Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Taking a break from Spaghetti Westerns, we finally got around to finishing our Indiana Jones retrospective that we started last year and watched INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. I remembered less about this one than either of the other two entries in the original trilogy. We saw it in the theater when it came out and never watched it again. But I recalled really liking the prologue featuring River Phoenix as Young Indy, and watching it again now, I still liked it a lot. As those of you who have read many of my Westerns may have gathered, I like scenes that involve running around and fighting on top of moving trains.

Anyway, what about the rest of the movie? I’m happy to say that I think it’s the second-best Indiana Jones movie, behind RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and not all that far behind, either. You got your Holy Grail, you got your Nazis, you got your zeppelin, you got aerial dogfights and battling a tank from horseback and rats and snakes and 700-year-old Crusader knights. The movie’s not too special effects heavy, and the action scenes are staged and edited so that you can tell what’s going on. If there had just been a swordfight and some quicksand, this would be close to a perfect adventure movie.

I can’t imagine that any of you reading this haven’t seen this movie at least once, but if you haven’t, you should give it a try. I thought it was a heck of a lot of fun.

6 comments:

Mark Terry said...

A friend of mine posted on her blog today about how to have chemistry with your characters. I commented that Indy and the Last Crusade was an interesting movie because there wasn't much chemistry between Harrison Ford and Alison Doody, but there was a lot of chemistry between Ford and Sean Connery. She thinks it's the script, because Doody's character is icy, versus the spunky gals of the other movies. Maybe, but it's too bad Harrison Ford and Sean Connery didn't do another movie--any movie--together.

Scott D. Parker said...

I just been re-watching Raiders again, taking notes. It's a wonderfully made film. I've also been reading the Raiders story conference between Lucas, Spielberg, and Kasdan. Fascinating. And, unfortunately, I've bee rewatching Crystal Skulls...

David Cranmer said...

This film is just a heck of a lot of fun. And the dialogue between Connery and Ford sparkle. "You call this archaeology?"

Pericles said...

No one ever shows TEMPLE OF DOOM any love...

BTW, I just finished WELL OF ETERNITY. It was a fun and fast read, and a good time was had by all.

I hope your royalty checks are so obese that you hafta hire a neighborhood kid to help you carry them.

Frank Loose said...

I'm with you James. Raiders number one, Last Crusade number two. The recent film (whose title i can't even recall) was one of the worst movies I have seen in quite some time. Horrendous. So over the top it was embarrassing --- or should have been to S.S. and all involved. The thing is, i went to see it with my wife and three other couples and they all enjoyed it. Guess there's an appreciative audience for everything. As my pappy used to say, crap is in the eye of the beholder.

Anonymous said...

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie is a romantic and action full adventure of a boy whose dad was archaeologist and was disappeared while on a quest for the Holy Grail. It’s a nice movie I Has watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade movie twice as I had this movie in my collection.