THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There can be many adventures to go through in one life and within it, it can be hard to top the ones you go through with your family.PLOT
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade takes place in 1938, years after archeologist Henry Jones Junior uncovered the Ark of the Covenant. After recently uncovering the the Cross of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, he is sought out by his father’s financial backer Walter Donovan to search for the Holy Grail, a cup said to have been drank by Jesus Christ on the day of the Last Supper and was used by Joseph of Arimathea to collect Jesus’ blood at his crucifixion. He reaches out for him when Henry Senior went missing during the search. With his diary, Indy travels to Venice with his colleague Marcus Brody and Austrian art professor Elsa Schneider to pick up where he left off. When finding a catacomb underneath a public library, they find an inscribed shield that shares the path of the grail to begin in Iskenderun. It is during this discovery the trio encounters the secret Order of the Cruciform Sword who are dedicated to protect the grail. When Indy spares their leader Kazim (Kevork Malikyan), the latter shares that Henry is held captive at Castle Brunwald in Austria. To get ahead, Indy would give the map of the grail to Marcus and send him to Iskenderun to rendezvous with his friend Sallah. The protagonist does reach the castle to reunite with his dad, but Elsa would reveal her and Donovan are align with the Nazis by taking the diary from him. Both Joneses would escape the castle and take back the diary, only after avoiding Adolf Hitler himself during a book burning ceremony. After fleeing via zeppelin and evading two Lutwaffe planes, they meet up with Sallah in Hatay who informs them that Marcus has been taken by the Nazis who caught up. The group follows them in order to save him, only to get captured as well. When all enter the temple containing the grail, Donovan demands Indy to find a safe trail for them to follow. Indy only becomes motivated to do so when the traitor shoots his father. With the help of the diary, he is able to avoid multiple traps. Eventually, he would find a room full of cups and an ancient knight is present, one of three who served in the First Crusade. He warns that only one cup is the true grail. Donovan would pick one with the hope to gain eternal youth, but ends up dying from rapidly aging as a consequence of picking the wrong one. Indy would prove to get the right one by drinking from it first and surviving before using it to heal his father. After Indy’s selfless usage of the grail, Elsa still tries to take it for herself. That action causes the temple to collapse, in which she would fall to her death. Indy would still try to take it for himself, but Henry convinces him to let it go, giving them the chance to escape with their lives, including Sallah and Marcus. As the group ride off into the sunset, the film would end with Henry Senior sharing that Junior gets the nickname ‘Indiana’ from his pet dog.
THOUGHTS
After seeing the first two films and loving them dearly, which made me very excited to see the franchise continue here and impress me yet again. Director Steven Spielberg and the writing team of George Lucas, Jeffrey Boam & Menno Meyjes deliver in making an adventure that found new ways to thrill me. Going from the flashback chase, to the others that involve a motorboat, a fighter jet and a motorcycle, I get surprised every damn time. It is already one thing for John Williams' score to have you feel part of the journey, but it's topped when taking notice of how lifelike the production design gives to its time period, something I haven't said before with this franchise until now. Apart from these factors, I see that the main reason people consider this as the best follow up of the series comes from how it bold viewers the most valuable thing you will ever have in your lifetime will always be family. No family is ever perfect and you have to cherish it before it's gone because your attachment to materials won't match the memories you make with the people you care about. I was very impressed on being given the chance to understand this thanks to another talented ensemble. Our respect for Indy always goes to his appreciation towards history, but it becomes a surprise when Harrison Ford shows there was a deep reason for it. It turns out the man's heroism comes from his deep cynicism, which all come from the disconnection he had with Henry. Indy had things estranged with his dad since he was obsessed with his research over the grail. He wanted that connection with him and hated for never hating that in his youth, which would inspire his path as an archeologist. It sounds ridiculous at first when hearing his iconic nickname comes from his own pet, but it makes more sense to me now because that confirms he had more fond memories with the animal than his dad. He may not realize, but he is a lot like Henry more than he realizes. Sean Connery proved this for playing the Senior as conservative yet very driven to get what he wants. Change wasn't easy for him when he lost his wife, which feared him on being able to raise Indy alone. While he had his hobby to study the grail, he still did enough by making Indy an honorable historian as