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June 11, 2008
Review - " Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull "
(in Theaters) - By Roland Hansen
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull poster
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones - Shia Lebeuf as Henry
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull  

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by David Koepp
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John
Hurt, and Shia LaBeouf

Indiana Jones is back in a new globe-trotting adventure, "Indiana Jones and
the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."  He’s back in all his wisecracking whip
snapping glory.

The newest Indianna Jones adventure begins in the desert Southwest in
1957 at the height of the cold war. 19 years after the events of “Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade” which, appropriately, came out 19 years ago.
A convoy of Russian spies disguised as American soldiers arrive at the
infamous Hangar 51, where the U.S. government hides everything from
UFOs to a certain Ark of the Covenant, and the slightly worse for wear Dr.
Jones and his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) are forced out of a car trunk at
gunpoint. Leading this exposition is Soviet officer Irina Spalko (Cate
Blanchett) who wants Jones to help her find a mysterious object with magic,
possibly psychic, powers.

Now, Professor Jones has returned home to Marshall College, only to find
things have gone from bad to worse. His close friend and dean of the
college explains that Indy’s recent activities have made him the object of
suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university to
fire him. On his way out of town Indiana meet rebellious young Mutt
(Shia LeBeouf), who carries both a grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist. If he’ll help young Mutt on a
mission with deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history,
the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legenday object of fascination, superstition and fear.

But as Indy and Mutt set out for the most remote corners of Peru, a land of ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a
rumoured city of gold, they quickly realize they are not alone in their search. The Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of
the Crystal Skull. Chief among them is icy cold, devastatingly beautiful Irana Spalko (Cate Blanchett), whose elite military unit
is scouring the globe for the eerie Crystal Skull, which they believe can help the Soviets dominate the world…. If they can
unlock it’s secrets.

Indy and Mutt must evade the ruthless Russians, follow and impenetrable trail of mystery, grapple with deadly enemies and
friends of questionable motives, and above all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of hands.

And from there we get into spoilers, which I will not reveal, but suffice it to say that Jones once again gets involved in a
complicated plot that will involve globe-trotting, grave-spelunking, angry natives, high-speed vehicle chases, creepy-crawlies,
double-crosses and an artifact that will give its owner unspeakable power.

Harrison Ford at 66 convincingly made the character
work, with help from Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett
(who practicaly stole every scene she was in), and
Karen Allen making a very welcome return as Marion
Ravenwood.
Once again Spielberg pulls it all together. “Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is a
Ruff & Tuff, hard hitting, fast action thrill ride. Indy is
doing what he does best. For all you Indiana Jones
fans, you won’t be disappointed, he’s true to form
and a perfect fit, battered felt fedora and whip in
hand. Indiana Jones 4 is the perfect family film if
your kids are old enough to handle man eating
bugs and lots of skulls and skeletons.