Mark Harrison | On 30, Jun 2023

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Julian Glover, River Phoenix
Certificate: PG

It’s impossible to look at 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as anything other than a reaction to 1984’s Temple of Doom. Where the second instalment traded in darkness and violence, the original trilogy-capper is an altogether lighter and funnier outing, much more in director Steven Spielberg’s comfort zone than the voodoo horror extravaganza. And where Temple stoutly rejected any emerging formula, Last Crusade is very much back on its Raiders of the Lost Ark business.

That includes another race against the Nazis to secure a biblical artefact – this time, it’s the Holy Grail, no less. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is roped into the search by Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), after their first choice went missing in the field. Unfortunately, the first man was Henry Jones Sr (Sean Connery), Grail expert and Indy’s estranged father. Racing Hitler’s cronies to the fabled cup of Christ, the Joneses have to reconcile both their differences and their respective faiths.

Even while hewing closer to the original Indy adventure, this is also more in keeping with a more contemporary popular genre – a 1980s buddy comedy, with Harrison Ford and Sean Connery as straight-man and foil. Written by Jeffrey Boam (and extensively rewritten by an uncredited Tom Stoppard), the script uses that relationship as both emotional core and comic relief. And as the other major Grail movie at this point, Indy goes where Monty Python went before in ramping up the comedy as high as it will go.

The wilful silliness of this threequel offers a corrective to Temple Of Doom’s nastier attitude, but this always underpins the usual thrills and spills rather than undermining them. The action is as good as you’ve come to expect, and there’s also a sense of lessons learned from the previous films, including art professor Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody) and the plot twist which distinguishes her from the type of love interest who might just be along for the ride.

On the other hand, it also deals in the kind of prequel territory that Temple largely avoided, by following a young Indy (River Phoenix) on an extremely eventful escapade where everything important about the character seems to start on one busy afternoon. It sets a light and breezy tone that the film maintains from start to finish.

Meanwhile, James Bond has always been somewhere in the background of Spielberg and producer George Lucas’ grand homage, and Connery would look like stunt casting if he was playing a Bond-type figure. After all, he’s only 12 years older than Ford in real life.

But in his latter-day peak, right after his Oscar-winning performance in The Untouchables, Connery’s performance is better and funnier than any of his turns as 007. Henry Jones Sr is such a dad, and a big old nerd to boot – through his characterisation, the film also exhibits what sets “Junior” apart as an action hero rather than keeping either father or son in Bond’s shadow.

Complete with returning Raiders characters Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and Marcus (Denholm Elliott) in much larger roles, there’s a sense of Spielberg stabilising the Indy format this time around, so it doesn’t get away like the prequel did. He’s certainly in his comfort zone, but there’s rich thematic business when his well-worn trope of absent or distant fathers applies as much to the Almighty as it does to Henry Jr and his holy quest.

The story places huge importance on Indy’s leap of faith in pursuing the Grail, but with Spielberg and Ford originally committing to three and out, the film itself is more a well-earned victory lap than a last-ditch press into new territory. Now that it’s actually the middle instalment in a trilogy of five, it feels like the beating heart of the series – and nobody pulls said heart out this time, which is nice.

In most respects, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a very conventional sequel, which solidifies whatever the franchise’s conventions may be as it goes. It’s the funniest outing, but it also offers Indy a really emotionally satisfying character arc before sending him off into the sunset. Even if you think this is the safe and cosy one, it’s still as entertaining and exhilarating as comfort viewing gets.

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