Perfect Casting

Rating: 9/10 (26 November 2014)

Thanks to perfect casting as well as some well written scenes "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" is a step up in quality from "Temple Of Doom" but it still isn't as good as "Raiders Of The Lost Ark".
Plot In A Paragraph: When his father Dr. Henry Jones suddenly goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, everyone's favourite archaeologist Indiana Jones must follow in his father's footsteps, rescue him, find the Holy Grail and stop the Nazis.
Harrison Ford is clearly enjoying himself playing Indy again and brings his A game (For me this is Ford's best performance of Jones). Sean Connery is marvellous as Indy's Dad Dr Henry Jones. Their scenes together are an absolute joy. Despite only twelve years between them, they are totally believable as father and son, with Connery displaying a talent for comedy that few would have guessed at, and it seems to bring the best out in Ford. I enjoyed the beginning with River Pheonix (another spot of superb casting) as a young Indy too, giving us a bit of back story to our hero.
The comedy in this one hits the spot perfectly, unlike in the last instalment. The wonderful Denholm Elliot is brilliant (in his first role since discovering he had AIDS) as Marcus Brody and John Rhys Davies is excellent returning for the last time as Sallah.
All of that and I've not mentioned the score. John Williams does it again. His Indiana Jones 'Theme' is as iconic as his Jaws, Superman and Star Wars ones. Brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it.
There are some obvious stunt doubles and a bit of ropey CGI, but that really is nitpicking and is hard to criticise a movie that gets so much right.
But for me this is all about the father/son relationship at the heart of the movie, and since like Indy, I had a hard time communicating with my Dad, that I relate so much. Their bickering, The little looks (especially during the bike chase scene) at each other and throw in the slap for blasphemy, it is what makes this movie so good.
With it's great ending, this would have been a superb end to the trilogy. In the end we got the awful next movie.
I'm sure I'm not the first reviewer to say this, but If James Bond did have a son. It would have been Indiana Jones.