Now we are on to the third Indiana Jones film. This time even his father gets in on the action. It’s definitely a considerable step up from the last film although I would give the first one the edge. The father gets some fun moments here and there but as a whole I do think he tends to take away from Indiana’s moments instead of bolstering them. If you’re up for another big adventure then you’ve come to the right place.

The film sets the stage early on with the goofiest intro scene as a young Indiana tries to outsmart a bunch of crooks but is naturally defeated. In part because his father doesn’t try to help at all. Well, in the present Indiana gets his revenge but when he gets home, he is told by his friend that his father has vanished. The last thing he did was send Indiana his diary which was focused on his quest for the Holy Grail. He must have been on to something which is why he has disappeared so suddenly. Indiana is on the trail now but can he find him? Additionally, will he be able to keep things professional with Dr. Elsa? Yeah…I didn’t think so either.

Indiana isn’t able to stay professional for 5 seconds as he immediately starts to flirt with her. If she was an enemy operative trying to seduce him it could not be any easier as he falls for her immediately. His dad’s in a real bind so you’d think that would make Indiana focus but here is no such luck. The romance here is quite bad once again. It’s played for laughs a bit as they both try to talk tough about how they’re not easy but even they don’t take that seriously. It also makes Indiana look really gullible like in one scene where he is given a heads up but all he can think about is Elsa. Not his best moment at all.

Fact of the matter is, Indiana is completely over his head. Before the mission he is told to trust nobody and yet he ends up showing Elsa the secret diary rather quickly. He also buys some rather terrible excuses. Yeah it’s no wonder why he is always being defeated in every film. This one may be his worst appearance overall but it’s close since he is constantly devastated in every film. The villains just keep their eye on the ball longer than he does which gives them a real advantage.

Meanwhile there is a little drama with Indiana and his father but there’s just not enough time within the film to really get started on that. It feels like a subplot you didn’t really need since it barely goes anywhere. Henry (The father) doesn’t change at all from the beginning of the film to the end. He still calls Indiana “Junior” to annoy him and ends up being more of a liability. He is just a really weak character the whole way through and unfortunately he also has Indiana’s weaknesses. That doesn’t put him in a good situation at all. With more self control maybe he could have solved the mystery already.

Indiana’s partner Marcus is unfortunately also at his worst here. He is even more oblivious than usual and has no idea what he is doing. I initially thought this would be his time to step up but it wasn’t to be. The guy is just not equipped for battle and doesn’t even know when it has begun. Forget calling him an asset to Jones, the guy is basically just a distraction at best. I liked him more in the previous films where he stayed home.

As for Elsa, well there’s not much to like about her. She’s very wishy washy the whole time and really doesn’t see the big picture. Elsa doesn’t stay logical during the case and lets her emotions run away with her. Not a smart move for someone with a big plan like this. I would also hit Indiana with the same complaint since he starts to make a crazy rookie move near the end which makes no sense with how he had just been acting a second prior. It’s like he forgot everything that had just happened a minute prior.

While the characters tend to all be really annoying, this was definitely a good return to form on the adventure front. You finally had a clear goal with different steps needed at every corner in order to get closer to it. This feels more like what you would expect from an Indiana Jones film. Additionally the film had good humor with funny jokes sprinkled in. It matched the first film more in that regard. Generally it is more light hearted than the first film without a doubt but without going too far. This is still a serious adventure after all and the writing is good either way.

We also got to see more of Professor Jones which is always fun. The guy is definitely a really well respected teacher so you can imagine how much everyone misses him when he’s gone. You get the feeling that the school probably wouldn’t put up with all of his absences otherwise. Although I guess we can assume that off screen he wins enough to have a very solid reputation as an explorer who gets priceless artifacts to the museum so I may be selling him a bit short here. Either way I’m still waiting for a film to dig into the human identity a bit more although this had the most screen time by far so I can accept that. Jones almost seems to have a completely different personality while at school as he’s a lot harder and more sarcastic about the legends. It would be nice if he always had that attitude during the film.

Overall, This was a fun movie. It’s a good adventure that goes by quickly while covering a lot of ground. I think there was some potential with the father son dynamic but the film didn’t really make full use of it at all. To a degree I dare say that you didn’t even need the father there. It’s not like he contributed a whole lot to the story anyway. The movie should have gone into the drama a bit more and tie in a satisfying conclusion. Ah well, the movie succeeds on the other fronts with the writing and humor. I appreciate how they made this one more light hearted. If you haven’t seen it yet then you definitely ought to.

Overall 7/10