- To get right to the point, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade contains two original ideas. The first is to have the film begin in 1912 with the adventures of a boy scout named Indiana Jones (River Phoenix). The films in this series have always started with a bang, and this one is no exception as young Jones finds himself battling a band of treasure-seeking rapscallions for possession of a relic called the Cross of Coronado. Perhaps needless to say, this involves jumping from a horse onto a moving train, where Jones gets his first introduction to the fearsome world of whips, snakes, and battered fedoras. As the film advances twenty-five years, we discover that little has changed as Jones still grapples with the same nameless villains for precisely the same relic. Perhaps the only significant adjustment over the years is that Jones no longer speaks to his father, Dr. Henry Jones (Sean Connery), the film's second helping of originality. From our brief introduction, we gather that the father is the perfect embodiment of scholarly order, which would also explain why the two of them haven't gotten along.
- Now I should warn you that certain other aspects of the film may sound a tad familiar. After recovering the Cross of Coronado, Indy finds himself once again embarking on a search for a mythical religious artifact, this time the legendary Holy Grail. Backed by businessman Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) and assisted by leggy art historian Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), Jones accepts the quest in an attempt to locate his father, who had been obsessed with the Grail before his mysterious disappearance. Of course, it isn't long before Jones has fallen into his old habits of opening tombs, combating anonymous thugs, and fending off legions of creepy, crawly creatures (this time, rats). Jones even discovers that he is again competing with those diabolical Nazis, at one point even encountering the Fuhrer (Michael Sheard) himself, who apparently didn't learn anything from the face-melting conclusion to the first film. Sure enough, Jones' stalwart companions Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) are back, too, and the whole thing starts to feel a bit like warmed-over leftovers from previous installments.
- Thankfully, the film has sense enough to reintroduce Henry Jones before boredom ever has the chance to set in. Connery, somehow restraining his considerable charm, plays Indy's father as a disciplinarian who constantly corrects whatever course his swashbuckling son has happened to choose. While both Connery and Ford obviously have plenty of fun with their roles, the writing is only partly up to the task, too often delving into predictably goofy father-son antics or serious discussions that feel out of place in a film about beating the Nazis to the Holy Grail. That said, those father-son scenes that do work, my favorite of which involves the two Jones boys tied up back to back in a Nazi castle, are among the most enjoyable in the film. With a plot so incredibly similar to that of Raiders of the Lost Ark and a female lead whose blandness seems to be a direct apology for the previous film's Kate Capshaw, Last Crusade would never be mistaken for a great film. Still, the amazing scenery and effective action sequences make it an enjoyable enough experience, particularly if you don't have the first Indy film on hand.
- Apparently, the guy who played Dr. Toht in the first film played Himmler in this one. I didn't spot him, though.
