Happy Father’s Day! There are a lot of great movies you can watch for the occasion. Breaking Away and Life With Father come to mind. But the best one for my money is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Not only is it one of the most underrated entries in the franchise, it’s a great character study delving into the background of our beloved archaeologist. Here are my top five reasons this is the movie to watch on Father’s Day.
1. Indiana Jones’ father is James Bond.
The whole Indiana Jones franchise started when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were talking about what projects they were doing next. Spielberg wanted to direct a Bond pictures. Lucas said he had that beat, told him the concept for Raiders of the Lost Ark and the rest is history. So it’s fitting that when Last Crusade was being made they cast Sean Connery as Indy’s father. And Connery’s chemistry with Ford is flawless.
2. Indy’s father is a badass in his own right.
A lesser movie would have made Indy’s father some helpless, doddering old fool. While he might not be as physically imposing as Indy, he holds his own throughout the adventure. There’s the scene where he gets the seagulls to fly up and crash an enemy plane. He then proceeds to quote Charlemagne. My other favorite scene is when he is being held in the Nazi tank with Marcus Brody and delivers an epic monologue against book burning.
3. The father-son interactions feel very realistic.
All too often in movies when we see parent-child relationships portrayed, they feel like Hollywood versions of real relationships. The script for Last Crusade is smarter than that. For me the best example of this is when Indy and his father are on the zeppelin after escaping Nazi capture. The whole dialogue in that scene is some of the most realistic father-son dialogue ever written for a movie.
Indiana Jones: It was just the two of us, Dad. That was a lonely way to grow up, lonely for both of us. I can remember the last time we had a drink together; I had a milkshake. But we didn’t talk; we’ve never talked. If you’d been an average and regular father, like all of my friends’ dads, you would’ve understood.
Professor Henry Jones: I was a wonderful father.
Indiana Jones: Yeah, how?
Professor Henry Jones: Did I ever tell you to eat up, go to bed, wash your ears, or do your homework? No. I respected your privacy, and I taught you self-reliance.
Indiana Jones: What you taught me is that I was less important to you than people who’ve been dead for 500 years in another country. And I learned it so well, that we’ve hardly spoken for 20 years.
Professor Henry Jones: You left just as you were becoming interesting. Okay, I’m here now. So what do you want to talk about?
Indiana Jones: I… I can’t think of… anything.
Professor Henry Jones: Then what are you complaining about? We have work to do.
4. It’s a more character-driven story that still delivers great action scenes.
One of the criticism of the movie by many is that it doesn’t have enough action. Last Crusade is certainly more of a character study than the previous entries in the franchise. But it does have enough great action scenes to make it unmistakably an Indiana Jones pictures. There’s the opening scene where we see Indy’s first adventure, the boat chase in Venice, the motorcycle chase and the badass tank scene. While it might have a few less action sequences overall, the ones it has deliver. And in the tank chase it’s fun watching Indy and his dad working together to outwit the Nazis.
5. They reconcile in a very moving way.
When Indy was young, part of the reason for his rift with his father is that Indy felt his father was more interested in Holy Grail lore than his own family. Ironically the search for the Holy Grail is what brings them together and helps them mend their relationship. The key moment isn’t a showy one. But it’s poignant. All through the movie Indy’s father has been referring to him as Junior, which irks Indy no end. As Indy is desperately reaching for the Holy Grail in danger of falling to his death, his father says, “Indiana. Let it go.” That small gesture of respect is when you see the relationship slowly coming back together. His father does care more about him than the Holy Grail. And they ride off into the sunset with Sallah and Marcus.
Film Perspective 