A Remarkable Sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rating: Null/10 (14 October 2013)

After the enormously successful Raiders of the Lost Ark & the highly disappointing Temple of Doom, Steven Spielberg & George Lucas bring back the very ingredients that made the former a defining classic of its genre plus infused it with lots of humour & heart to make the third film in the planned trilogy a fitting conclusion to the Indiana Jones saga.
Set in 1938 & once again pitting our eminent archaeologist adventurer against the Nazis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade covers the pursuit of the Holy Grail but mainly concerns the troubled relationship between Indiana Jones & his father; a Holy Grail scholar who has been kidnapped by Nazis. And so Indiana embarks on another adventure to find his father & also stop the Nazis from obtaining the mystical artifact.
Opening with a highly impressive sequence that also served as the origin story of our beloved archaeologist, Steven Spielberg's direction expertly brings back the energy, excitement & quality that was lost in the previous film and keeps the plot relatively fresh & engaging from start to finish. The script is easily the wittiest of the three & keeps the lighthearted mood alive until the very end.
Cinematography meticulously captures all the moments of action & drama and is constantly moving, set pieces & locations are wisely chosen, editing makes the runtime fly by and John Williams' score beautifully accompanies the adventure with its wonderful tracks. The visual effects also deserves a nod for its contribution to the film & the action sequences are spectacularly carried out.
Coming to the performances, The Last Crusade brings back Harrison Ford & John Rhys-Davies in their respective roles of Indiana Jones & Sallah but also joining aboard this time is Sean Connery as Indiana's father; Henry Jones Sr., River Phoenix as young Jones in the prologue & others but the most exciting part for me remains the stunning father-son chemistry between Ford & Connery that makes this film work very well.
On an overall scale, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is an amazing sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark which expands the horizon & builds upon its premise without losing any of its attributes. Fiercely paced, wildly entertaining and featuring a gripping plot filled with right doses of action, humour, drama, mystery & adventure, it was the perfect finale for Indiana Jones saga & the final shot of the characters riding into the sunset couldn't have confirmed it better.