Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) (Movie Review)

   I’ve always considered myself as a guy who can love just about any genera of film, although my feelings for some are admittedly stronger than others, and my first love without question was adventure cinema. This is what drew me to movies more then anything, the thrill of escaping into some far-off quest, and experiencing a thrill that you just couldn’t experience back at home. Of course, no other name stands out more in the genera then Indiana Jones. 

When “Raiders of the Lost Arc” first premiered back in 1981, it was a mile-stone achievement that pumped fresh new life into adventure cinema, and it really hasn’t been surpassed all these years later … that is with one slight exception ... it’s 1989 sequel titled "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". While “Raiders” is obviously the original classic that broke new ground, “The Last Crusade” is that rare sequel that I feel can stand on equal ground with the first as a motion picture masterpiece, and in my personal opinion is just a hair better. For me, this is it, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” is hands down my favorite in all of adventure cinema, and is personally one of my all-time favorite movies … quite honestly, I’d put it in my top three. In general, Indian Jones is my favorite movie character of them all, so naturally one of his movies would rank high for me ... I can’t make any objective argument that this really is one of the greats, but it certainly means the world to me.       

   The movie brilliantly begins with a short origin story of how Indiana came to be. We see him as a teenager played by the late River Phoenix, and he’s following this band of Raiders who just dug up the Cross of Colorado. 

We see instantly his love and devotion for sacred artifacts, and that he believes they should be preserved, as opposed to these bandits who simply want to fence it for some shinny coin. This opening would also serve as a launching pad for what would eventually become “The Young Indiana Jones” series, with Sean Patrick Flanery in the lead role of Young Indy. Upon stealing the cross, we get a brilliantly staged chase on a Circus train, with each cart containing different animal obstacles, and it’s through this chase we see how everyone of Indy’s trade-mark’s came to be. He snatches his whip from a lion’s cage, and gets his chin-scar when he uses it for the first time. 

He also falls in a tub full of snakes, which is where he got his snake phobia from … and I always loved this small detail of back when he and his friend were in the cave together, he showed no fear at all to a snake on the ground, but nothing will ever be the same after this. Once young Indy escapes the train, I’ve always loved the lead bad-guy looking on and smiling, like he genuinely admired that kid for his guts. We also get our first glimpse of Indy’s father, who’s very dismissive of his son, and is completely buried in his own research. Ironically, the man showing the most fatherly support is the bad-guy Indy just stole the cross from, the guy who passes his Fedora hat on to Indy, the man Indy would model himself after, and completing his origin. 

Now, the lead guy in the Fedora hat was played by Richard Young, who played it well, but personally … I’ve always wished it was Timothy Dolton making a cameo in this part. He was originally in the running to play Indiana Jones, and I think this would have been a perfect moment to feature the actor in the iconic leather black coat and Fedora hat he was originally going to play ... it would have also been kind of ironic to see two James Bond actors in one movie, but don’t let me get ahead of myself. I also have to hand it to River Phoenix, because he was a great talent taken way too soon, and in just this opening scene alone, he showed he was a young man with great talent.  

   Once we come to present day, we see the grown-up Indiana Jones has finally completed a lifelong mission, has reclaimed the Cross of Coronado, and in a scene that parallels the first movie, we see that he’s donated the artifact to the museum run by his friend Marcus. 

The look on Indy’s face is very important during this scene, as he’s just completed a life-long goal … and he just doesn’t seem to care. We see him sulking in his office, surrounded by items he excavated, all while a number of students are pressing against his door window, almost like a zombie movie, and for whatever reason, he just feels empty and alone right now. In other words, this is a different man from the first two movies, as his love for ancient artifacts are no-longer calling him to adventure. This is emphasized further in the next scene, when a man named Walter Donavan hires Jones to go on a quest to find … of all things … the Holly Grail! Yeah, the cup that caught Christs blood during the crucifixion, and according to legend has the power to give the drinker eternal life. Talk about the quest of a life-time, and yet, unlike in all the other movies … Jones actually turns down his offer initially. He grew up on stories of the Grail, as it was his dad’s obsession, and as a result has always felt distant from him. Now Indy feels he’s at a point where he’s wasted his life on obsessions of old artifacts, and all it’s given him is that lonely office. However, once word reaches him that his father was initially hired to take on the same quest to find the Grail, and has gone missing … Jones doesn’t bat an eye for a second, and sets-off for another adventure.

