is actually very, very good and it fits the piece well. However, it does steal a little too directly from a previous film's score. That film, 1991's Backdraft, was also composed by Zimmer, so we can see where the parallels may have come from. The only problem was that whenever I heard the bit that sounded like the Backdraft score, I was immediately transported back to that film. That's not good for The Rock. To be fair, most people wouldn't recognize this little hiccup, but considering Backdraft is a personal favorite, there was no way I was going to miss that slip.

Despite that, The Rock is still a great action film that definitely deserves a watch if you haven't already seen it. Dispel any current thoughts you may have about Nicolas Cage and just enjoy the ride. It doesn't require much brain-power, but it'll make up for it with guns and explosions all that other guy stuff that we love to watch.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: A-
2 Thumbs Up