"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

By: Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

After almost two decades of waiting, Harrison Ford shakes the dust off his iconic, brown leather hat; grabs his whip, and takes viewers for one more archaeological romp in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” The nostalgia, adventure, mystery and Ford’s toothy grin make outlandish action and wild plot developments beyond palatable: the kind of implausibility that dooms other action movies makes Indy oh-so-tasty.

Well into retirement from his grail-finding days, Jones is introduced to the audience in the latest Indiana Jones movies as a captive, held by Soviets who wish to use his expertise to find a top-secret item buried in a military warehouse at Area 51. After heroically escaping the mess, Dr. Jones’ already-piqued interest needs little bolstering to to be pulled right into the middle of the conflict. He is finally nabbed by the storyline full force when he is enlisted by a brash, young greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), whose mother has been kidnapped by the Soviets (Mutt and his mother turn out to also have a special connection with Jones.).

Hot on the trail, Jones discovers that the Russians are after the mythical Crystal Skull, which is a highly-magnetic piece of alien anatomy that supposedly provides the bearer with all sorts of special psychological powers. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, depending on how you look at it, Indiana had intimate knowledge of the folklore surrounding the skull, but had given this mystery up as pure fiction. Now with a new lead, Indiana and Mutt make their way to South America, where a former colleague, professor “Ox” Oxley (John Hurt), had been searching for the skull amongst ancient ruins. Great perils beset the good guys as they have to vie for the skull and its rightful usage against angry Russian psychologist Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), natives who wish to protect their home and bizarre and dangerous magic.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” quickly embraces the worrisome queries of the audience: Is Ford too old? Yes, Ford is old, but his old-guy, pickup-basketball finesse takes the place of the youthful exuberance present in the first three movies. Is the fourth movie just more of the same? Yes, it is more of the same, but in a good way. This Indiana Jones movie has much of the intriguing archaeological mystique and crazy action that filled the first three movies, but with a plot that is unique enough to distinguish it from the others. Indy might be doing the same thing he has always done, and against the same kind of enemies, but God bless him for that. Although the impossible escapes are worth a chuckle, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” might not have tapped into the nostalgic wonderment of the iconic series unless Indy avoided an atomic blast by jumping inside a refrigerator or unless Mutt and Irina engaged in an inter-vehicle swordfight.

The thrills are impossible, yet also imaginable. As with previous Indiana Jones movies, science and logic meet mystery and the possibility of something beyond what we think we know about our world. The series makes you open up your eyes and wonder, even if just a little.

If anything, the ending of the movie stretches the imagination and good spirits of the audience too much, but the most important thing is that the latest Indiana Jones leaves viewers feeling satisfied. As the Indiana Jones theme music fills the theater at the end of the showing, fans of the first three movies will surely have an extra bounce in their step.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images.