Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Variety

To say that Paramount's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" may be the best film ever made for 12-year-olds is not a backhanded compliment. What was conceived as a child's dream of a Saturday matinee serial has evolved into a moving excursion into religious myth.

More cerebral than the first two Indiana Jones films, and less schmaltzy than the second, this literate adventure should make big bucks by entertaining and enlightening kids and adults alike.

The Harrison Ford-Sean Connery father-and-son team gives "Last Crusade" unexpected emotional depth, reminding us that real film magic is not in special effects.

For Lucas and Spielberg, who are now entering middle age, the fact that this is more a character film than f/x extravaganza could signal a welcome new level of ambition.

Roger Ebert

If there is just a shade of disappointment after seeing this movie, it has to be because we will never again have the shock of this material seeming new. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," now more than ever, seems a turning point in the cinema of escapist entertainment, and there was really no way Spielberg could make it new all over again.

What he has done is to take many of the same elements, and apply all of his craft and sense of fun to make them work yet once again. And they do.

BBC

Five years after the disappointing "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", a chastened Steven Spielberg completed the trilogy for a majestic final instalment that combined the finest elements of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with his pet theme of father-son relationships.

The return of Brody (Elliott) and Sallah (Rhys-Davies) to the fold makes this even more of a family affair, but it's the inspired casting of Sean Connery as Indy's crotchety father that makes the third Indy movie such a rich and rewarding experience.