It has been 19 years since Harrison Ford last picked up a whip to play the legendary part-time archeology professor and adventurer, Indiana Jones, but Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have teamed up with the 65-year-old to revive the character for a new adventure. In "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," famed archeologist Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. (Ford) gets sucked into another adventure that takes him to exotic locales searching for a crystal skull. Without giving away too much plot, Indy is blackmailed by soviets to help find a powerful artifact. Along the way he survives the most outrageous moments ever scripted in an Indiana Jones film. Even though Ford is older, it seems that Spielberg and Lucas want the audience to know that he is still all man. Throughout the film Jones seems completely indestructible. While the Indiana Jones films have always had a bit of the super-natural in them, Indy himself has never been superhuman, so this ends up subtracting a bit from his character. Unlike the original three movies, this film seems to have been taken completely from the mind of Lucas; a little more science fiction rather than the traditional mysterious and historically-powered artifacts that show up in the previous films. In Indy's newest romp through ancient burial grounds and lost cities, it seems that there is never more than five minutes between fight scenes.
There are so many over-the-top scenes in the movie that it almost begins to take on the role of a Looney Toons episode, with big bangs and booms but no real emotional payoff. Not to say the action isn't a good thing, because the movie is a blast as long as you aren't planning to invest in the characters. Harrison Ford is still a legitimate action star and this film gives him the chance to do what he does best, which is get into trouble, get out of trouble and deliver some snappy one-liners. Ford is joined on-screen by Shia LaBeouf, who seems to be establishing himself as a bona fide movie star. Unfortunately, his character, Mutt, is not one that LaBeouf seems capable of playing. Mutt is supposed to be a tough as nails, quick with a knife, motorcycle riding greaser. Unfortunately, LaBeouf is best suited to playing somewhat quirky, neurotic characters, so something gets lost in translation. Along with Ford and LaBeouf, the film has a few other heavy hitters, including Oscar-Nominee Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko, a Soviet soldier who has ties to the supernatural herself but is in the end a completely forgettable villain. Much better is Ray Winstone who plays Mac, a friend, but sometimes enemy, of Indy. Winstone is funny and pitch-perfect for his time on-screen, but he isn't there nearly long enough. Karen Allen reprised her role as Marion Ravenwood from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but she might as well have stayed in retirement since her character is just an extra body on screen. Harrison Ford can still turn in a good leading-man performance and the rest of the cast does well enough not to bring the movie down, and with Spielberg in the director's chair a film always has a chance. While "Indiana Jones" may not be a momentous life-changing affair, it is a well-worked over-the-top summer blockbuster that is sure to please.
StarringHarrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone
RatedPG-13
Directed by:Steven Spielberg
Peter's rating3 stars out of 4
Roger Ebert's rating3 1/2 stars out of 4
rottentomatoes78 percent fresh
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