Not nearly as excellent as the first film, but a solid improvement over Temple of Doom

Rating: 9/10 (27 September 2012)

I liked Raiders of the Lost Ark and considered a masterpiece of cinema history while Temple of Doom, despite it's annoying characters and flawed plot, was at least a pretty good sequel to it's predecessor. So, when Steven Spielberg made the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise known as "The Last Crusade".
It takes place after the events of Temple of Doom where Indiana Jones acquires a diary that holds clues and a map with no names to find the mysterious Holy Grail- which was sent from his father, Dr. Henry Jones, in Italy. Upon hearing from a private collector, Walter Donavan, that the mission for the Holy Grail went astray with the disappearance of his father, Indiana Jones and museum curator Marcus Brody venture to Italy in search of Indy's father. However, upon retrieving Dr. Henry Jones in Nazi territory, the rescue mission turns into a race to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis do- who plan to use it for complete world domination for their super-race. With the diary as a vital key and the map with no names as a guide, Indiana Jones once again finds himself in another death defying adventure of pure excitement.
Well, like most people, I officially like this film despite it's lack of efficiency of Raiders of the Lost Ark which is the reason why I'm giving this a 9/10. All of the redeeming qualities saved this epic film for me. The action is as gripping as ever, the story is much more engaging than the story in Temple of Doom (which had it's insensitive portrayal of the Indian culture), the pacing is very brisk and doesn't drag on the action throughout the film and the music from the excellent John Williams is light-hearted, dramatic, and atmospheric, but the strongest aspect goes to the cast. Harrison Ford and Sean Connery had great chemistry as Indiana and his father Henry Jones, Alison Doody did great as Elsa, and Julian Glover and Michael Byrne did great as the frightening Nazis.
Well, despite the fact that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was officially the last film of the franchise, Spielberg decided to make another one nineteen years later known as "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which was met with positive reviews, but received a mixed reception from fans of the trilogy. With that said, this movie is a solid improvement over Temple of Doom although not nearly as excellent as Raiders of the Lost Ark.