History YMMV / IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade

** While fighting on top of the tank, there's a scene played for laughs where Indy shoots a Nazi soldier and the bullet passes through him and three other soldiers taking them all out with a single shot. Then a few years later Steven Spielberg memorably had a similar moment during the horrifying liquidation of the ghetto scene in Schindler‘s list making this scene a lot less funny when rewatching.

* EvilIsSexy: Dr. Elsa Schneider is the only villainous leading lady of the series, but it doesn't stop her from having admirers for being a very youthful Austrian FemmeFatale.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: The Grail Knight and Fedora are very memorable despite only appearing briefly.

** Marion's absence from this film becomes this in ''Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' when it's revealed that she was pregnant when Indy left and didn't tell him, meaning that while he's repairing his relationship with Henry, Mutt is either a newborn or still in Marion's womb and Indy has no idea of his existence.

* ContestedSequel: Although ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is commonly regarded as the best film in the series due to its action scenes, our introduction to Indy, the incredibly popular Marion Ravenwood, and plain old FirstInstallmentWins, there's a not-insubstantial group of fans who consider ''The Last Crusade'' to be even better than ''Raiders'' due to its tighter pacing, the more emotionally involving story, and the dynamic between Creator/HarrisonFord and Creator/SeanConnery, whose comedic dialogue provides a large number of iconic lines. This is a heavily [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example, as both films are still well-liked and greatly enjoyed by most fans.

* EvenBetterSequel: Although ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is commonly regarded as the best film in the series due to its action scenes, our introduction to Indy, and plain old FirstInstallmentWins, there's a not-insubstantial group of fans who consider ''The Last Crusade'' to be even better than ''Raiders'' due to its tighter pacing, the more emotionally involving story, and the dynamic between Creator/HarrisonFord and Creator/SeanConnery, whose comedic dialogue provides a large number of iconic lines. That being said, both films are still well-liked and greatly enjoyed by most fans.

(''He turns the gun onto Henry Jones Sr. and shoots him instead'')

*** He also did a Connery impersonation for his role as Kassim in another Disney property, ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves''...another third installment of a popular adventure series, in which the hero is reunited with his estranged father, who has chased an artifact all his life to the detriment of his relationship with his son, only to realize in the end that his son is more important than the treasure he's been after all his life.

** While fighting on top of the tank there’s a scene played for laughs where Indy shoots a Nazi soldier and the bullet passes through him and three other soldiers taking them all out with a single shot. Then a few years later Steven Spielberg memorably had a similar moment during the horrifying liquidation of the ghetto scene in Schindler‘s list making this scene a lot less funny when rewatching.

*** Two years later he nearly caused a very bad accident when he landed in front of a plane about to take off, causing an investigation about whether he could keep his pilot's license.

* {{Fanon}}: For a while some fans thought (or hoped) that [[spoiler: drinking from the Grail at the end gave Indy immortality, or at least an extended lifespan and slower aging]]. An older, slower Indy in ''Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' ruined that idea. Then again, ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' shows that Indy lived to at least his early nineties in the early 1990s, so perhaps [[spoiler: drinking from the Grail did give him an extended lifespan]], if nothing else.

* EvilIsSexy: Dr. Elsa Schneider is the only villainous leading lady of the series, but it doesn't stop her from having admirers for being a very youthful Austrian Femme Fatale.

** One of the false Grails is a plate. In the Arthurian novel ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' by Creator/ChretienDeTroyes, which is the first story ever featuring the Holy Grail, the item is a plate. In context, the the word "grail" (notice the lowercase) referred to a dish to serve fish.

** Speaking of Bond, the gun that Donovan uses to shoot Henry is a a Walther PPK, much like the one that Connery used as Bond. [[Film/Skyfall Two films after]] Mikkelsen's appearance, Creator/DanielCraig would receive a gun that only he can fire.

* OneSceneWonder: The Grail Knight only appears briefly in the movie's final act, but he's still one of the most most memorable characters in the film, if not the ''franchise'', as explicit, living, and ''benign'' proof of the supernatural.

* EvenBetterSequel: Although ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is commonly regarded as the best film in the series due to its action scenes, our introduction to Indy, and plain old FirstInstallmentWins, there's a not-insubstantial group of fans who consider ''The Last Crusade'' to be even better than ''Raiders'' due to its tighter pacing, the more emotionally involving story, and the dynamic between Creator/HarrisonFord and Creator/SeanConnery, whose comedic dialogue provides a large number of iconic lines. {{Downplayed}}, as both films are still well-liked and greatly enjoyed by most fans.

** [[spoiler: Creator/JulianGlover has a history of playing EvilAllAlong characters in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' and ''Series/MagnumPI''.]]
** [[spoiler: Alison Doody was previously best known in the States as villainous BondGirl Jenny Flex in ''Film/AViewToAKill''.]]

* MagnificentBastard: [[NobleDemon Garth]] is the leader of a gang of treasure hunters who pursues the young Indiana Jones when the boy steals the Cross of Coronado. Unlike his men, Garth [[WouldntHurtAChild never tries to harm young Indiana]], even [[VillainousRescue rescuing him from getting mauled by a lion]]. While unable to prevent Indiana's escape, Garth instead gets the sheriff on his side who forces Indiana to hand the relic over. Garth then [[PetTheDog gives his rival a pep-talk over his loss]] and even gives the boy his fedora, which would become Indiana's iconic hat. This memory even appears to spur Indy to sway the battle against Panama Hat in his favor.
* {{Narm}}:
** Halfway through his RapidAging, Donovan looks just like [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc Brown]].
** Indy lifting up his leg ramrod-straight as he prepares for the leap of faith. It's an incredibly unnatural looking motion.
** The shot of Colonel Vogel falling down the cliff towards the camera with his tank. His over-the-top expression and the poor ChromaKey used add to the {{Narm}}.
** Awesome as it is, the opening sequence gets a bit harder to take seriously when you realize it's positing that Indy picked up every single one of his trademark skills and quirks in a single afternoon.
* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize:

* OneSceneWonder: The Grail Knight only appears briefly in the movie's final act, but he's still one of the most most memorable characters in the film, if not the ''franchise''.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Due to [[TheMole her role]] and [[spoiler:giving Donovan the fake Grail]] Elsa's character is open to a lot of interpretation, with some seeing her as a pragmatic opportunist, others as a selfish villain, and others as someone who started out selfish but grew to love Indy and try and cut ties with the Nazis for good.

%%* EvilIsSexy: Dr. Elsa Schneider.

%%* SignatureScene:
%%** The motorcycle escape.
%%** The fight scene on the tank.
%%** Donovan drinking the wrong grail.

** The bookshelf behind Indy when he says "X Marks the Spot" is a remarkably cheap prop that has to been seen to be believed.