Indiana Jones und der letzte Kreuzzug

"Last Crusade" is always a joy to watch. At 2hr 7 mins the time just flies by, there is never a dull moment. There is a great variety of action, they manage to fit in horseback, train, car, airplane, boat, motorcycle and tank action scenes. All of these scenes are done at the very top of their class.

All the main cast work off of each other perfectly, and there is fantastic chemistry between Sean Connery and Harrison Ford as the father/son duo at the core of this film. The real predecessor to Indiana Jones is James Bond, so it makes sense that Sean Connery would play the father of Indiana Jones. But beyond stunt casting, Sean Connery's Henry Jones is a delight, and is memorable in every scene he is in.

This film also blends together action and comedy perfectly. It never clashes with the tone and always allows the serious moments to sink in. But when they do a joke, it is legitimately a very funny joke.

And how I can go without mentioning the music? John Williams delivers some of the best music of his career in this entry. The music compliments what is going on on screen so well, you could picture the scenes in your mind just through listening through the soundtrack.

Where some may prefer "Raiders of the Lost Arc" for its originality and grit, I prefer "Last Crusade" for its refining and perfecting everything the series had set up. The ending of this film is also just more satisfying and exciting than the ending of "Raiders". The Holy Grail is the best maguffin of the series, and possibly of all time. There is something inherently legendary about people questing to find the Holy Grail.

If you haven't seen this film: WATCH IT. If you have seen this film a dozen times already: go ahead and watch it again. It is always entertaining, exciting and illuminating. What a great way to END a great trilogy.

So how do you return a franchise to it's successful past? Apparently bring back most of the cast from the first movie and the Nazis but add Sean Connery. This movie is as good if not even just a little bit better than the original. The interaction between Ford and Connery is amazing and makes for an enjoyable film. The action and story in this is great. This time (back to looking for Christian artifacts) Indy is out to find his father who went missing while looking for the Holy Grail.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) is an Action Classic adventure better film than Temple of Doom , is still the best follow up in the trilogy and clever. It is also the greatest sequel of all time. It is one of my personal favorite adventure movies of all time. I love this movie to death.

I loved it as a child and I still love it. After the dark middle chapter it was time for Indy to return to form and more lighthearted fair. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was the answer. Not to mention that bringing in Bond aka Sean Connery as Indy's dad was perfect casting. Connery adds his own whit & charm along with Indy's usual counterparts who where missed in The Temple of Doom. Last Crusade also bookends the trilogy well since the artifact he is after is related to God. While "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" isn't by any means what I would consider a stellar film, it was still an enjoyable and memorable theatrical experience, and in my opinion, easily ranks as the best sequel in the series. For all its faults and shortcomings (perhaps most of all, River Phoenix' laughably terrible haircut as the young Indy), the film succeeds in hitting the key notes at the proper moments, thus drumming up enough of the right combination of story and thematic elements, action and humor to make it worthwhile. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that it still pales in comparison to the level of across-the-board excellence that was achieved in the original 1981 movie. Still though, fans of this one will definitely want to pick up this excellent release, of which, throughout the entire presentation, I only came across a handful of things I thought could possibly be improved upon technically.

