Viewed in
1996, 2000, 2006, 2008
Premise
Indiana Jones teams up with his estranged father to find the Holy Grail.
Who should watch
Fans of the first film. Those who want to see an action flick that is also funny and contains family values.
Thoughts
Just like the first one, this film was full of wild chases, evil Nazis, exotic locations, mysterious artifacts, Harrison Ford getting beat up, and a great sense of adventure.
I thoroughly enjoyed 'Raider of the Lost Ark' and 'Last Crusade' for different reasons. It is tough to decide which I like better. The first film was pioneering, had a better sense of danger, and had a slight horror zest.
At gunpoint, I would probably choose this film. I laughed out loud more often as it made fun of the action genre as well as Henry Jones Junior. The origin of Indiana (with the late River Phoenix) was pretty cool, too.
The main reason I love this film was the father and son dynamic. Throughout the entire film, there was a well-weaved story between these two characters. Credit should go to the writer, Jeffrey Boam, for injecting some really funny dialogue and action scenes between the two. On top of that, Ford and the great Sean Connery deliver some excellent interactions.
Now, because the father-son stuff was so well done, suddenly the climax was punctuated with some emotional punch, making it quite a memorable scene and film. Instead of just giant fireworks of special effects, it was a genuinely exciting last act. My friend once wrote an article about this, placing it in the pantheon of 'Movie Power Scenes' (spoilers in the article).
As for flaws, I missed the sense of danger and horror that the first film had. Also, some of the scenes bordered on implausible goofiness. But these are small quibbles.
To summarize, this was an exciting adventure with a great sense of humor, and a pleasant surprise of emotional elements.
What I would change
Like the first, I thought it was a bit long. This could have been remedied by deleting the Brody scenes. He was supposed to be the comic relief, but I found him annoying, and there was plenty of humor throughout the film, thanks to Dr. Jones and Dr. Jones.
