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82%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #122
...out of 14,098 movies
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In 1938, after his father Professor Henry Jones, Sr. goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. finds himself up against Adolf Hitler's Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
--IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: September 21, 2006
Here we have the third and final (well, until 2008) adventure of Indiana Jones, a film coming off the heels of one of the more disappointing sequels in Hollywood history. I have to admit that I'd have had second thoughts about this after seeing the previous entry, had I had a movie theater around at the time of its release. Sure, I'd have eventually broke down and paid for the ticket, but much like those direct-to-video zombie movies that seem to come out every week, the thought that I was probably going to walk away disappointed would linger in the back of my mind. Thankfully, this was not the case.
Indy's final adventure (or first, depending on how you view it) finds him looking for his father, who has gone missing while searching for the Holy Grail of artifacts... well, actually, the Holy Grail itself. Yes, it seems as though adventuring runs in the family, as does getting into trouble, so it's up to "Junior Jones" (Harrison Ford) to rescue his father (Sean Connery) from the clutches of those evil Nazis who are also trying to get this Holy Grail for themselves. With an Austrian archaeologist by the name of Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody) by his side, Jones eventually frees his father, and the two of them set out to find the Holy Grail. Of course, there's betrayal along the way, along with plenty of traps, life-and-death situations, explosions, shoot-outs, and as always, Nazis... lots of Nazis.
It seems as though I wasn't the only one disappointed with the previous entry, as Lucas and Spielberg went back to what made Raiders so good with this outing: plenty of action, adventure, some comedic elements, and characters that you could really get behind. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that this one surpassed the original in the entertainment department, I will say that it's easily on par with it - and considering that, in my eyes, the original was a perfect film, that's definitely saying something.
Gone are the darker elements found within Doom, and gone also are the highly annoying sidekicks that grated on my every nerve. Instead, we get more of the same things that I loved about Raiders, and although this may have been a bad thing in other series, it works out quite nicely here with all things considered. You can pretty much determine whether or not you'd like this one before you even pop the disc into your player with one simple question: "Did I enjoy the original?" Your answer to that will more likely than not mirror your answer when asked the same thing about this one, since they're both basically the same movie.
The one thing that sets this apart from the original, however, is the inclusion of Jones' father as his sidekick. Sean Connery, the former James Bond himself, is the perfect addition to this storyline in terms of the wink-wink factor (who better to be Jones' dad than James Bond?) and the actor himself. Connery, while not one of my favorite actors, is one of those guys that can usually be counted on to deliver when it comes to his starring roles, and this is no exception - the man takes the character and makes it his own, even managing to steal some scenes away from the hero himself. When you also consider that Connery and Ford had a natural on screen chemistry with one another, I think that it goes without saying that watching these two work was more than just a small treat.
It wouldn't be a proper Indiana Jones film without loads of action sequences, and much like Raiders, this one is an almost non-stop rollercoaster ride of action and death-defying stunts. I particularly enjoyed the opening scene, which features a young Indy (played by the late River Phoenix) getting his first taste of adventure. It also explains his hatred of snakes in a humorous moment, and the whole thing ends with a transition into yet another brilliant action sequence aboard a ship. There are plenty of other neat scenes to be found - the tank battle was another favorite - but there has to be some surprises left for the first-time viewer, right?
This is how a sequel should be. It retains everything that made the series so fun to begin with, yet it adds enough new material to keep things fresh, and in the end, it always leaves the audience wanting more. It's a bit too early to have an opinion on the upcoming fourth entry into the series, but after having watched the first three almost in a row, I'm definitely in the mood for some more Indy. 10/10.
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#1:
bluemeanie
- added 09/21/2006, 04:46 PM
10/10. The final installment...for now...and my
second favorite in the trilogy. Sean Connery has
just what it takes to go toe-to-toe with Harrison
Ford, and I thought the pay-off was absolutely
splendid. I can watch this one any time, any
place.
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#2:
Lucid Dreams
- added 05/30/2010, 10:04 PM
My favorite in the series. Sean Connery and
Harrison Ford did a great job as the father and
son. 10/10
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