The third installment in the widely beloved Spielberg/Lucas Indiana Jones saga begins with an introduction to a younger Indy (played by the late River Phoenix), who, through a fast-paced prologue, gives the audience insight into the roots of his taste for adventure, fear of snakes, and dogged determination to take historical artifacts out of the hands of bad guys and into the museums in which they belong. A grown-up Indy (Harrison Ford) reveals himself shortly afterward in a familiar classroom scene, teaching archeology to a disproportionate number of starry-eyed female college students in 1938. Once again, however, Mr. Jones is drawn away from his day job after an art collector (Julian Glover) approaches him with a proposition to find the much sought after Holy Grail. Circumstances reveal that there was another avid archeologist in search of the famed cup — Indiana Jones' father, Dr. Henry Jones (Sean Connery) — who had recently disappeared during his efforts. The junior and senior members of the Jones family find themselves in a series of tough situations in locales ranging from Venice to the most treacherous spots in the Middle East. Complicating the situation further is the presence of Elsa (Alison Doody), a beautiful and intelligent woman with one fatal flaw: she's an undercover Nazi agent. The search for the grail is a dangerous quest, and its discovery may prove fatal to those who seek it for personal gain. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade earned a then record-breaking $50 million in its first week of release.

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The storyline reverts back to the formula that made Indiana Jones so great. This time, Jones (Harrison Ford) has discovered that his father, Henry (Sean Connery), has disappeared on an expedition for the Holy Grail. Indiana takes his place and, with the help of Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot), Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), searches for his father and the Holy Grail and must battle Nazis on the same quest.

The Last Crusade is action galore as its a non-stop and fun thrill ride. The stunts and action scenes are amazing, as usual.

The performances are as good as ever. Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones and Denholm Elliot and John Rhys-Davies do good jobs with their role. The real standout in this film, though, is Sean Connery as Jones' father.

The Last Crusade is an excellent crowd pleaser, so watch it with an audience. To sum it up, this and Raiders of the Lost Ark are the best action films of all time.

14 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Indiana is back, and this time he's brought his dad along!Oct 05, 2001
By Priscilla Stafford
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is what I think the best of the three Indiana Jones movie. And one of the most important reasons for this conclusion is not just that it has Harrison Ford doing absolutely great, it has legendary actor Sean Connery as Indy's dad.

Harrison Ford is Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones, Jr. When he is asked by Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) to help go in search of the mystical Holy Grail since one of his main archaeologist has disappeared, he refuses. But when Indy is told that the missing man is his father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr., (whom he has rarely spoken to in 20 years), Indy, along with the help of friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), try to rescue his father from... who? Can it be the mysterious men who are trying to stop him from finding the Holy Grail? Or is there more to just finding his father and the Holy Grail than meets the eye? Indiana discovers that you can't trust anybody when dealing with power seeking men who want to use the cup of Jesus for evil.

The best Indiana Jones movie AND action/adventure movie!! And the script and plot is just perfect, with plenty of lines which are just so funny! The first part where they have 'young Indiana Jones' played by River Phoenix was lots of fun, too. I like it where the explained some things like how Indy got his famous hat. "Everyone's lost but me..."

My favorite parts are when Indy 'rescues' his dad but instead has to escape from the bad guys when he is caught himself and whenever Indy and Dr. Jones are arguing. One thing though is that I didn't think much of Alison Doody as Elsa. Yeah, she was real greedy and everything but I still like Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And of course John Williams score is just terrific. I can probably hum the whole Indiana Jones theme song!

For those of you who haven't seen this movie, well, I'm telling you to put it on you 'must see' list!

11 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Another fine Indiana Jones film!Nov 17, 2000

The third installment of the Indiana Jones series,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,is another fantastic adventure.(it's not as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark,but at least as good,if not better than Temple of Doom.)The film starts out in 1912 in Utah,and shows Indy as a teenager,played by River Phoenix.Then it shifts to 1938 and Indy winds up battling Nazis again,this time teaming up with his father Henry Jones(played wonderfully by THE James Bond,Sean Connery)to find the Holy Grail.Of course Harrison Ford is great as Indy,and the rest of the cast is very good,too,including Alison Doody as Dr.Elsa Schneider,John Rhys Davies as Sallah,Denholm Elliot as Marcus Brody,and Julian Glover as Donovan.There's loads of action,and the musical score by John Williams is great.Overall,it's a great movie and a fine collaboration of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Ford Bonds With Connery In Fun Indy "Crusade"Jul 10, 2002
By Mike Stone
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" disappoints, for its inability to construct a believable action scene. Who'd get taken in by this blatant cartoonery? I, frankly, miss the stark realism and gritty humanism of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Temple of Doom". What? They were live-action cartoons too? Well, that changes everything, then, doesn't it?

