Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade

The Last Crusade was the last Indiana Jones movie made before the series’ rebirth in 2008. In the movie Indy searches for his father, a Holy Grail scholar, who was kidnapped in his search for the Grail. In order to find his father, Indy has to retrace his father’s footsteps on his quest for the Grail, and actually discovered new clues that his father couldn’t find and which tell the location of the Grail. After Indiana rescues his father from the Nazis, the duo goes on to find the hiding place of the Holy Grail only to discover that the greedy Nazis had found it first. The Nazis, however, did not know the secrets of how to pass the booby traps guarding the Grail and, knowing Indiana did, the Nazis shot Indy’s father so that Indy would have to find the grail to save him. After passing the three treacherous obstacles separating Indy from the Grail, he uses its divine power to save his father’s life. Once his father was healed and the group was leaving the Grail’s hiding place, there was an earthquake that caused the Grail to be dropped and swallowed up by a crevice in the earth. Indy and his father were not that disappointed though because they had accomplished their lifelong dream of finding the Holy mystic religious symbol.



This movie of the original Indiana Jones trilogy was unique because it provides much of the back story that is not explained in the first two films such as Indy’s fear of snakes, the cause of a scar on his chin, his use of bullwhips and his hat. It also shows a different side of Jones, which makes him seem more human, by paring him with his father and showing us their rocky relationship. We also get a glimpse of how Indy grew into the man he was in the film through his initial attempts at recovering a mystic cross from treasure robbers.
Although this film is not a typical 80s film with bright colored clothing and synthesized music, it gives us an idea of the political climate of the time. We see the nazi regime portrayed in a very negative way indicating the scars of the Second World War to still be quite raw. We also can see the development of treasure seeking which became a very large sport in the 80s with the invention of diving and the ease of travel. Overall the Indiana Jones trilogy seems to spark a childlike passion for adventure and treasure in all of us.