This is probably the best installment of the Indiana Jones series. Raiders is a spectacular introduction to Dr. Jones and his style, Temple of Doom is an awesome Action, Adventure flick! Last Crusade rights the ship again with a go-for-broke production. Everything about it is huge- Jones is saving the planet from the Nazis for the second time. The budget was in place and off went Spielberg to make an epic, successfully. The film is bookended by two of the best things to appear in any of Spielberg's output: A young Indiana "beginning" his archaeological career, losing his treasure- just like the opening of Raiders- and being told by the man in his trademark hat "You lost today kid, but that doesn't mean you have to like it." and at the end, riding off into the sunset, literally. Such a conclusion could be seen as contrived but it works so well here.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has lots of hand-to-hand combat, action-filled chases, and gun fights. Main characters are in near-constant peril, and one is shot point blank and almost bleeds to death. Minor characters are killed in somewhat gruesome ways, including beheading; a bad guy meets his end in a fairly disturbing scene. There's a bit of kissing/banter, and it's implied that two men have slept with the same woman. Language is mild, and there's ultimately a strong message about the importance of the father-son relationship.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. A cult film, still one of my favorite films in the series and the last good Indiana Jones movie we didn't need another sequel after third release. There's nothing more exciting than trying to keep up with the Joneses in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy's Nazi enemies are back and have kidnapped his father, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), in their effort to locate the sacred Holy Grail. Following a trail from America to Venice to the deserts of the Middle East, it's up to Indy (Harrison Ford) to save his father, save the Grail and save the day in this non-stop, action-packed adventure the whole family will treasure.

The chemistry between Sean Connery and Harrison Ford makes this movie a stand out from the rest of the series. The story of their father and son relationship wrapped in the search for the holy grail is what makes this spectacular Indy movie, a more meaningful adventure. 10/10 Bad Ass Seal Of Approval

Rating: **** out of ****

My opinion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade could be deemed slightly biased. It is the first film I ever saw in theaters and it's also the first movie I purchased on video. I even own the same, worn-down, beat-up copy (and look upon it even more fondly than the widescreen edition, for sentimental reasons, of course) (but nothing beats the pristine quality DVD). I think it's fair to say it's this movie that cemented my love of cinema, the high regard I hold for great escapism, which is sorely lacking from today's cinema; movies that should be fun now drag or bludgeon themselves with relentlessly awful scripts or MTV-style direction that turns relatively simple scenes into chaotic blurs. The Last Crusade may only be thirteen years old, but I think I can safely say they don't make them like they used to.

The film stars, of course, Harrison Ford as Indy Jones, the archaeologist/adventurer who's on yet another quest, this time to find his father, who'd been searching for the Holy Grail. Said Dad is played by none other than Sean Connery, whose highly charismatic performance is quick to place this film, acting-wise, above the others in the trilogy by giving Ford a genuine acting equal (let me put it this way, he's only half a notch below Harrison Ford/Indy in charisma and appeal if that tells you anything). The rest of the film focuses on this ongoing journey between father and son (eventually joined along by Sallah and Marcus Brody), complete with amazing action and stunt sequences, clever humor, and nasty (but fun) surprises.

The script, by Jeffrey Boam, takes a few cues from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but actually improves upon that story by paying more attention to characterization. The delightful opening scene (all three movies really open with a bang, don't they?); which details how young Indy got his scar, whip, hat, and fear of snakes; makes for a better prequel than Temple of Doom (and any of The Adventure of Young Indiana Jones, for that matter).

The story is engrossing because there's a lot of fun clues offered towards the location of the Grail and, thus, there's a lot of engaging little discoveries (love the "X marks the spot" scene). I'm quite certain, like with Raiders of the Lost Ark, the plot has a few holes, but they're fairly hard to notice, and I've seen this movie quite a few times, but maybe it's just my enjoyment of the film clouding that up. Either way, it speaks volumes in favor of Spielberg's direction and the performances.

Given that action and adventure is the series' selling point, you can expect the thrills and wondrous delight of discovery delivered in spades. The action scenes are terrific (and matched well with John Williams' rousing, memorable score, also the best of the trilogy), the best being a fantastic ten-minute chase sequence on board (and in) a tank, possibly the best action sequence of Spielberg's career. I also loved the motorcycle chase and the Zeppelin setpiece, where the heroes go about dispatching of two enemy fighters in unexpected, but quite hilarious, fashion. The climax, complete with frightening booby traps, is a suspenseful venture into the unknown.

