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| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) |
Okay, there's really not a lot to talk about here. This is a classic Indiana Jones adventure, and with it comes everything you'd expect. This, however, is not a prequel, like The Temple of Doom was, and so it can be a bit more ambitious with its story-telling. Granted, the base story remains the simple 'beat the Nazis to the treasure' plot that we've seen before, but there's something about the way this film presents itself that makes it seem so new. Maybe it's the layered plot involving Indiana's father, and the brief glimpse we get of his childhood is a great way to start things out. This might honestly be my favourite Indiana Jones opening sequence, and the kid they got to play young Indy does a great job here. We don't get to see precisely where Indy got his love of archaeology from, but we don't need to. Sure, we get some answers to a few things, but this sequence is here first and foremost to set up the relationship with his father, and despite this portion of the scene barely being 20 seconds long, it does a fantastic job of it. When they bring it up later in the movie, it feels entirely justified thanks to this scene.
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| River Phoenix as Indiana Jones |
The relationship between Dr. Jones and Professor Jones is probably one of the best elements this film has going for it. The dynamic between the two is really fascinating to watch, and throughout the film we get an awful lot of layers, from disapproving father to disapproving son, and it always feels earned and natural. The history is clear, and what's better is that it isn't played for too much emotion all things considered. They don't ever really try to pull at your heart-strings and make you cry at the tragedy of the relationship; it's not about that. It's such a believable situation, and Ford and Connery have amazing chemistry together. Sean Connery especially really impressed me here, and he finds the perfect balance of being similar to Indiana while still being his own person. Of course, Harrison Ford also nails it, but that's to be expected by this point, so let's move on.
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| Sean Connery as Henry Jones and Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones |
The supporting cast is also very strong. John Rhys-Davies is back and I'm glad he is. I loved his character in Raiders and I still love his character now. He's such a welcome bit of levity, and the camels joke in particular was especially good. Dr. Marcus Brody is also back from the first film, and he's also a rather nice bit of comic relief. His dynamic with the entire cast is really very strong, but especially when he's bouncing off Indy or Professor Jones. Alison Doody does a fantastic job as Dr. Schneider, and what was especially good about her is that they were very unpredictable with this character. She's the second-best Indiana Jones love interest, and she far surpasses Willie in every area. My only real question is what happened to Marion Ravenwood? This takes place after Raiders, so why didn't she appear again? I don't know how much she would have serviced the story, but still, the movie never explains where she went, and I need to know, dammit!
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| Alison Doody as Dr. Schneider |
The action is once again top-notch. I already mentioned the opening sequence, but did I mention the tank scene? Holy crap, the tank scene was amazing. Actually, this movie has a whole bunch of vehicle-based sequences that are all top-notch. The boat chase, the dogfight, they're all stellar. What's even better is there was never that moment of 'Indy should not have survived that situation'. True, there are one or two implausibilities here and there, but I never had to suspend my disbelief to ridiculous scales. It's strange when a film about immortality is the most believable in a film series, but it just is. It all works towards the send-up to the serials its based on, and this feels like the film that nails that aesthetic the best.
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| John Rhys-Davies as Sallah |
So, appropriately, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) is the best Indiana Jones movie. Based on the way everyone reacted to the last Indy movie, I have no idea if I'll like it or not, but as it stands, this is my favourite, and it'll take a lot to top it. 9.5/10.
Tomorrow: Terminator: Salvation.
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