Vastly Entertaining Way to End the Trilogy

Rating: 8/10 (21 September 2014)

When it comes to the most iconic film characters of all time, Indiana Jones is near the top of that list. The amount of unbelievable journeys he has gone on has been unparalleled to say the least. The Last Crusade just adds to the fun with Sean Connery portraying Indi's father. Raiders did a great job in establishing this laid back tone with glimpses of darkness along the way. Where as Temple of Doom in my opinion steered away from the tone of the franchise and never seemed to capture my attention as much as the book ends did. It's very hard at this point to pick which out of the two i liked more, but the franchise is most definitely cemented as one of the greatest of all time.
Out of the three The Last Crusade has the most action and the pacing is brilliant. You get a 15-20 scene of chases and adventure and then 10-15 minute of key dialog in the over all story. Much like Big Fish and About Time this film is an adventure film with plenty of mystery, but when it comes down to it, its a story about father and son reconnecting. The story is heartfelt and some of the better acting both Connery and Ford have done. When you get two actors of their caliber you can count on that they will deliver the performances needed to sell this bond between father and son. The film is on the shoulders of those two, and they carried this classic to the very end.
It also helps when a movie actually makes you believe the leads are in true danger. With huge franchises it is often tough to sell the audience into thinking our favorite character may actually die, but this film did that. But i can say this film is not without it's problems. While Raiders was special because of the villain, Crusade wasn't anything too spectacular. A villain needs a good back story and motivation to do the things they do. I didn't feel at all intrigued by the Nazi leader. It was just great to see Indi kick his butt in the end. Ford is a movie star so i cant say it wouldn't be great to see him back in the role one day but that time has likely past. They have big shoes to fill but the fan favorites Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper would do the role justice.
+Non stop entertainment
+Father-Son duo
+Belief that our characters are at risk
+Beautifully paced
-Weak villain
8.5/10