Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody

Synopsis:
Indiana Jones must save his father from Nazi captivity and embark on a quest to find the Holy Grail before it falls into the hands of the Third Reich.

Impressions:
This was actually my least favorite entry in the original trilogy when I was a kid. That's not to say I didn't like it, just that I preferred Temple of Doom and Raiders. However, as an adult, I have a much greater appreciation for it due to the greater depth of the character dynamics on display here. In particular, I really like the handling of Indy's strained relationship with his father and how it develops. Sean Connery is great as Henry Sr. and having the original James Bond play a stuffy professor is a nice aversion to his more action-oriented roles. The return of John Rhys-Davies as Sallah is of course welcome and I liked the larger role of Denholm Elliott as Marcus. Alison Doody makes for a pretty good femme fatale and I also liked Julian Glover as Donovan and Michael Byrne as Colonel Vogel. In keeping with the series tradition, there's a good variety of set pieces. The boat chase in Venice is probably my favorite. They do a good job of balancing action, drama and comedy. Of course John Williams continues to shine with the score. It's definitely a strong note to end the series. Good thing they didn't make any more. ^_^; This one belongs in a museum... and your movie collection.

Rating:
Treasure It