Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade

Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliot, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies and Julian Glover.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Release Date: 1989

Running Time: 2hrs 7 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

Rating: PG-13

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

Dr Henry Jones Sr suddenly goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, his son archaeologist Indiana Jones must follow in his father's footsteps to stop the Nazis from getting their hands on the Grail first. 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! If you've ever wondered where Indiana got his whip, his fear of snakes and his famous hat from, you'll have it explained in this film. Indiana's backstory explains so much! You really get an understanding for his character his behavior and his incredible love for archaeology. Art collector, Walter Donavon (Glover), reaches out to Indiana Jones when they find his father has gone missing whilst searching for the Holy Grail. The grail is much harder to find then they first expected. Before long, Indiana and his father Henry Sr,  find themselves in more trouble then they could ever have imagined! I can not think of two better actors to portray father and son then Harrison Ford and Sean Connery!

The chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery is excellent. Sean Connery delivers one of his best performances. His characterisation is terrific. He manages to deliver the perfect balance of drama and humour. The resemblance in terms of characterisation between Indiana and himself is amazing! Their relationship is so genuine. Harrison Ford, keeps getting better and better in his role as Indiana Jones. The more we see of his character, the more Ford immerses himself into his role. I think we also get to see a different side of Indiana in this movie, a sensitive side to him, he has to behave around his father, the late River Phoenix was excellent in portraying Indiana as a teenager. When you compare the two, it's remarkably uncanny, in terms of their characterisation. When portrayed by two different actors, its pretty impressive.

The storyline resembles that of the first one, "The Temple of Doom" was very dark in comparison. Very much like the first, George Lucas and screenwriter Jeffrey Bohem were very clever to not force religion down our throat. It has just the right amount to make the storyline mysterious and interesting. The action sequences are amazing! If you're looking for a non-stop action movie, then this is it! Although "The Temple of Doom" is my favourite in the series, this is by far the best one! It's certainly a close runner up. It really is an adventure from beginning to end.

Visually it's very similiar to "Raiders of the Lost Ark", the cinematography and the lighting and very similiar. The action is fantastically coherently shot. Harrison Ford and Sean Connery always look amazing in frame, with Director Spielberg choosing to film close ups of them frequently. The set design is incredible, it's imaginative and exciting and works so well with the storyline. I love all of the little twists and turns that the movie takes, one minute they are in Venice, then they are in Germany and finally in Petra, Jordan to find the Holy Grail. It's fantastically adventurous. It's honestly everything you'd expect from an Indiana Jones film. The special effects are very clever and look great! The stunt sequences are smashing, what's most impressive is that Harrison Ford reportedly did most of his own stunts.

Perfectly well paced and brilliantly edited, John William's incredible score just adds to the magic of the film! John's fabulous score really adds to the mood of the film, it's dramatic and very exciting and works well with each scene that is in. The music ques are timed excellently alongside the action sequences. I can watch this film countless times and everytime it's just as good as the first. The best in the series, definitely worth a watch for any die hard adventure fan!

5/5 stars