All Critics (55)
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Top Critics (7)
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Fresh (55)
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DVD (33)
Captures some of the sense of fun that infused the first movie while using the addition of Sean Connery to up the comedic ante and provide a father/son dynamic.
What was conceived as a child's dream of a Saturday matinee serial has evolved into a moving excursion into religious myth.
The fast pace and force-fed wisecracks are as seamless as ever, but rarely has audience laughter sounded as hollow.
Of the three Jones films, The Last Crusade may well become the sentimental favorite, the Indiana to end them all.
You want Adventure? Thrills? How about Rats?
The final section, in which Indy must claim the Grail and save his father's life, is imbued with a turgid, pop-mystical tone.
Thrilling third Indy actioner hunts for the grail.
Last Crusade is pure kicks, and I would never fault this spunky blast of quips and near-misses for trying to vanilla its way back into the hearts of millions.
It shows us Indy's origin and even ends with him riding off into the sunset after completing the ultimate quest of finding the Holy Grail. I mean how do you top that?
...it's impossible to deny the film's status as the very best of the series' sequels...
This is reportedly the last time producer/writer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg will treat movie fans to an Indiana Jones adventure, and it's pretty obvious they were determined to send Indy riding off into the sunset in style.
We learn that Indiana Jones was named after the family dog. Aren't you glad you tuned in for his latest adventure?
There's considerable pleasure in watching these two lions spar, but sometimes Last Crusade mistakes dotting every I and crossing every T for detailed character development.
Connery brings out a vastly appealing dorky-kid side of Ford we haven't seen before in the Indy films, and Ford parries with Connery angrily yet lovingly.
Now only twilight and sunset. Illumination fades; the self annihilates in silhouette. And all (father, son, and spirit) is one.
The eventual arrival of towering screen presence Sean Connery as Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. alongside Harrison Ford as Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. allows for what may be adventure cinema's most potent pairing. [DVD]
it it borders at times on the sticky-sentimental, Spielberg always has at least one more slapstick joke or moment of pure-rush action to sharpen up those softened edges
A blueprint for how a blockbuster sequel should be done.
...a very good and entertaining rehash, with a great father-son relationship. (2008 reissued edition)
...although I personally find The Last Crusade a little less energetic and inspired than Raiders, there is much to enjoy in both pictures.
The chemistry between its two stars is a thing of dreams, but the plot is a tad too episodic to make it a classic.
Despite strong acting (the slapstick energy between Ford and Connery is wasted), obligatory chases and stunts and splendid art direction, the virtuoso technique evident in every frame remains formulaic -- unaccompanied by revelation, epiphany or surprise.
Spielberg's direction is typically manipulative, but the stars and megabucks spent maintain our interest.
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