Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indy is back at it in his third feature film! This time, he returns to religious themes, as was avoided in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He has to finish what his father has been searching for for several years: find the Holy Grail. This film, though not as good as the first two, is an action-packed thrill ride that is bound to keep the audience member on the edge of their seat.
The film opens with Indiana Jones when he was a teenager. He is with his scout troup in Utah and gets separated, with one of his friends, from the rest of the group. They investigate some mysterious voices coming from a cave. They find some men digging in a cave and unbury a cross. Indiana drops into the cave and steals it. A chase between the men and Indy follows. This scene is one of the few originalities of this film. It proves that movies today have become cynical and forget that there can still be adventures that pop up out of nowhere.
The movie flashforwards to where Indiana is an adult. Indiana Jones (played still by Harrison Ford) discovers, after teaching a seminar, that his father, Professor Jones (played by Sean Connery, who provides some great comedy which isn't needed but adds to the fun of the film), has been kidnapped. Indy, with the help of his father's diary, which is the reason he was kidnapped, goes to look for his father and the Holy Grail.
He is met by a lovely, but very stiff, Dr. Elsa Schneider (played by Alison Doody). This character does not even compare to the female leads in the first two movies. They added a lot of energy and humor to the film. Elsa Schneider brings some energy but absolutely no humor. This is one of the big disappointments in the film. However, it's a minor thing in the entirity of the film. The action more than makes up for it. She does add a few plot and sub-plot twists to the film though.
The film has some very elaborate set pieces, as was the case in the first two films. However, this one some surpasses the rest in this field. Some of my favorites are the catacombs beneath Venice, the desert chase sequence, and especially the three trials. The ending of the film is the best part of the movie. Indy has to pass the three trials and then has to choose (wisely) which "grail" is the correct one. For those people who don't know what the Grail is, it's the cup that Jesus Christ is said to have drank from at the Last Supper. If one drinks from it, he/she will have eternal life.
The film is rated PG-13. There is a considerable amount of violence and even some gore (involving the three trials and the cup) and some language. Steven Spielberg directed and you can tell that it is. He has a way of making outrageous action sequences seem believable. The only thing that saddened me when the film ended was that there wouldn't be anymore Indy movies. It might be a good thing, considering what happened to films such as the James Bond movies. However, I will miss Indy and his wild, crazy adventures.