Movie Review: 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Written by Jeffrey Boam, from a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes

Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Michael Byrne, John Rhys-Davies, River Phoenix

Fedora: You've got heart, kid.

(indicates cross)

Fedora: But that belongs to me.

Indy: It belongs to Coronado.

Fedora: Coronado is dead. And so are all his grandchildren.

Indy: This should be in a museum!

As a result of the mixed critical reaction to “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” director Steven Spielberg told his friend (and executive producer)  George Lucas that the next chapter of the trilogy needed to evoke the lighter, more fun spirit of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”  

Lucas first suggested a story that featured a haunted castle, but Spielberg rejected that idea because it was too similar to “Poltergeist.”  Lucas then pitched a plot that involved the Holy Grail. Again, Spielberg said, “No, I don’t think so. Let’s try something else” Instead, he wanted to explore the relationship between Indy and his estranged father, which is a running theme in many of Spielberg’s movies.

Undaunted, Lucas wanted the film’s McGuffin to be the Holy Grail and asked Spielberg how a father-son theme would fit his vision.   

In an interview for a documentary about the making of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”  Spielberg explains:

I said, “The search for the father is the search for the Grail.”

Lucas then worked on the story with Menno Meyjes (“The Color Purple”), who wrote the first draft of the screenplay. Later, writer Jeffrey Boam was hired to rewrite the script and earned the “written by” credit. (More retouches were done by an uncredited Tom Stoppard, who had worked with Spielberg on “Empire of the Sun.”)

The Man in the Hat is Back...and This Time, He’s Bringing His Dad

Though much of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” is set in 1938 (two years after the events in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”), the film begins with a prologue set in 1912 Utah.

Here, Indy (River Phoenix) is 13 years old and living with his widowed father in Utah at the twilight of America’s frontier days. While he’s on a horse riding expedition with his Boy Scout troop, Indy and  his friend Herman (J.J. Hardy) explore a cave near Moab, Utah, and stumble on a gang of grave robbers led by a roguish-looking young man wearing a leather jacket and a fedora (Richard Young). Indy is shocked when he sees the thieves have found an important relic, the Cross of Coronado.

On impulse, Indy sends Herman to Moab to get help from the sheriff while he retrieves the Cross of Coronado. He grabs the relic and tries to escape unnoticed, but the thieves spot him and give chase. Young Indiana Jones evades his pursuers on foot, on horseback, and even on a circus train, but Panama Hat, a wealthy and shady collector is in cahoots with the sheriff and ends up with the gold cross.

Herman: I brought the sheriff!

Young Indiana Jones: You're just the man I wanted to see. There were 5 or 6 of them---

Sheriff: It's all right. You still got it?

Young Indiana Jones: Yes, sir, it's right here.

[Indy hands Cross of Coronado to sheriff]

Sheriff: I'm glad to see that... because the rightful owner of this cross won't press charges if you give it back. He's got witnesses, 5 or 6 of them.

[Indy looks in surprise at the Cross of Coronado being handed over to the Panama Hat. However, the leader of the gang, Fedora, admires Indy's gumption.]

Fedora: You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it. [places his fedora on Indy's head]

   

26 years later, Indy (Harrison Ford) is caught aboard a storm-tossed freighter off the Portuguese coast while he retrieves the Cross of Coronado from Panama Hat (Paul Maxwell).

Panama Hat: Small world, Dr. Jones.

Indiana Jones: Too small for two of us.

Panama Hat: This is the second time I've had to reclaim my property from you.

Indiana Jones: That belongs in a museum.

Panama Hat: So do you.

After this exciting prologue, The Last Crusade gets underway when American millionaire Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) commissions Indy to find the missing leader (and his important papers) of Donovan's Holy Grail recovery team. Several clues have been found near Ankara, clues that might lead to the location of the legendary cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper -- a cup that also caught some of His blood at the Crucifixion.

But when Indy temporizes, Donovan tells him the identity of the missing team leader: Indy’s father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr. (Sean Connery. With the stakes now raised and his dad’s life on the line, the intrepid archaeologist/adventurer starts out on yet another globe-trotting trek to chase an ancient treasure.

Indiana Jones: Listen. Since I've met you I've nearly been incinerated, drowned, shot at, and chopped into fish bait. We're caught in the middle of something sinister here, my guess is dad found out more than he was looking for and until I'm sure, I'm going to continue to do things the way I think they should be done.

Soon, Indiana Jones, his friend and boss Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), Elsa Schneider (Allison Doody) -- a young, sexy Austrian archaeologist who works for Donovan -- and Indy's friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) set off on a quest to find the legendary Grail.

Professor Henry Jones: They're trying to kill us.

Indiana Jones: I know, Dad.

Professor Henry Jones: This is a new experience for me.

Indiana Jones: It happens to me all the time.

My Take

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” is one of the best collaborative works from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. It’s a spirited romp that harkens to the Saturday afternoon matinees of the 1930s and 1940s, full of the same pulp fiction tone found in youth-oriented magazines such as the Scouting-affiliated “Boys’ Life. Unlike “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” the movie’s tone is more humorous and rip-roaring.

To  be sure,  “The Last Crusade” follows essentially the same formula as “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and pits Indiana Jones against the Nazis in a quest for a relic Adolf Hitler wants. Like the makers of the James Bond series that the Indy movies emulate stylistically, Lucas and Spielberg stick to a tried-and-true format. In the original Indiana Jones trilogy, Indiana Jones goes after a legendary relic, accompanied by a sidekick (or several), a romantic interest, and chased by powerful adversaries with an agenda.

This film follows the formula, too, but somehow transcends it by focusing more on the father-son relationship between Indy and Henry Jones.

Though “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” only gives a few hints about why Henry and Indy became estranged, the quest for the Holy Grail rekindles the familial bond between the once-stern and distant father and the brilliant but rebellious son.  The chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery is evident in many of the action set pieces, such as an escape from a burning hall in an Austrian castle or a desert chase in the Republic of Hatay.

Throughout the Indiana Jones series, Harrison Ford’s performance is the key factor to the films’ appeal. Ford plays the role straight, as though all the serial adventure situations his character constantly finds himself in were real. Whether he is trapped in a Venice catacomb with thousands of rats or facing off against SS officers intent on killing him, Ford’s Indy has an All-American can-do spirit that is tempered by human foibles, such as his fear of snakes.  

Irish actress Alison Doody acquits herself well as Elsa, the Austrian archaeologist whose ultimate loyalties are nebulous at best. A striking blonde with a smart-yet-flirtatious attitude, Elsa seems to change sides whenever it suits her own pursuit of the Grail. Is Elsa a Nazi, or is she just stringing them along to get a hold of the cup of Christ?

For comic relief and a deeper connection to “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Lucas and Spielberg bring Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) along for the fun. Though Sallah’s character is essentially the same as in the first film, Marcus Brody’s role is less paternal and “voice of reason.”  In “The Last Crusade,”  Marcus is a fish out of water; he’s self-assured and calm in the halls of Marshall College, but he’s clueless and lost out in the field.

The 1980s are often referred to as the Golden Age of the Action Movie, which was ushered in by “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 1981. That film is still the best of the Indiana Jones movies, but “The Last Crusade” comes close to recapturing its sense of excitement. fun, and wonder.

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” Special Edition Blu-ray Specs

Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (34.99 Mbps) Resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1 Audio English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps) Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps) Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Subtitles English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese Discs 50GB Blu-ray Disc Single disc (1 BD) iTunes digital copy Packaging Slipcover in original pressing Playback Region free