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Ithaca, 30 May 08 -- Maybe it's simply that the "Indiana Jones" series is set decades in the past, offering an extra layer of protection from anachronism, but in a recent viewing of the third film on DVD, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" proved itself a timeless film that holds up exceptionally well. Nearly two decades old, what was until recently the capstone to the Indiana Jones trilogy manages to be both timeless and classic, epitomizing the adventure film genre rather than fading into its past.

The descendants of Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones films are such supernatural archaeology thrillers as "The Mummy" and its sequels, and such historical adventure tilts as "National Treasure." However improbable an action hero Nicolas Cage may be, his laid-back academic-adventurer certainly owes a lot to Harrison Ford's legacy. Brendon Fraser as the rakish explorer of "The Mummy" more clearly inherits from Dr. Jones and the Saturday serial tradition that "Raiders of the Lost Ark" itself inherited.

Along with the adventure, it's noteworthy that "Raiders" and "Last Crusade" both display a religious reverence that's rarely seen in film these days. (Just ask the Catholic Church whether they consider "The DaVinci Code" to be reverent.)

Best of all, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" features one of the best performances of one of the best adventure actors in history, Sean Connery. Connery and Ford each manage not to upstage the other, but instead pull off a terrific rapport that makes me really wish Connery had agreed to even a brief cameo in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The veteran actor, most famous as the quintessential James Bond, had made the quite reasonable decision to retire several years ago, and decided to stick to his guns.

I haven't seen the new movie yet, but now, having watched the first and third movies of the original trilogy, I feel I'm ready to dive in this weekend.

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