As a near-perfect masterpiece filled with iconic moments and masterfully crafted action, Raiders of the Lost Ark will never be topped as Indiana Jones’ greatest adventure. Frankly, it doesn’t face too much competition from Temple of Doom, the prequel that went so dark that the MPAA had to create a new rating to protect children’s eyes from it, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the belated reboot that overused CGI and underused logic.
The only Indy follow-up that has come close to recreating the magic of Raiders is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third — and, for a long time, final — film in the franchise.
The Opening Prologue Provides The Perfect Setup
In the opening prologue of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we get a short origin story for Indy’s escapades. A young Indiana Jones breaks away from his Boy Scout group to snatch an artifact that belongs in a museum from some treasure hunters. They chase him to a circus train, where he learns how to wield a whip, develops what will be a lifelong phobia of snakes, and acquires his fedora.
This was a refreshing change from the formula of opening with a random action sequence and it provided some fun context for Indy’s adulthood. Plus, River Phoenix gave a terrific, convincing performance as young Indy.
Sean Connery Is A Hilarious Foil For Harrison Ford
After Temple of Doom replaced Raiders’ love interest with a wisecracking child cabbie, Last Crusade gave Indy his third formula-rocking sidekick in the form of his father, Henry Jones, Sr., played by Sean Connery. Aside from being beautifully meta casting (because Indy was conceived as an American Bond and Connery was the original Bond), Connery made a hilarious comic foil for Harrison Ford.
The two actors develop a surprisingly tangible on-screen bond as father and son, bringing an extra emotional layer to all the escapist action.
The Odds Are Never In Indy’s Favor
In Last Crusade, Indy gets screwed at every turn. The villains always have the upper hand — and it just keeps getting worse and worse — but Indy still never gives up, which perfectly encapsulates what’s so great about this character.
The Indiana Jones character works best when he’s facing incredible odds. If his victory is easy, then it’s not fun to watch. We need to see him getting his butt kicked by a shirtless mechanic or being brainwashed by a cult.
It Moves Along At A Brisk Pace
One of the things that make Temple of Doom and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the weaker installments in the Indy oeuvre is their stilted pacing. There are long stretches in those movies that drag on, like Temple of Doom’s banquet scene — which contributed a number of negative stereotypes about India into Western society — and Crystal Skull’s grave robbery scene.
Raiders zips along at a brisk pace, with Lawrence Kasdan’s uniquely structured seven-act screenplay racing through each scene, while giving them all plenty of room to breathe. Last Crusade moves along at a similarly rapid pace.
The Holy Grail Is The Perfect MacGuffin
There are two types of MacGuffin: the Hitchcockian MacGuffin, which holds no meaning and exists only to set up each scene, and the Lucas MacGuffin, which serves the themes of the story. Examples of the latter include the One Ring and the Infinity Stones.
Every Indiana Jones movie has a MacGuffin — an ancient artifact that Indy is seeking, be it a radio for speaking to God or the crystal skull of an extraterrestrial — and the Holy Grail is the best of the bunch.
It’s Edge-Of-Your-Seat Suspenseful
Part of what made Raiders so fun was its suspense. When Indy is in danger, he’s protected by plot armor, but with well-directed suspense, the danger can still feel real.
There’s heaps of edge-of-your-seat suspense in Last Crusade. Just look at the scene in which Indy is hanging off the tank’s cannon by his satchel, being dragged across the face of a rock, with a huge chunk of rock getting closer and closer.
The Action Is The Best In The Franchise
From Raiders’ iconic opening to Temple of Doom’s breathtaking mine cart chase, the Indiana Jones franchise has some of the greatest action ever put on film. Arguably the franchise’s best action — or, at least, highest quotient of great action — is in Last Crusade.
The list of memorable set pieces in Last Crusade is practically endless: the dogfight, the fire, the boat chase, the tank chase, the motorcycle chase — it’s a feast for the eyes of adrenaline seekers.
It Recaptures The Spirit Of Raiders
While Temple of Doom was too dark to recapture the spirit of what made Raiders of the Lost Ark the perfect Indy adventure, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was too goofy and reliant on CGI, Last Crusade perfectly recalls the magic of Raiders.
From the globe-trotting location changes to the bickering back-and-forth between Indy and his dad to the unbridled pulpy action, Last Crusade harks back to the old ‘30s adventure serials that inspired Indy’s creation as beautifully as Raiders did.
The Themes Are Surprisingly Strong
When you’re talking about an action-adventure movie with tanks and speedboats and Nazi castles, thematic subtext should be the last thing that comes up. But the themes in Last Crusade are very strong.
The father-son dynamic keeps the story more about Indy’s quest to reconnect with his dad than his quest to find the Grail. The themes include family, masculinity, and the power of forgiveness.
It Gave The Trilogy A Perfect Ending
While Raiders provided Indy’s big-screen adventures with their perfect introduction, Last Crusade gave them a perfect conclusion. Unfortunately, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the upcoming fifth movie have negated that ending, but it still works nonetheless.
Indy realizes there’s more to life than fortune and glory when he’s reaching for the Grail and his dad convinces him to let it go. Then, Indy and his companions ride off into the sunset, set to the iconic sounds of John Williams’ “Raiders March.” If the Indiana Jones franchise had ended there, it would’ve been perfect.