This week, Michael decided to con Nakea into watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He chose…poorly.
The third film in a franchise The Unenthusiastic Critic has already decided she doesn't like, starring two of her least favorite actors (Harrison Ford and Sean Connery), Michael knew Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was probably going to be a tough sell. But—considering the film is a madcap adventure of boat chases, plane crashes, and tank battles—it never occurred to him that the first challenge would be convincing Nakea to stay awake.
So the conversation goes off the rails early and often this week. (If you find yourself wondering how an episode about Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has degenerated into a discussion of vintage comic-strip pornography, welcome to life with The Unenthusiastic Critic.)
Program
0:00: Prologue: The Indiana Jones Theme (on Kazoo)
0:27: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion of the Indiana Jones franchise
17:55: Original Trailer for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
19:54: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
58:47: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:01:01: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (dir. Steven Spielberg, Paramount, 1989)
—Reviews and Articles Mentioned: Roger Ebert on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; AFI's "100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains"
—Prologue is John Williams' "The Raiders March," arranged for kazoo by Pen of Chaos.
—Read The Unenthusiastic Critic in prose form at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are welcome!)
—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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1 thought on “INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)”
"Raiders of the Lost Ark": Enjoyed it most of the way through, until the deus ex machina ending which turned everything in the plot before it into a moot point.
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom": The heroes in this one are saved, not by magic, but by their own actions, enabling it to have most thrilling third act of the three films, despite having the worst acts one and two. The downsides are the misogynistic treatment of Kate Capshaw's character and the orientalism, mentioned by the Unenthusiastic Critic, which extends to the scenes in India and led to an official protest from the Indian government.
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade": Though awake for 100% of it, I recall few details. The presence of Sean Connery as Indy's father was a plus. There was, however, a missed opportunity in the casting of the Grail Knight. John Cleese in a surprise cameo would have brought the house down. A question I had at the end of the film was how much did drinking from the grail extend Indy's and his father's lifespans. Apparently not much, since although I have not seen "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the clips and what I've read indicate Indy is aging normally. I don't recall much about Elsa, but from your descriptions, she fits the pattern of women characters in George Lucas productions post-Leia.