   I mentioned earlier that Indiana Jones has always been my favorite movie character, and back when I was a kid, I always viewed him as that larger than life hero that I always fantasized myself being. The brilliance of this movie is that it makes my childhood hero feel more human than ever before. It’s not the treasure that’s calling him to action this time, it’s his love for his father that's driving his actions, along with his passion to fix something that has never quite mended from childhood … which was his father’s constant distance. Having this movie revolve around a quest to find the Hole Grail would have been awesome on its own, but the movie goes even further, by making this a story of a broken family coming closer together by facing a series of obstacles. Once Indy reunites with his dad, and the two go off on adventure together ... this movie just sky-rockets into greatness for me. Harrison Ford already conveyed a larger than life presence in his signature role as Indiana Jones … but pair him with Sean Connery in the role of Indy’s dad, and it firkin breaks the sound barrier!

   These two have dynamite chemistry, there personalities off-set each other beautifully, and it’s all around a great on-screen father-son relationship. 

In their first seen, they both bond over how giddy they both get when on the subject of uncovering lost items, and I instantly feel the connection between the two. Of course, James Bond was the main inspiration for Indiana Jones in the first place, so there’s great novelty in seeing the original James Bond in the role of Indy’s dad. However, it goes beyond a novelty, as the two really complement one another, and there’s a great arc between the two. After all these years, Indy’s dad is still fixated on finding the Holy Grail, which Indy is openly resentful off … plus, he also knows how lonely life is when you spend it obsessing over lost items. At the same time, he also sees this as an opportunity for he and his father to finally connect, and be there for one-another. I love the quiet moments of the two just sitting down trying to have a conversation, which neither of them is very good at. This movie also has the novelty of bringing back both John-Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliot in their respected roles of Sallah and Marcus Brody from the first film, which makes for a nice cap to the trilogy. This is when Sallah gets a more recognizable look with a red Fez, and Marcus gets a prominent role on the mission, acting as the Watson to his Homes. 
    

    

   Now we come to our new female lead named Elsa, who’s played quiet effectively by Alison Dooby. 

At first, she comes off like a tough as nails partner to work alongside Indiana Jones, looks great, has a hot Austrian accent, and can hold her own during a fight scene. Then in a welcome twist, she’s revealed to be working with the villains. Sense the emotional center of the movie is Indy’s relation with his father, it’s really for the best that he doesn’t have another token love interest to get in the way, and besides, having her as a villain adds a lot of flavor to the movie. Even after Elsa is revealed to be working for the bad guys, she never becomes a one-note antagonist. She actually displays a lot of emotional vulnerability, there’s quiet moments in which she questions why she’s still working for these guys, and there’s even moments in which she proves resourceful enough to out-smart the other villains. While not a traditional love interest, Elsa is still all around my favorite female lead of this series. While on the subject, this film has one of my favorite collections of villains all in one movie. Having more then one villain can be too much if not handled well, but this movie has three solid villains, each with their own strengths, and each infuses the movie with their own flavor.   

   The lead villain Walter Donavan is yet another twist villain, as it’s the guy who initially hired Jones to go on the mission, and was secretly the guy pulling all the strings. 

