Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the second movie in the Indiana Jones franchise. The 1989 production had the same director at the helm as the first Indiana Jones movie did: Steven Spielberg. This time around the screenplay was written by Jeffrey Boam with the movie being produced by Lucasfilm. We see Harrison Ford return to star as the main protagonist, alongside Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliot and John Rhys-Davies. The movie scores an 8.2/10 on IMDb and received a 65 Metascore.
The Story
As would be expected of an Indiana Jones movie, our main character Indy once again finds himself on a trail towards a shiny new artefact. This time it is the Holy Grail. The broader story does have similarities with the first movie. Once again Indy is fighting the Nazis, once again Sallah saves Indy out of some dangerous situations and once again the movie ends with a supernatural event.
While a lack of originality surely is a pity for this movie, Spielberg still delivered by creating a just as compelling story and telling it in a way that keeps the viewer at the edge of his seat throughout the movie. They probably copied the first movie and changed a few plot points but that means they also kept in all the good stuff. The funny jokes right in the middle of an intense situation and epic chases throughout the world are still there to see.
The Characters
Indiana Jones is put in a new position when his father, whom he doesn’t have a close relationship with, comes into the picture. The dynamic between the two adds greatly to the story as they fight out their little discussions and come closer together over time. Looking back at this movie in 2021, it also cool to see two legends like Harrison Ford and Sean Connery act opposite each other in these roles.
On the other hand, Elsa and Donovan, our antagonists are quite dull. They lack some story and didn’t get me interested in their backgrounds at all. Sallah once again proves to be a good addition to the cast, as well as Marcus. They add some more comic relief to bring the story a bit of a lighter mood.
The Production
Just like the first movie, this film was made quite some time ago. Technology wasn’t what it is today and we need to accept that. It seems like a lot of the scenes was shot with practical effects and all those scenes looked cool. Especially the invisible bridge at the end of the movie. Also just like the first movie, fight scenes and sound effects. They are quite terrible and everything but realistic. With Spielberg, I’m never sure if it is intentional to create comic relief or if it is just the limits of the tech.
Although Spielberg opted for some really bad green screen scenes where it was way too obviously shot with a green screen, the movie scores was a masterpiece once again.