INDIANA JONES
AND THE LAST CRUSADE 
Originally Released 1989

Starring: Harrison Ford
Actors: Sean Connery Denholm Elliott Alison Doody 
Director: Steven Spielberg 
Producer: Robert Watts
Screenplay: Jeffrey Boam
Rated: PG13
Run Length: 126 min

Review By John Barker
- Who said they don't make 'em like they used to?

In what seemed to be a conclusion to this series, the formula of Raiders of the Lost Ark, (Steven Spielberg, 1981, US), is returned to in glorious form and while it doesn’t match the first films integrity, this effort mostly makes up for The Temple of Doom, (Steven Spielberg, 1984, US). One of the most interesting facets of the films plot is the prequel opening dating back to Indy’s childhood which fills in certain pathological and physical gaps and links wonderfully to Indy’s present situation.

Here we find Indy prisoner on a boat trying to retrieve an ancient crucifix After escaping with the artefact he returns to America and is convinced to try and discover the location of the Holy Grail as his father, (Sean Connery), has disappeared in suspicious circumstances and his house has been ransacked. Once again Indy faces up against the Third Reich as they also want to recover the Grail and facing enemy’s at home and abroad Indy must rescue his father and the ‘Cup of Christ’ in order to save the world.

This films success rests solely on the relationship of Ford and Connery and thankfully they do it beautifully. The pair play off each other in the kind of partnership that existed between Walter Mathau and Jack Lemon and give proceedings some heart and emotion. They resemble the relationship that Spielberg had with his father and that many people, I m sure, experience throughout their lifetimes with bonding occurring at a later age. The film thus ends on a moral highpoint with Connery disregarding his life’s work for his son’s life which wasn’t the dominating order in younger life.

In developing this sequel Spielberg created a massive tank chase sequence which the film is almost built around and this shows as it is certainly one of the most elaborately constructed action scenes of all time. Jumping from horses, exploding shell cases and ricocheting bullets are just some of the delights to behold in a highly thrilling spectacle. It is not simply the way the action scenes are filmed but the imagination behind them, it is not simply a case of shooting up a set or blowing up a building, this is more of a creative lesson in thrill machine mechanics.

Finally, I would also like to draw attention to the now customary role of Indy’s love interest who is Elsa, (Alison Doody), who is probably the more interesting of his partners through the saga. Elsa is more of a femme fatal than Karen Allen or Kate Capshaw in the previous films, she provides more of a match for Indy although she is seduced in rather an un-thoughtful manner thanks to the script but on the most part her character is the mainly interesting and well constructed.

Spielberg and Lucas leave the series on a highpoint and while it’s no Raiders, it’s certainly worth buying a fedora and bullwhip and enlisting on a history degree for.