Kidding aside, you shouldn't ever go into an Indiana Jones movie expecting credible action. And "The Last Crusade" has the least credible, but at times most fun, action of any in the series. Watch as Indy, armed only with a horse and the strap from his bag, manages to outrun and outgun a German tank. Later in the sequence, we get a moment that for me defines the ethos Spielberg and Lucas have built for this series. Indiana is wrestling with some Nazis on the tank. The tank moves slowly towards a cliff. Instead of jumping off the tank at the last minute, leaving the baddies to tumble to their doom, Indy appears to go over the cliff with them. His entourage, which includes his stoic father, rushes to the side of the cliff just in time to see the tank hit bottom and explode. Somber faces all around. Just as they say their goodbyes, the camera cuts to a hand appearing by the cliff's edge, out of their view. It's Indy! He's alive! After a quick moment to brush himself off, he joins his friends to see what the fuss is about. His father does a pitch-perfect double-take upon noticing him, then explodes in joyous tears. The scene ends with Indy, collapsed in exhaustion, surprised when his fedora, thought lost in the wreckage, tumbles into his lap. It's a perfect blend of classic Saturday matinee hokiness with a dollop of contemporary self-awareness. The filmmakers know that Indy's invincible. The actors know it. And most importantly, the audience knows it. But for a brief moment, the film has us going. Then it allows us to laugh at our own gullibility.

Besides mocking the genre pictures from whence it came, "The Last Crusade" spends a lot of time winking and nudging about its own past. The character, by this point in the trilogy, has a lot of history, and much of it is playfully referenced here. One key moment finds Indy and his current Jones girl, Elsa, exploring the catacombs underneath a Venetian library. Intricate hieroglyphics adorn the walls. One in particular looks like a glowing golden box. Elsa points it out and asks, "What's this one?" "The Ark of the Covenant," says Indy. "Are you sure?" she confirms, perfectly setting up his deadpan reply: "Pretty sure." More explicitly is the infamous opening sequence, starring River Phoenix as Young Indiana. In it we see, during one quick trip across a Circus train, the origins of Indy's fedora, his whip, his fear of snakes, and his knack for adventure. Even though I have some trouble believing that the fragile and feline Phoenix will grow up to be the rugged and rough Harrison Ford, he has enough fun during the sequence to make my qualms disappear.

Which leads me to the casting of Indy's father. It might seem far-fetched to have the decidedly Midwestern Ford fathered by Sean Connery. But like Phoenix, Connery has enough fun here to make you forget the differences in their accents. You'll be won over by the twinkle in his eye and the bounce in his step. The movie relies heavily on their chemistry, and at this task it does not fail. Connery, who provided the model for Indiana Jones in the first place (what is Indiana Jones if not an archaeological James Bond?), plays against type: he's a bookworm. Armed with his tweed jacket and neat bow-tie, he's hardly the Jones patriarch you were expecting. Henry Jones is a Mr. Magoo-type character, accidentally finding ways of saving the day, when his more daring son can't. In "The Last Crusade", Connery proves, through the power of his towering charisma and impeccable comedic timing, why he's still a star, some forty years after "Dr. No".

Not so successful a casting choice is Alison Doody. Her Elsa continues the tradition of Indy's leading women getting better and better looking, while being played by poorer and poorer actresses. From Karen Allen, to Kate Capshaw, to a new high/low. If this trend continues, I expect to see Denise Richards in "Indy IV". True, you understand why the shallowness in Indy's character would find her appealing, but Doody brings little more than wooden line readings to the movie.

While not as 'important' a movie as others in his oeuvre, "The Last Crusade" once again shows how adept Steven Spielberg is at manipulating an audience into high gear. The action sequences are economical and exciting, the visual jokes work like a charm every time, and the special effects, while already dated, work in a cheesy/kitschy kind of way. On top of all this, Spielberg throws in more Nazi imagery here than in any of his other movies, including "Schindler's List". When Indy finds himself face-to-face with Hitler, in one of the film's best jokes, Spielberg doesn't miss the opportunity for some fun at the fuhrer's expense.

The ending, much-maligned, does well servicing the story. We've been leading up to finding the Holy Grail, but it's not really an important part of the story, just an excuse for mild adventures. After all, the filmmakers didn't even bother to come up with a menacing villain to stand in the Jones' way. What we do get is a hubristic stooge, whose obsessiveness is burning so intensely, it's obvious to everyone but him that it will be his downfall. The ending provides some suspenseful moments, gives all the characters credible reasons for doing what they have to do to move the story along, and ties up all the loose ends. It's a fine way to wrap up another fun entry in the Indiana Jones series.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

The best of Indiana Jones TrilogyAug 01, 2000

On this new adventure Indy (Harrison Ford) Jones Henry jr. finds himself in a quest for his father Henry Jones sr (Sean Connery) and the Holy Grail with a little of help from his father, Sallah (John Rhys Davies) and Marcus Brody(Denholm Elliot) begin a packed action-adventure meanwhile Indy figth with Nazis, arabs, the evil Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), the beatiful Elsa Schneider(Alison Dody) and the Nazi coronel Vogel(Michael barne)

thanks to Spielberg and Lucas we know the origin of Indys Hat, Whip, the scar of his chin, his clotes and his Indiana name. higly recomended for part of the family (9 years up)

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