Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or her swag? Yeah, scholar Joseph Campbell noticed first—in 1949. He wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in which he outlined the 17 stages of a mythological hero's journey.

About half a century later, Christopher Vogler condensed those stages down to 12 in an attempt to show Hollywood how every story ever written should—and, uh, does—follow Campbell's pattern. We're working with those 12 stages, so take a look. (P.S. Want more? We have an entire Online Course devoted to the hero's journey.)

Ordinary World

For Indiana, the ordinary world is his college campus. He teaches class, wears a bowtie, lets students' papers pile up for weeks, and is so bored and disinterested in it all that he sneaks out a window rather than hold office hours. Teacher of the Year? Yeah, probably not.

Call To Adventure

Indiana's adventure begins when he meets Donovan, who goes on and on (and on) about the Holy Grail before finally cutting to the chase: he's hunting the Grail, and the project leader's gone missing. Wait. There's more: the project leader is Indiana's dad, Henry, and he was last seen in Venice.

Refusal Of The Call

We don't see Indiana tell Donovan, "Thanks, but no thanks," but we can assume that that's how things went down because, in the following scene, Indiana tells Brody to call Donovan and tell him he'll take that ticket to Venice, after all.

Meeting The Mentor

Here's where things get a little complicated. Henry is Indiana's mentor. In our story, Indiana first meets him not in the flesh but through his meticulous Grail diary, which contains decades of research about the Cup of Christ. It's Henry's life's work. It's when the lightbulb goes off over Indiana's head and he realizes why his dad mailed him his diary—it must contain something majorly important that the guys who kidnapped him are after—that's when Henry's mentorship begins.

Crossing The Threshold

Once Indiana arrives in Venice (with Brody) and meets Elsa, he's in. He leaves campus life behind, dusts off his whip and fedora, and commits to rescuing dear old Dad. When he busts through the floor of the library and starts exploring the catacombs with Elsa, he's all in. So long, academia. Hello, crypt full of rats.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Indiana faces a variety of increasingly difficult tasks and tests on his route to the Holy Grail. First, there's that crypt full of rats we just mentioned. Then there's the speedboat chase with Kazim. After that, Indiana impersonates a Scottish nobleman, shoots a handful of Nazis, finds out his girlfriend's a Nazi sympathizer, and escapes from being tied to a chair in a burning room.

He follows all of that up by trying to escape Germany via zeppelin, impersonating a waiter, having a painful heart-to-heart with his deadbeat dad, hijacking a plane, and outwitting a Nazi gunner.

Last but not least, he rides a tank off a cliff and survives.

Along the way, Indiana's joined by his allies: Henry, Brody, and Sallah. Henry plays the most active role in helping Indiana out, even if he occasionally does things like setting the room on fire or shooting their own plane. Whoops.

Indiana also faces his fair share of enemies: Donovan, who wants to achieve eternal life without getting his undoubtedly well-manicured hands dirty; Elsa, who starts off as an ally but reveals herself to be almost as bad as Donovan; and Colonel Vogel and the rest of the Nazis.

Approach To The Inmost Cave

The inmost cave can represent a lot of things. In Last Crusade, it's an actual inmost cave. It's the Grail room, which is guarded by one seriously old knight, and Indiana must pass three final tests in the form of booby traps and puzzles in order to gain access.

Ordeal

For Indiana, the supreme ordeal is choosing the correct grail. In a cave full of more chalices than a suburban Medieval Times restaurant, Indiana wisely chooses the simple cup befitting a carpenter.

Reward (Seizing The Sword)

After Indiana picks the right grail out of the bunch, his reward isn't the Holy Grail itself, it's the power that it holds. He uses the cup to heal the bullet wound Donovan so graciously gave Henry, saving his dad's life. As far as prizes go, that's pretty huge.

The Road Back

The road back is the reverse of the call to adventure. Here, Indiana starts making his way back to his normal life. Instead of bringing the treasure home, though, Indiana must make sure the Holy Grail stays in its temple like the knight said. That means stopping Elsa from running off with it.

Resurrection

Indiana's final, and biggest, test comes when he has the Holy Grail within reach. For a moment, he's blinded by its offer of immortality, just like Elsa was, and when his dad extends a helping hand, Indiana must choose between letting the Grail go and letting his dad go. He wisely chooses to let the Grail go.

Return With The Elixir

Indiana's journey wraps up with him literally riding off into the sunset with his dad and his pals. He's a changed man, having not only let go of the Holy Grail, but also of most of his resentment for Henry.