Raiders Part Two: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

It is clear that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is an attempt to resuscitate the magic of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The storyline is shockingly similar (The Nazis are, once again, hunting for a powerful Judeo-Christian artifact and Indiana Jones must beat them to it). There are references both subtle (similar shot sequences during the college scenes) and more obvious (Indy comes across a drawing of the Ark in the Venice catacombs) to the initial film. The question is this: Is IJATLC a delightful return to form for the series that lost its way with Temple of Doom? Or is it simply a lesser version of IJATROTLA? The answer, actually, is that it is both.
If you were to watch the first and third installment of the Indiana Jones trilogy in rapid succession (as your dedicated critic has done) you would find the two films similarities irksome. It must be remembered that these movies were released nearly a decade apart so Spielberg and Lucas can be forgiven for liberally stealing from themselves. The best elements of IJATROTLA are back though not as potent as they were the first time. The most notable is the usage of the Nazis. As Indy says when he realizes who he is up against, “Nazis! I hate those guys.” The truth is that the audience loves to hate them as well. It is a fact: nothing is more satisfying than seeing a Nazi thrown out the side Zeppelin (except maybe to see his face melt). The use of the Holy Grail as the objective of Dr. Jones’ journey is an attempt to reduce the archeo-babble that permeated the IJATTOD script. This is only slightly effective. There is still too much boring talk about the myth of the grail which slows the pace of the movie, though it is far more understandable than the talk of Thuggies and Sankara stones.
Of course the filmmakers have added some novel elements to justify a third film. While it has traces of John Ford’s The Searchers and John Sturges The Great Escape, Last Crusade owes its greatest debt to the James Bond films, which we will all remember were Spielberg’s original inspiration. By upping the number of chase scenes (by horse, train, boat, plane, motorcycle, and tank) Indy looks more like 007 than ever. The biggest nod is, of course, the inclusion of Mr. Bond himself, Sean Connery as Henry Jones Sr. The chemistry between the Joneses is instant and truly entertaining; it is by far the most electric relationship of the trilogy. Connery is able to provide an excellent balance of comic relief and pathos to the film which makes him much more than a sidekick.
Beyond expanding the action of the film, Spielberg and Lucas have also expanded the characters. Indiana Jones is modeled after the heroes of early movie serials. These were essentially stock characters whose personas remained relatively static (in fact many were played by more than one actor over the course of the series). This is why the audience has gotten through two movies without needing to know too much about Indiana’s back story. By the end of IJATLC Indy is completely psychoanalyzed. Within the first ten minutes we discover the origin of his obsession with whips and leather, his fear of snakes and even the origin of the scar on his chin (which all coincidentally have their beginnings on the same afternoon). Plenty of the remainder of the movie is spent delving into his Daddy Issues, which at one point seem to border on an Oedipal complex. At times this seems like unneeded weight in a movie which is a good twenty minutes longer than either of its predecessors. But, in a way, it fills out the character and solidifies our understanding and devotion for him.
And deep devotion we must have for it has been 19 summers since Indiana Jones drank from the Cup of Life (remember that it did not give him immortality, because he left the shrine and its powers wore off). Here we are again lining up to take in another adventure. For those of you who are kining up for tonight's midnight show of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, have fun. Please add your insights to the comments section. I am holding out until tomorrow at 7:10 pm at the Whittier Village Cinemas so expect my thoughts on Friday.