Sean Connery Joined the Fun in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Written: May 18 '08 (Updated Sep 21 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Fun, entertaining movie with great cast.
Cons: More snakes.
The Bottom Line: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a fun, entertaining addition to the Indiana Jones movies. Fans of them should check this one out.
dragonfire88's Full Review: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The first two movies featuring Indiana Jones were very successful. The third movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, came out in 1989 and was also very successful. It was the only one of the movie that I saw in a theater.
Young Indiana Jones already had strong feelings about important artifacts belonging in museums when he and a friend saw men uncover an artifact while on a trip with their boy scout troop. Indiana took the item, believing that he was doing what was right and somehow managed to get away and survive encounters with armed men, a lion, and many snakes only to have the police return the item. Years later as an adult, Indiana would recover the artifact again and finally see it go to a museum.
Almost as soon as Indiana was back home, he was approached by Walter Donovan who had a partial stone tablet that told of the Holy Grail. Walter had been funding an attempt to recover the grail that had run into problems and he wanted Indiana to take over the project. Indiana wasn’t interested until he was told that his father, Dr. Henry Jones, was the former project leader who had vanished. Indiana and Marcus headed to Venice where they met Dr. Elisa Schneider, the woman who had been working with Henry to find the grail. Indiana sets off to find his father with the Nazis hot on his trail. The two men had to get past their differences to work together to keep the grail from falling into the wrong hands.
The majority of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was set a few years after Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The first several minutes were set when Indiana was still young, I think around twelve or so, but I might be wrong about that. He was already a bit of an adventurer at that point in his life and had very strong ideas about artifacts belonging in museums. It was also shown how Indiana got the scar on his chin and how an encounter with a lot of snakes caused his issues with the animal. Time was also taken to show that Indiana’s relationship with his father was already strained at that point. I really enjoyed seeing him at a younger age and learning more about his history.
When I watch these movies, I tend to watch them in the order they were released even though there wasn’t one long continuing story that connected them. Indiana and his adventures are the threads that tie the movies together. Since each movie did have a self-contained plot, the movies could be watched out of order. If Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is watched before the previous movies, Indiana won’t be developed as much. This movie had one reference back to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and none that I noticed to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Once again Indiana had to face snakes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I really could have done without that particular addition to the movie even though it was included as part of his past and was over very early. Indiana’s fear - or at least intense dislike - of snakes has become as much a part of the character as his hat, battered jacket and whip. Indiana himself has only said that he hates snakes. Other sources have said he was afraid of them. It seemed more like intense dislike than actual fear since he remained calm and didn’t freak out even a tiny bit when he ended up surrounded by them in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. He did freak a bit when he was younger and fell into what amounted to a pit of snakes though, so maybe he had just learned to mask his fear as an adult. Either way, I am a bit tired of at least one snake having to turn up in these movies. As much as I am looking forward to seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I am dreading the inevitable snake appearance. A bit later in the movie, once Indiana was looking for his father, he and Elisa had to make their way through a tunnel in Venice full of rats. I don’t care for rats either, but seeing them in a movie doesn’t bother me like seeing snakes does.
The strained relationship that Indiana had with his father played a very important part in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Henry hadn’t been mentioned in the first two movies, so it was interesting to learn about him in this movie. He was also a professor, though he taught a different subject and was more stiff than his son. Henry was only briefly shown turning the sequence that showed the younger Indiana, but it was long enough to show that the two weren’t that close at that point. Later in the movie, more was shared about the issues between the men and what had driven them apart for so long. They did start to understand each other and work together better. It was interesting to see their relationship change by the end of the movie. The interactions between Henry and Indiana did provide comedy that I thought worked well overall. Some of it was a little silly, but it worked.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade included the same type of adventure that was in the first two movies. Indiana was even going on adventures related to artifacts as a boy. Indiana and his father ended up in a few dangerous situations since they had Nazis after them and the grail. Some aspects of the adventure were similar to things from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark since Indiana was going after religious artifacts and had to deal with Nazis in both movies. That didn’t bother me since I thought the plots were different enough and I thought both movies were very entertaining. Indiana once again got into several fights while trying to find his father and then the grail. The violence wasn’t that extreme, but it could be too graphic for some people. The special effects needed for some shots do look a little dated now, but that doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the movie. The movie was rated PG-13 and it really isn’t a good choice for young children. This movie did return to the more lighthearted nature that was missing in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which may please some people.
All three of the movies have had a different woman that was somehow involved with Indiana. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Elisa filled that part. She was a historian who had been working with Henry to find the grail. She was a beautiful woman, so it wasn’t surprising that she caught Indiana’s eye. Their relationship was professional at first, but quickly turned personal after a argument led to passion. They were shown kissing and that was basically it. Once Indiana found Henry, it came out that his relationship with Elisa hadn’t been completely professional either.
Indiana was still teaching popular archaeology classes at a college when he wasn’t out chasing down some artifact. Most of his students were girls who sat looking at him adoringly during the classes. Indiana still believed that artifacts belonged in museums. Even though he and his father weren’t close, he headed to Venice to try to find him when he disappeared. Harrison Ford was wonderful in the part. River Phoenix played Indiana in the opening part that showed the younger Indiana. He also did well with the part. Marcus and Sallah both returned to help Indiana in his search.
Henry had spent most of his adult life researching the Holy Grail, so it wasn’t surprising that he had joined the project to find the grail even though he really had no experience with field work. He seemed to be a bit absent minded at times, but it was really that he was so absorbed in the grail that he just didn’t pay enough attention to other things. He could be strict, as shown when he made Indiana count in Greek early in the movie. He insisted on calling his son Junior no matter how much it annoyed Indiana. The reason for that was explained by the end of the movie. Sean Connery was perfect in the part and I loved his character and the way he and Indiana interacted. He made the movie very entertaining. I was disappointed when I found out that Henry wasn’t going to be in the new movie.
Elisa had been working on the grail project with Henry. She was just as determined to find the grail, but for different reasons. There was more to the character than there seemed at first. Alison Doody was fine but nothing special in the part. Walter Donovan had a well known private collection of artifacts and he had also donated a lot to museums and the college where Indiana worked. Walter was financing the search for the grail for his own personal reasons. He really wasn’t a nice guy. Julian Glover was fine in the part.
Main Cast
Sean Connery - Henry Jones Alison Doody - Elisa Schneider Denholm Elliot - Marcus Brody Harrison Ford - Indiana Jones Julian Glover - Walter Donovan River Phoenix - Young Indiana John Rhys-Davies - Sallah
Steven Speilberg - Director
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released with the first two movies as part of a set a few years ago. The set came in widescreen and full screen versions and had four discs, one for each movie, and one with all the extras. The movies were released as special edition DVDs on May 13, 2008. I’m guessing those versions have extras with each movie.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a fun, entertaining adventure movie. People who enjoyed the first two movies will probably like this one as well. It is worth seeing at least once.
Chapter 25 in the complete adventures of Indiana Jones has it all: the fedora, the bullwhip, the ophidiophobia (fear of snakes)! Indiana Jones and the...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.