"Last Crusade" has all the same great stuff that makes the series an artifact in itself

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2008)

You would have thought somewhere along the line that George Lucas would have run out of ideas for moving vehicle chase/fight scenes, that the characters other than Jones would eventually get flat and boring, or that Steven Spielberg's style would feel repetitive and not as exciting at some point, but no, they're just as good as ever if not more refined in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
In the third installment, Indiana finds himself fending off the Nazis yet again, except this time it is because they've kidnapped his father, Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) in order to obtain Jones Sr.'s diary on the holy grail, the study of which Jones Sr. devoted his entire life. The film is a quest to foil Nazi plans to get a hold of the grail to obtain eternal life and Indy must stop them in addition to save his father with whom his relationship is poor.
Unlike "Temple of Doom," "Last Crusade" goes down the religious artifact path that "Raiders" used to launch Indiana Jones into the mainstream of iconic characters and great Hollywood films. While these films are more about the action and the humor and Harrison Ford anyway, at least unlike "Temple of Doom" the plot is not so absurd that it detracts from those elements to an extent.
Connery as Jones' father adds another humorous aspect and depends Jones' character. More so than ever, we get a sense of who Indiana really is, not merely what he does and why he does it. The opening scene with River Phoenix as young Indy is not only clever but truly telling of the famous hero.
The action sequences, Ford's persona, and the cleverness of it all never disappoint and for that to happen in the third installment of a series is simply outstanding. Indiana Jones will forever define adventure and the series' imprint on Hollywood action film-making is solidified more than ever in "Last Crusade."