Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

So I'm sitting in the darkened theater. I have just watched several movie trailers for upcoming action/adventure films. (Some of them look pretty awesome...but I digress.)

The old familiar Lucasfilm logo comes on the screen, followed by the old school Paramount logo (the one from the 80's, if I know my nostalgia). First image - a prairie dog. I'm thinking, "Okay, interesting choice." Then, there is a car full of teenagers racing with some military officials out in the desert, to the tune of "Hound Dog." The credits roll. I note the superiority of all filmmakers involved. Spielberg aside, there is Janusz Kaminski and his mind-blowing cinematography, Michael Kahn and his adrenaline-infused editing, and of course, Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas himself in the producers' chairs. Lucas also co-wrote the script with David Koepp. All of these are frequent Spielberg collaborators, and their talents combined, without fail, produce superior results.

When the credits stop rolling, we are almost immediately re-introduced to Indiana Jones (Ford, looking old, but not too old). The old familiar John Williams score plays, and my heart begins to race. I am ready to boogie. Because the first five minutes are superb in their execution. Without missing a beat, every element comes together, and the result is terribly exciting.

And that's the word that best describes Indy 4. It is just so exciting! There are maybe five minutes of down time in the entire movie. It is a popcorn flick, no doubt, but it is so incredibly well-made. This is the way filmmaking should be done, folks. Take a page out of Spielberg's book. As cliche as it might be to say, he genuinely is one of the greatest of this or any time.

Now to a rundown of the plot. It's 1957. Indiana Jones is now a Colonel who served in WWII. He is kidnapped (we learn in the first few minutes) by Russian KGB (no more Nazis - it's Cold War time!), led by Irina Spalko (a terrific as always Cate Blanchett). Spalko plans to use Indy to find...well...a crystal skull. This is immediately followed by the first plot twist, the first huge action scene, an atomic bomb explosion, and Indy's escape.

So we learn that old Indiana Jones is a tenured professor of anthropology. Enter Mutt Williams (latest it-boy Shia LaBeouf, in one of the coolest introductions of the series) to enlist Indy's help to find his old pal Professor Oxley (John Hurt...British and bizarre). Chase scene, character development, travel to foreign land (shown via the old-school line on the world map), action scene, caves and cobwebs, plot development, plot twist #2, more Cate Blanchett, the introduction to the crystal skull, more Shia LaBeouf, more action, more action, more action. Damn, it's just so exciting!

VERDICT:
In the end, it's the kind of movie that you must see. Take my word for it. It's never boring, always interesting, and come on...who wouldn't want to see Harrison Ford try his hardest to be agile again? Spot-on acting, camera work, editing, music, everything. I welcome Indiana Jones back not just as a fan of the franchise, but as someone who loves to be entertained by someone who knows how to entertain well. Thank you Steven Spielberg!

Should you spend your money? For God's sake, YES! 9/10.