The action scenes are terrific (and matched well with John Williams' rousing, memorable score, also the best of the trilogy), the best being a fantastic ten-minute chase sequence on board (and in) a tank, possibly the best action sequence of Spielberg's career.
Given that action and adventure is the series' selling point, you can expect the thrills and wondrous delight of discovery delivered in spades. Either way, it speaks volumes in favor of Spielberg's direction and the performances. I'm quite certain, like with Raiders of the Lost Ark, the plot has a few holes, but they're fairly hard to notice, and I've seen this movie quite a few times, but maybe it's just my enjoyment of the film clouding that up. The story is engrossing because there's a lot of fun clues offered towards the location of the Grail and, thus, there's a lot of engaging little discoveries (love the "X marks the spot" scene). The delightful opening scene (all three movies really open with a bang, don't they?) which details how young Indy got his scar, whip, hat, and fear of snakes makes for a better prequel than Temple of Doom (and any of The Adventure of Young Indiana Jones, for that matter).
The script, by Jeffrey Boam, takes a few cues from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but actually improves upon that story by paying more attention to characterization. The rest of the film focuses on this ongoing journey between father and son (eventually joined along by Sallah and Marcus Brody), complete with amazing action and stunt sequences, clever humor, and nasty (but fun) surprises. Said Dad is played by none other than Sean Connery, whose highly charismatic performance is quick to place this film, acting-wise, above the others in the trilogy by giving Ford a genuine acting equal (let me put it this way, he's only half a notch below Harrison Ford/Indy in charisma and appeal if that tells you anything). The film stars, of course, Harrison Ford as Indy Jones, the archaeologist/adventurer who's on yet another quest, this time to find his father, who'd been searching for the Holy Grail. The Last Crusade may only be thirteen years old, but I think I can safely say they don't make them like they used to. I think it's fair to say it's this movie that cemented my love of cinema, the high regard I hold for great escapism, which is sorely lacking from today's cinema movies that should be fun now drag or bludgeon themselves with relentlessly awful scripts or MTV-style direction that turns relatively simple scenes into chaotic blurs.
I even own the same, worn-down, beat-up copy (and look upon it even more fondly than the widescreen edition, for sentimental reasons, of course) (but nothing beats the pristine quality DVD). It is the first film I ever saw in theaters and it's also the first movie I purchased on video. Rating: **** out of **** My opinion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade could be deemed slightly biased.
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