Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Typical Indiana Jones format in that there is some incredibly unusual/valuable/intriguing item that some "other" (such as the Nazis or Russians) has stolen for some vague reason. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) obtains/loses said item and inevitably goes back to teaching until the next adventure. This time the item is a crystal skull of uncertain origin, the "other" is the Russians, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). It is soon revealed that Raiders of the Lost Ark alum Marion Ravenwood Williams (Karen Allen) and Indy's old pal Harold Oxley (John Hurt) have "disappeared" aka captured after discovering the skull in Peru. It is up to Indy and Marion's son Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) to find Marion, Oxley and the skull before the Russians discover the secrets of the skull. My commentary: The more I watch this movie, the more I like it. Initially, I was a bit disappointed by the shiny new computer effects, but they are pretty cool. As much as I like Harrison Ford in the role of Indy, I probably wouldn't object if he moved on from the role (if the franchise keeps going). Heck, I would have been content with just the original three movies, but Crystal Skull is a better continuation of the original series (aesthetically) than say, Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars compared to Episodes 4-6 Rating: ****** (6 out of 10)