The Last Crusade is far more humor-oriented than its predecessors, but part of the movie's effectiveness is that it's able to deliver belly laughs without defusing the tension during the action sequences. Some of the jokes are just brilliant, including one with Indy armed with a Luger in confrontation with a trio of Nazis on board a tank that's even funnier than the swordsman scene in Raiders (well, to me, at least).

The supporting cast is all-around superb; John Rhys-Davies is back as Sallah, wonderful as ever and displaying a bit more enthusiasm searching for the Grail than he did digging up the Ark of the Covenant. The late Denholm Elliot also returns as Marcus Brody, the most lovable goof of a museum curator. Alison Doody is interesting as Elsa, the blonde historian whom Indy falls for; a twist involving her character and her actions towards the climax make her not as one-dimensional as she may initially appear. Julian Glover is the best of the main Indy villains, he's far more menacing than Paul Freeman's Belloq and less over-the-top but equally enjoyable as Amrish Pruri's Mola Ram. I also enjoyed Michael Byrne's performance as the Jones hating Colonel Vogel, who relishes in torturing Indy and his father. When it comes to pure delightfully nasty villainy, Byrne is even more fun to watch than Glover.

Harrison Ford delivers his best Indy performance (maybe even his best performance, period) in this particular adventure. With the addition of Connery as his father, it reveals a personal side to Indy we haven't seen before. It's his rapport with Connery that separates this film from the rest of the genre. They craft an uncannily touching, funny, and genuine bond. That, coupled with the superb action and thrills, solidifies The Last Crusade as the pinnacle of high adventure summer entertainment.

Indiana Jones teams up with his father to try and locate the Holy Grail. Something that the Nazis are again particularly interested in themselves.

We didn't know it at the time, but every Indiana Jones fan on the planet presumed that The Last Crusade was to be the final film to feature the intrepid archaeologist. As it turned out, another film would surface in 2008, but casting that aside (as many would like to do), Last Crusade should, and is, judged as the trilogy closer it was meant to be.

In 1988 Steven Spielberg was deep into bringing Rain Man to fruition, all thoughts of Indiana Jones had gone by the wayside with the harshly judged part two, Temple Of Doom. In stepped George Lucas to politely remind Spielberg that they had an agreement to make another Indiana Jones picture, Spielberg no doubt obliged and humble, passed on his Rain Man work to Barry Levinson who promptly bagged himself an Oscar for the film. It can be guessed that Spielberg was probably grouchy around this period, but he needn't have worried, because The Last Crusade provided a much needed hit for not only himself (post Empire Of The Sun), but also Lucas (Willow) and Harrison Ford (Frantic).

I mention the run up to this picture because it explains a lot on why the film is pretty much a retread of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, something that some detractors find unforgivable. Yet Last Crusade is still an immensely enjoyable adventure picture, with Spielberg proving that he was still capable of a popcorn bonanza. Using the Raiders formula and moving away from the dark flourishes of Temple Of Doom, Last Crusade is actually the simplest film of the three, but still it manages, courtesy of a sparkling casting decision, to become the most entertaining of the original trilogy. Is it better than Raiders? Of course not, but it positively rips along with sparky dialogue and an agenda of cliffhanging suspense like the adventure films of yore.

In comes Sean Connery as Dr Jones Senior, and its the picture's trump card, because the magnificent interplay and obvious rapport with Ford (cool as a cucumber) is there for all to see. It's this what drives the film on through the more mundane and picture filler sequences, showcasing two top wily professionals with care and consideration to their craft. The casting of Alison Doody as the main female is a poor one, and one only has to look at her subsequent career post Crusade to see she wasn't up to the task here. Bonus comes in the form of the River Phoenix prologue, Phoenix as the young Indiana paves the way for the jaunty path that Crusade takes, whilst simultaneously giving us a nice little back story from which to launch the adventure.

Made for $48 million, the film went on to gross $474,171,806 Worldwide, now that's a lot of people who evidently were happy with Raiders Of The Lost Ark 2! And I gleefully count myself amongst that number. 9/10