Movie Review: 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

The man in the hat is back so let's crack the critical whip. In the time since Ford, Connery and Rhys-Davis rode off into the sunset at the end of Crusades we have heard endless rumours and beheld countless pretenders to the throne— National Treasure, to name but one—diluting our (admit it) longing for the return of Spielberg's Saturday matinee homage.

Stuffier critics will claim that familiarity breeds contempt and shout to the tops of the multiplex roofs that they've seen it all before, but isn't it the very "all" we've waited 19 years to revisit? Harrison Ford chasing a mystical maguffin—aka The Crystal Skull—through an ancient civilisation setting, pursued by angry tribes—aka Russians. The answer is yes. Cue John Williams' rousing score.

After years of making cathartic films that were for him, Spielberg has stated that "this one is for the fans" and has backed that up by bringing back Raiders' muse, Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood. He has also sat down with regular cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to study the original trilogy and reiterate the look of past glories.

Allen is wonderful and doesn't seem to have aged a day since first planting a right hook on Jones' face in the Raven Bar, which makes their initial meeting and subsequent banter a real highlight.

The problem with the look of the film, though, is that Spielberg peppers his solid visuals with some decidedly dodgy CGI (killer ants). This great director hasn't been this lazy since dino-dud The Lost World, relying in Crystal Skull on the set-pieces of a high speed jungle pursuit, river boat ride and, ironically enough, a crystal maze-style finale to paper over the cracks.

What of Henry Jones Jr. himself? You can rest assured that Ford still cuts it as the rugged relic hunter and will be able to do so for years to come. With a free bus pass in his artifact bag he seems to get younger as the movie rumbles on towards an impending doom in quicksand, which is comedy genius and one of many nods to the originals.

Unfortunately Blanchett proves a redundant villain and only adds to the lack of threat permeating the script of Indy 4, which is actually quite a tension-free movie. There is no hat under the door moment to gasp at but Shia LaBeouf continues to ascend the rungs as the unfortunately named, cocksure and headstrong Mutt and he is the perfect foil for Ford's "been there, done that" icon.

And finally there is the Lucas influence that inevitably brings sci-fi. A far-fetched finale threatens to throw Kingdom of the Crystal Skull into the snake pit in contrast to the grandiose and understated realism of former incarnations. We merely get an ending lifted from The Mummy Returns. It leaves a bad taste.

Do not look at the three-star rating and feel that this is a disappointing movie though. That mark is awarded on the unique Indiana Jones scale of quality upon which Raiders set a precedent all those years ago. Embrace it like an old friend but take heed that things are never going to be quite how you remember them.

Three stars