Hello all, and welcome to my first movie review. On this blog, I will be reviewing movies both old and new, ranging over a variety of genres. I wanted to start off by reviewing my favourite movie, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade was the third instalment of the Indiana Jones series, written by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. Released in 1989, it was intended to be the 3rd, and final film of the series, making it a trilogy.
The movie starts off by giving us the back story of how Indiana Jones became the relic-hunting, bullwhip-cracking adventurer that we've all come to know and love. It is clear to see that Jones, while quite educated from a young age, essentially grew up without a family; his mother died when he was a child, and his father was completely engaged in his search for the holy grail.
Flash forward to 1938; the year in which the remainder of the movie takes place. Jones is given the opportunity to embark on a journey to search for the holy grail. Initially struck with disbelief in its' existence, he learns that his own father was leading the search, but suddenly went missing in Venice, Italy. This was enough to convince our main character to join in on this historic search.
Jones flies to Venice in search of his father, and once he arrives, we are introduced to a secondary character, Dr. Elsa Schneider. Schneider, played by the lovely Alison Doody, acts as Jones' assistant throughout his journey. Accompanying them is Marcus Brody, the bumbling museum curator that we met in the series' first film; Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Throughout their adventure, Jones travels from a holy library in Venice, to an Austrian Castle used as a Nazi hideout. This is where Jones' father, Henry, is being held. Through an exciting motorcycle chase, the father and son duo narrowly escape the Nazis. However, this is not the last we see of the Nazis, as Jones heads to Berlin for some unfinished business. He even comes face to face with Adolf Hitler himself; talk about suspenseful! The final act of the film has Jones and the Nazis following the final clues of the holy grail's whereabouts, while duking it out in city of Iskenderun, Turkey.
As far as the story itself goes, there is nothing exceptionally new brought to the table. However, what makes this movie so amazing is the way in which the story is told. Our hero, Jones, is of course the main attraction of the film, but the supporting cast help to complete the experience. The special effects in the film are surprisingly typical of an action-adventure film, with explosions comprising the majority of them. There IS one special effect at the end though which was amazingly well done, especially considering that stop motion filming was used for this one!
Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic film, and is probably my favourite film of all time. The music is exciting, the action scenes are thrilling, and there is never a dull moment. If you are a fan of Indiana Jones and you haven't seen this one, I highly recommend it. If you have already seen the film leave a comment below saying what you thought of it.
Stay tuned for the next movie review: Insidious!
Until next time,
The Witty Poet
