Unoriginal, but hilarious, moving, and action-packed

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2017)

Though the story is similar in many respects to Raiders (Indy races the Nazis to an artifact which Hitler wants for world domination), Last Crusade is less about plot and more about character, relationships, and comedy. If Raiders is the smartest film in the trilogy, and Temple of Doom is the most exciting, Last Crusade is by far both the funniest and the most emotionally involving, rendering it many fans' favorite film of the series (including mine).
The film has the all of the excellent action sequences, creepy- crawly moments, mysticism, exotic locales, and booby traps that one expects from an Indiana Jones movie. It's a nonstop pursuit: in this case, vehicular chases are the norm, with all sorts of stunt-filled highlights involving trains, boats, motorcycles, planes, and tanks.
What truly sets it apart is a script that, beginning with the intro of Sean Connery's character 45 minutes in, is loaded with almost nonstop comedy, with a finale is both truly touching and thrilling. What's more, it's not just comedy for the sake of laughter; the humor establishes the characters' relationships and moves the story along. While both Harrison Ford and Sean Connery are absolutely iconic actors, neither of them has ever, before or since, displayed such comedic prowess, and it's obvious that both of them are having the time of their life.
One of the neat things about the Indiana Jones movies is that each film reveals something new about our hero's character. There are different virtues and flaws on display each time. Raiders gave us a taste of his romantic side, his academic mind, and his tenacity against obstacles. Temple of Doom highlights his capacity for both greed and compassion, as well as a paternal side in his relationship with Short Round. Last Crusade, without laying it on too thick, shows a man who is still aching from a lonely childhood.
This larger-than-life hero, who smirks at Nazis and courageously challenges a tank while on horseback (armed with just a pistol!), is vulnerable only to his father's disapproval. He resents the man who "taught him self-reliance" but discovers that he respects and loves that man as well. Of course the movie handles it in a way that is more subtle and less sappy than I've made it sound, but it's there nonetheless. Connery, on the other hand, plays gloriously against type as a bookish old man, unaccustomed to danger, but still with hidden strength. He and Ford have a glowing chemistry here, and it's their interplay that elevates this from "very good" to "truly great." * * * * 1/2 (out of five).