If They Couldn't Get The Ark Of The Covenant, They'll Settle For The Holy Grail

Rating: 9/10 (15 June 2008)

When Indiana Jones went on his last crusade in search of the Holy Grail, the adventure took him to such far flung places as Venice, Vienna, Berlin, and the fictitious kingdom of Hatay in the Middle East. Well he wasn't just searching for the Holy Grail.
A mysterious millionaire who's been a benefactor of archeology played by Julian Glover has hired the senior Henry Jones, who's always been a Grail seeker to look for it. But he's turned up quite missing and it's up to Harrison Ford to find his father.
In an inspired piece of casting Sean Connery plays the senior Doctor Jones and the chemistry between Ford and Connery is fine. Connery is so good in the part that he makes you forget that it's usually Connery who gets to do the action stuff. Ford of course bares the burden of it while rescuing Dad from the clutches of the Nazis. They too are in pursuit of the Holy Grail. I guess if they couldn't get the Ark of the Covenant, they'll settle for the Grail. They've got a lovely female scientist in the person of Alison Doody in on the hunt.
While I was watching Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, the thought struck me that this was also the plot of Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy. Of course with a budget a gazillion times more. But in that film Bud and Lou are in pursuit of Klaris the Mummy, Marie Windsor and a couple of henchmen are also after it, and so are the followers of Klaris led by Richard Deacon intent from not letting the secret out. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade also has a group of people who know the secret of the Holy Grail, where it is, and they're not letting ANYONE remotely near it.
Indiana Jones regulars like John Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott are also here and I also like the performance of 81 year old Robert Eddison in his next to last film as the Grail Knight. His is an astounding story and the last shot of him is for me the most memorable moment of the film.
The first Indiana Jones film came out at the beginning of the Eighties and it's fitting and proper that this film came out as that decade came to a close. It's a worthy successor and in some ways superior to the first two films and a grand show.