You dont need superpowers when you’ve got a bullwhip, a fedora and your name is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford, luckily rugged at 65 and not wrinkled, is back as everyone’s favourite bullet dodging Professor. The film is set in 1957, 20 years after the not-so-last crusade. The Nazis are gone but there are new challenges for the embattled Professor Jones.
Russian Irina, leftover from Stalin’s regime, is scouring the world for mystical ancient treasures that she thinks might help the Red cause. Marion Ravenwood is a blast from Indy’s romantic past - she’s as feisty and argumentative as she was in Raiders of the Lost Ark and this time she’s got backup. Her son Mutt is, surprise surprise, Indiana’s.
Deadly South American tribes, killer giant ants and murderous geography complete the assorted collection of pitfalls that lie on the road to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Thankfully, Indiana remains unbreakable - surviving a nuclear holocaust, a treacherous pal (British of course, the backstabbing bastard!!!) and a weird alien skull that talks to him - and finally wins the day and the girl. Bonus - he gets a fully grown son who’s nappies he didnt have to change and can now rely on to save a tricky situation, like being forced to nearly drive off a cliff by the evil Irina.
Same old, same old says Indiana in the movie. And yes, it is. The plot devices are old fashioned, the cinematography of the comic book type. And while Spielberg-Lucas Inc may have tried a little modernization (aliens!!! UFOs!!!) the charm of the film lies in the Indiana-ishness of it. Watch it for what it is - a good old-fashioned adventure romp packed with thrills, chills and comic capers. There isnt much eye candy for the gents - Cate Blanchett as Irina packs the punches rather than the pretties - but ladies rejoice: Harrison Ford is as fine as wine and Shia LaBeouf as Mutt is a little bit of Brando. So if you are a female Indiana Jones fan, you’ve hit jackpot.
So yeah there will be the promised 5th outing too. We know that because Harrison Jones snatches his hat out of Mutt LaBeouf’s hand just as Boy Brando is about to put it on. Hopefully film 5 will be made in the foreseeable future or else Indiana himself may have to be wholly CGI