he got older. I do again say he was driven to find the grail, but the time he got to spend with his son taught him he never needed it even after it was saved his life. When he saves his son from putting himself at risk for the grail by calling him by his nickname for the nickname, it has moved me to tears lately because it clarified how he always loved him and kept doing so until his dying day. Doing that was enough for Indy to let go of something he never needed. On a side note, I really enjoyed River Phoenix playing a younger Indy in the opening flashback just for matching the spirit Ford brought and continued bringing for the remainder of the franchise. Moving on to the rest of the cast, I did enjoy John Rhys Davies for again embracing Sallah as a helpful companion, but I honestly had a bigger impression from Marcus Brody. Just like Raiders, Denholm Elliot has adore the guy for as an eager guy who shares the same excitement as Indy when it comes to uncovering great mysteries, hence making them good friends. It was sweet for him to be part of the journey because it felt like a long overdue. It wasn't perfect for him, but nothing ever is. It was pretty crazy to see two villains whose motives felt different from one another. Julian Glover showed Walter Donovan to be a duplicitous hypocrite willing to do whatever for his own gain, I think Alison Doody was able to bring something complex out of Elsa. She really came off the most conflicted of characters here because while although the book burning ceremony proved her to be uncomfortable around the Nazis, she was willing to side with the enemy to continue the journey. Her devotion got the best of her so badly she was willing to let Walter die to get the grail for herself, knowing which cup was the true grail. Looking back, I think she and Indy originally got along so well to the point of being intimate has to be on they are evenly firm upon others, which they did express towards each other. I feel sure when I say had the two met in better circumstances, their relationship could've lasted longer. This sequel holds up very well, yet there’s still a handful of things inbetween that do not. Going from the top, I love the flashback opening, but how Indy not Dee the last snake stuck in his shirt? It’s definitely one big of a stretch to express what triggered his fear of reptiles because him falling into the pool was enough. That distracts me from the confusion I got from how none of the grave robbers hear Indy talking to his fellow scout above them. I even respect that there was a rail to feed the rest of the reptiles, but I feel like doing it from the roof would’ve been safer. Also, how was Indy was able to get back to the States after the boat got destroyed? He had a raft, but it had to have taken forever for him to be found. That part is so confusing, I forgot to get upset over him leaving the cross in his unlocked classroom drawer. I even thought it was weird for Donovan to have henchmen pick up Indy rather than call him because this was the ultimate giveaway that he would be the villain. I did think it was smart for Henry to mail the diary back home to prevent the Nazis from using it, but why didn’t he write a note for Indy to declare leaving it home? That surprises me more than being able to mail it in the first place. I did think it was funny for Indy to break through the floor in synchrony with the librarian stamping on books, but where was security if the place was closed? That would still count as vandalism, even if Indy is in the middle of an adventure. And how was it quiet when Elsa ransacked the room? I know this is how she ensures Indy’s trust at the moment as she’s trying to take the diary from him, but there’s no way you can be quiet with such a ruckus. Also, how did she roll along with Indy trusting Kazim? Since he was trying to kill them to protect the grail, I’d be concerned for someone hearing him out so fast. It’s too nonchalant for her to do it, even when she is planning to betray him. I did say I love the motorcycle chase, but it’s very obvious one chase could’ve been avoided if the Joneses waited for the Nazis to be in the water before taking off. The weirdest thing about the zeppelin scene is that none of the luggage gets loaded. Even if the Germans boarding the aircraft are so rich they don’t care about it, it’s still too weird to notice. And how is Indy’s pistol empty? He didn’t shoot it at all in the castle and he used a machine gun from a Nazi when shooting his way out. If this is saying he forgot to pack bullets, I call bullshit on that. It’s funny when the Nazis in the tank run into the car, but it’s still ridiculous for both sides to not even try to shoot at Indy beforehand. That was dumber than one Nazi ignoring that Indy dropped a gun for his dad to grab. I do respect the knight for allowing Indy to pick the cup, but it’s so stupid for him to say he vanquished him when he didn’t, he’s just old and threw his back out for being there so long. Ignore these said issues, you’ll still love this film for what it is. In short, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is another fine adventure in the franchise for giving us the chance to think more than we realize. If you’re someone who still seeks an adventure in life, I think this film can help with that.
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