While not as effective a twist as with Elsa, actor Julian Glover knocks it out of the park with an intimidating, yet restrained performance that’s less theatrical then Indy’s other foes. Of course, the actor had previously served as one of Darth Vader’s loyal commanders back in “Empire Strikes Back”, so it’s nice to see a familiar face take on a larger villain role. Also, this is the only Indiana Jones movie in which the villains have a memorable music theme. It’s not on par with John William’s Imperial march, but it adds some character to the Nazi’s. I should note that watching this movie as a kid was my introduction to Nazi’s in general. Yes, they were present in the first movie, but I wasn’t really paying much attention to them in “Raiders”. “Last Crusade” by contrast is when the Nazi’s left their impression on me, as this film crosses over into Berlin, and we see more disturbing imagery like a Book Burning Rally. On a side note, this movie also marked my personal introduction to Adolf Hitler. For whatever reason, Indy’s brief face to face moment with him, and humorously signing his autograph in the diary, has become one of the first things that pop in my mind when on the subject of Hitler. 

    Rounding up the villains is the Nazi Colonel named Vogel, who’s played terrifically by Michael Byrne, and is hands down one of my favorite supporting villains ever. 

It’s tradition for every Indiana Jones movie to feature our hero in a white knuckled fist fight with a larger than life adversary. However, instead of seeing Indy fight another big guy with muscles, it’s someone Indy had built a rivalry with over the course of the film. First Vogel captured him and his dad back at the German castle, and educated Indy on how Germans say good-bye … by punching him square in the face … “I liked the Austrian way better”. Then latter in one of my favorite funny scenes of the whole series, Indy disguised as a ticket manager on a blimp, gets the best of Vogel by punching him in the face, and chucking him out the window on the grounds that he … “didn’t have a ticket”. That scene still cracks me up to this day, and at this point, the two men really hate each-others guts. Once we get into the showdown in Hatay canyon, things get really exciting. The music builds, the two draw guns, and begin shooting at one-another like a classic western. Then when Indy jumps on the tank, he and Vogel lock eyes with one another, and I’m hyped as hell to see these two throw-down.     

   This brings me to one of my favorite action sequences ever put to film … the incredible tank battle in Hatay canyon. Tanks in general have always been my favorite battle vehicles, and still to this day, I think this battle is the greatest tank sequence of them all. After-all, this is like a supper tank, with multiple cannons, and the layout of this sequence is brilliant, with countless little highlights spread throughout. We have Indy shoving a rock in one of the cannons causing it to explode, the sacred protectors of the Grail engaging the Nazi’s, Ink Pins prove mightier then the sword, Indy takes out a row of bad guys with a single bullet, other vehicles are colliding with the tank, Indy’s dad gets caught on the tanks treads, with Indy using his whip to keep him from getting steam-rolled, and in-between it all is Indy’s riveting fist fight with Vogel. There’s another great moment when Indy is hanging for dear life at the end of a cannon, Vogel is wailing on him with a shovel, and our hero is faced with a head on collision with a rock wall. Fortunately, he just barely misses, climbs back up, his triumphant theme music is blazing, he punches out the bad guy, and the tank goes sailing off the cliff-side ... it leaves me pumped every time I watch it.

   Of course, there’s that one admittedly questionable moment of how Indy survived, and climbed back-up with ease. 

However, the film quickly makes up for it with that charming moment of everyone lamenting Indy’s apparent death, only for him to casually walk up from behind, and the sudden look of joy on his dad’s face just warms me up every time. Aside from the awesome tank battle, this film also has my favorite variety of different chase sequences in one Indy film. Compounding the excitement is John Williams brilliant music score, which has obviously been a staple of the series, but this is the film in which he really hits it out of the park with some of his most riveting music. John William's even received an Oscar nomination for the original score he composed for this film, and rightfully so. The music beats during the chase start catchy, yet calm, as our hero’s sneak through the castle, then it escalates in tempo as they make their escape, and then the music kicks into high-gear as they go racing across the countryside. I could just talk in detail about the action scenes all day, but I’ll try and simplify things. There’s the thrilling boat chase in Venice, and the brilliantly staged motorcycle chase across the German country-side. 

   There's also an awesome plain chase, which features some of the best comedic father/son moments of the film. On that note, I think this movie contains the best comedy of all the Indy films, as they all come from how the characters act-off each-other while in these larger than life situations. 

