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 Peter Veugelaers © 2009

According to one of the DVD featurettes, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was first conceived by George Lucas as the search for the Holy Grail. Not good enough, chips in friend Steven Spielberg. Then George embellishes the idea into a search for eternal or everlasting life (with a bit of imagination and diving into history this could have been pretty good especially with special effects). Steven wanted to bring to the table a metaphorical take on the Grail and still retain its Christian significance. 

It seems the legend of the Grail stirred the imagination first. The metaphor of the Grail, as Steven saw it, made Indy (Harrison Ford) and his father Henry Jones (Sean Connery), reconciling the estrangement in their relationship, which is the large part of the film, a continual delight and highlight.

This also makes sense in terms of Christianity because a man’s (or son’s or daughter’s for that matter) bridging the gap in their relationship with the Heavenly Father can only be atoned for by Jesus Christ. The Holy Grail of legend represents the cup Jesus used at his Last Supper, which is representative of Christ’s blood atoning between people and God the Father (which is later completed in real terms with the crucifixion).

This movie's depiction of Christianity is emotive, tunefully reverent, noble and with a sense of consequence. Not so Venice.

The romantic city of Venice is made into a backdrop for a fast-paced and complicated plot. Add to that Indy’s foray down the rat-infested local sewer, a quickening boat chase down a canal, and Indy gets to say the immortal “Ah, Venice” in the arms of quite a dashing Nazi-affiliated doctor. But where is the beautiful city in its artistic palette?

In Jones number 3 you can’t forget the carefully-honed artistic possibilities in such a milieu and curb fast-pace throng for the evocative hum so keep at bay the progressively evil, albeit effectively acted, Julian Glover's Nazi searching for eternal youth (what a dangerous Nazi, keep them young) and general encroaching bleakness. Here is sex and violence as an undercurrent probably included since World War II is on the horizon. Indy must find the cup of Jesus before them, so it’s like Raiders of the Lost Ark, except there’s more twang and swerve than flow.

The father and son dynamics perfect with a good sense of comic timing and playful chemistry. Henry Jones is doting and awkward enough for the film to capitalize on its main stretch of humor among other amusing touches. 

Last Crusade, albeit unquestionably good enough to hire out, is still too polished and it's like director Steven Spielberg was trying too hard to regain lost ground for the critical thumping Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom got in 1984 by being too organized.