Second-rate compared to "Raiders," but still entertaining in ways

Rating: 6/10 (26 October 2017)

RELEASED IN 1989 and directed by Steven Spielberg, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" has Jones (Harrison Ford) globetrotting for the Holy Grail and, along the way, teaming up with his father (Sean Connery). Alison Doody plays an Austrian colleague of the latter.
After the cartoony farce of "Temple of Doom" (1984), Spielberg went back to the blueprint of "Raiders of the Last Ark" (1981) to make this third film in the franchise. The problem is that, while good in many ways, "Last Crusade" is second-rate by comparison. "Raiders" copped the perfect tone for this kind of adventure flick: Quasi-realistic with a fun, kinetic edge. As wild as the actions scenes in "Raiders" were, most of them were later reenacted on a TV show in order to see if they were plausible, and they were!
Unfortunately, "Last Crusade" mixed the plot of "Raiders" with the silliness of "Temple" and so many of the action sequences smack more of a cartoon than reality. The escape from the zeppelin in the parasite biplane is a good example. Then there's the silly bickering and bumbling of father and son, like when they're tied-up in the castle or facing the Nazis in (what is now) Turkey.
Thankfully, there are eventually some good scenes between the two, which shed insight on them and their troubled relationship. And the globetrotting is great, starting with Arches National Park, then Venice, an Austrian-German castle, Berlin and Turkey. While cartoony and second-rate (compared to "Raiders"), the action sequences are often fun and thrilling. And the striking Doody is fine on the female front. Some critics wrote her character off as a "blonde bimbo," but this is inexplicable seeing as how she's palpably intelligent and sophisticated. Regrettably, the climax is overlong and curiously dull despite its attempt at spiritual profoundness.
THE MOVIE RUNS 127 minutes and was shot in Arches National Park, Utah; Hertfordshire, England; Venice, Italy; Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; London & other places in England; numerous locations in Spain; Colorado; Amarillo, Texas; New Mexico; and Petra, Jordan. WRITERS: Jeffrey Boam wrote the script from the story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes.
GRADE: B-