However, there’s also subtle touches of hummer that just put a smile on my face. When Indy pounds the library floor to find a secret passage, his pounding is inter-cut with a dumbfounded librarian who’s simultaneously stamping books, and it’s just those little nuggets of comedy that add a warm sense of levity to an action movie … unlike today, as every action movie has to really push for big laughs, and they spoil everything. The tone of “The Last Crusade” is perfectly balanced between hummer and action, and as a result it can get away with some really goofy scenes that just wouldn’t work in other action movies. One such ridiculous moment that always stood out to me is when Indy and his father are trapped on the beach, with an enemy plain ready to gun them down. With no options left, Indy’s Dad scares a flock of seagulls, which smash into the turbines and propellers of the plain, and instantly take it down in a fiery explosion. It’s obviously implausible, and inherently dumb, but it’s also very imaginative, and I can accept it as keeping in tone with the films light-hearted nature.

   Another nugget I have to mention is the Roman numeral of Ten acting as a literal X to mark the spot. For whatever reason, the one line I’ve always associated with Indy is … “X never marks the spot” ... only to be proven wrong. This venture also features some of my favorite locations, like the church turned into a library, the Zeppelin leaving Germany, the Holy Temple of the Grail, the castle where the Nazi’s are secretly operating, and the underground catacombs with the Rats. Of course, the rats kept in the tradition of Indy being stuck in places with creepy-crawly critters, and I will admit, they aren’t as exciting as either the Snakes or Bugs from the first two movies. Yet, rebounding from that, I love that Indy’s quest leads him to a number of different items, with the main prize saved for last. Even as a kid, I found Indy searching for the Grail markers to be just as exciting as the Grail itself ... “The Shield is the Second Marker”. Here’s another thing I love about this journey … it is rich with lore, mythology, legends, and even as a kid, I found the talks highly engaging. I especially like the terminology of “Bed-Time Stories”, as it invokes a sense of secret tails only to be shared between family members, and it’s all the more fitting as this is a father/son journey.      

   It was also very smart to have this father/son journey paired with themes, stories and morals that tie into Christianity. 

While elements of different religions like Judaism and Buddhism have been interwoven into the previous Indiana Jones movies, I feel the Christianity angle in this film complimented both the story and subtext more then the previous two. The story of Christ in many respects is the definitive tail of fatherhood, and highlights both the gifts and sacrifices a father would make for his children. Throughout Indy’s journey, we see the sacrifices made by both father and son, and both have their faith tested in a number of ways. While I wouldn’t call this a movie to show in Sunday school, director Steven Spielberg at least gives this movie an atmosphere in which the fantastical elements are paired with a sense of size and importance. 

When Indy is reading from the Grail tablet at the beginning of the movie, you can hear Church Belles ringing in the background just as he reads the final line that this is the cup of Christ. There’s also religious symbolism laced all throughout the film, as if to say it’s always been a part of his journey. From the very opening, we see young Indy fighting to protect The Cross of Coronado, which was believed to contain a piece of the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. His end goal is to find the Holy Grail, which is believed to have been present during the last supper, and latter caught his blood during the crucifixion. When Indy begins his journey, his first place to look for clues is a library that was originally a Church. At last, at the end of the movie, Indy arrives at the Holy Temple of the Grail, where he’s tasked to walk the figurative path of God. By the way, this climax is a very poetic way to bring the trilogy full-circle, as in the first movie we’re introduced to Indy using his wits to get through traps in a temple. Now at the end, we see him facing three more temple challenges on a larger scale, with higher emotional stakes, and even a fair deal of subtext to their designs.  

