Third Time's the Charm

Rating: 9/10 (25 September 2008)

"Raiders" is probably the best Indiana Jones, but "Crusade" is my personal favorite. Lucas and Spielberg regrouped after the underwhelming "Temple of Doom" (a little too violent and way too kiddish for Jones) to craft this action great. Chock full with more Nazis, rousing action sequences, and sarcastic, sometimes tongue-in-cheek humor and noticeably more character development than the first two. And seriously, who better to play Indiana Jones' father than Sean Connery? He gives a hilarious, and yet, sophisticated performance that does not fail to make me laugh every time. The plot to the movie is Indiana goes on the hunt for his father, after he disappears while working on a project to recover the legendary Holy Grail, the cup of Christ, etc. Jones himself gets caught up in the intrigue, ending up helping his fathers assistant (Allison Doody) discover more clues to the grails' wherabouts. Indy eventually learns that his father was captured by Nazis, and that they are planning to make their armies immortal by using the grails' power. The movie then really picks up, with Indy and father on the run from a ruthless Nazi Colonel (Michael Byrne) on a mission to find the grail before the Nazis do. On the way, they are spectacular action sequences, including a tank chase scene through the desert, a boat chase through Venice and car chase through rural Germany. And with Spielberg behind the camera and his sharp eye for that perfect shot of Indy thrawting another Nazi, well, give me one valid reason not to watch time and again.