Predictable And Disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (16 August 2015)

Plot: It's not made clear why any of the characters is after the Holy Grail. In the tank scene Indy has his bag strap caught around the barrel of the gun and is unable to release it. But after escaping from being crushed by a rock, his bag strap suddenly no longer restricts his movement. In the invisible bridge scene he crosses the bridge on faith alone and then scatters dirt to reveal the bridge. He could have used dirt to reveal the bridge in the first place. In another escape scene Indy drives away with his father on a motorbike with side car. But he doesn't wait for the Germans in the boat to motor off the shore. There are only two sections of the story that involve the Holy Grail. The rest of the story is once again about Nazi Germany. In general, the story relies too much upon comedy to see it through.
Characters: Predominantly male dominated. The only female is a young woman who sleeps around without contraception and yet miraculously fails to get pregnant. Is she a Nazi, isn't she a Nazi? Even she doesn't know. The 700 year old crusader knight was particularly unconvincing and looked like he was in the wrong movie. Perhaps he thought he was in Monty Python's The Holy Grail. Connery's character struggles to portray Indy's father.
Acting: Harrison Ford's facial expressions are well rehearsed by now and used in every scene. Connery normally relies upon his deep smooth voice but it sounds weak in this movie.
Scenery And Props: The tank was very odd. A WW1 British tank with a turret being employed by the Germans. Even odder was it's speed of 20mph. Most WW1 British tanks could barely manage 5mph. The final location of Petra in Jordan now looks unconvincing considering we know it has no affiliation with Christianity.
Conclusion: A hash of old ideas and a bit of a disappointment. Once again relied heavily upon the Germans as an opponent where the opportunity was there to introduce new adversaries such as the Knights Templar or another religious sect.
Best Scene: The No Ticket scene on the zeppelin.