     This finally brings me to the best scene in the film, and subsequently one of my personal all-time favorite moments from any movie. While Indian’s father is dying after getting shot by the villain, our hero ventures through the dangerous catacombs, and subsequently puts his faith to the test in this effort to rescue him. As he approaches his destination, he finds himself at the edge of a bottomless canyon, with no visible way of getting across. With time running short, Indiana makes a daring leap of faith, and through his daring, yet honest trust … he finds an invisible bridge that takes him safely to the other side. Not only is this scene beautifully shot, perfectly acted, and excellently scored … but it’s always stood out to me as something with genuine moral subtext. First of all, I think a lot of people can relate to this on either a spiritual or personal level. We’ve all had those moments in life when we encounter these invisible roads where we don’t know what direction we should take. It’s at moments like this when we just need to take one big brave step forward, and solely based on our collected faith that in the end ... we’ll arrive at that destination which first seemed impossible to reach. It’s a scene that’s inspired me, challenged me, and it’s quite possibly my select favorite movie moment of them all.

  Yet, the quality material doesn’t stop there, as the ending to this movie is outstanding … in fact, I’d go so far as to call this one of the most perfect endings ever put to film! Indy meets a Knight from the first Crusades, and again is put to the test to choose the real Grail among a sea of other beautiful Grails. 

This scene once more is laced with rich themes, a sense of wisdom … and subsequently one of the greatest villain deaths ever put to film. Donavan drinks from the wrong cup, and is punished by slowly transforming into a skeleton … “He Chose … Poorly”. The scene just gets better as Indy finds the true Grail … which is very plain and ordinary in design. Then thanks to Elsa getting too greedy, the temple begins to collapse, and her obsession in a material object becomes her … literal downfall. We then see Indy in a similar position, in which he too tries to get the Grail, but not for himself … he believes he needs this item to connect with his father. Then, in a beautiful twist, Indy’s dad calls to his son by name for once, and says … “Let it go”, completing his arc, and finally putting his obsession behind him in favor tying the family knot. 

So, at the end of this treasure hunt, the real prize was nothing simpler or humbler than … enlightenment! In fact, when asked what he gained from this journey, Indy’s dad simply responds by saying … “Illumination”. With the family back together, they take-off into the evening dusk, the triumphant music blazing, our hero rides off into the sun-set … and I’m just smiling from ear to ear, with warm chills from head to toe. It’s one of those incredibly satisfying endings in which I feel I was both highly entertained by a movie, but it also gave me something of substance, and had a terrific story, with both layered and engaging characters. In the end, it just feels like one of those special movie experiences that only comes around once-in-a-while.   

   Also, I have to mention the inside-joke of Indy being named after the family dog. Obviously in the movie, the Jones family had a pet dog named Indiana, which our hero apparently took a liking too, but the story goes deeper than that. At the start of his film-making career, George Lucas had a pet dog at his side named Indiana, and that dog would inspire two of Lucas’s most iconic characters … one of them being Chewbacca from “Star Wars”, and the second was an adventure seeking action-hero simply named Indiana. 

The name Jones was added on to make the character feel a little more mainstream, and thus, Indiana Jones did in-fact get his name … from the family dog. In general, Indiana Jones was my top childhood movie hero by far, and he still is all these years later. His franchise represents the peak of adventure cinema, and the original 80’s trilogy will always have a special place in my nostalgic heart. “Raiders of the Lost Arc” is of course a landmark classic, and it still holds up as a quality piece of entertainment all these years later. “Temple of Doom” was a bit of a tonal mess, but is likewise a consistently entertaining adventure movie to watch. However, “The Last Crusade” is that special sequel that just seemed to go an extra mile, and has a secure spot as one of my all-time favorite movies period. It takes the basic outline of a treasure hunt and transcends it into an epic quest to find one of the most holly artifacts in history, and protect it from an army of evil. Beyond that, it’s an engaging story about a broken family coming closer together through a series of challenges. Harrison Forde and Sean Connery make for one of my favorite on-screen pairings ever, and make for one of the most dynamic father/son relationships I’ve ever seen. The movie balances incredible action with a healthy sense of humor, welcome surprises around every corner, and even a fair amount of moral substance. It’s plain and simply one of the greatest of its kind, and will likely remain as my favorite adventure movie of all time. 

Thanks for reading my review of the 1989 adventure classic “Indiana Jones and the last Crusade” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!