Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

“Oh, I believe sister. That’s why I’m down here.” – Indiana Jones

It’s 1957 and the Russians have kidnapped Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr (Harrison Ford) along with his good friend George “Mac” McHale (Ray Winstone). They have broken into a closed military base (Area “Hanger” 51) in the deserts of Nevada. Lead by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), they force Dr. Jones to help them recover an artifact being held there by the US government. They want a rectangular storage container with the remains of a mummified body inside. They believe Dr. Jones knows where it is because he was part of a team ten years ago that originally found and examined it.

He used the magnetic qualities in gun powder to locate the box among the large amount of other containers in the wear house. After they open it, Dr. Jones gets his hands on a gun and uses it to escape. However before he gets away he is betrayed by McHale. He’s been a double agent for years working for the Soviets. Jones, while stunned manages to get away.

Dr. Jones find himself in the middle of a nuclear bomb test site and he only has seconds to figure out how to save himself before being vaporized before our eyes. In one of the best scenes in the entire movie, he adverts disaster and ends up safe in the hands of the military. He discovers the FBI wants him for questioning because of his friendship with McHale who they’ve been monitoring for years. They are suspicious of Jones but tell him he is obviously free to go.

He heads back to Marshall College where he is still an archeological professor. He is told he has to take a leave of absence because the US government has pressured the school with the fear Jones is a communist. He decides to head to London where he can teach there. Before he leaves on train, he is stopped by Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), and is told is old friend Dr. Harold Oxley (John Hurt) has been kidnapped because he had discovered a crystal skull in peru.

From this point, the movie takes a wild ride with Mutt and Jones in search for the Crystal Skull. The movie may very well be the best movie in the entire series. And the good news for Indiana Jones fans, this shows no signs of being the final installment in the franchise. In fact, the end of the movie has a very telling sign, that not only may there be more Indiana Jones films, but Harrison Ford isn’t ready to give up his hat and whip to LaBeouf yet.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull succeeds in every arena. The film is visually beautiful set in the late 1950’s. It also has the same feel as the previous three movies. You can easily watch all four films in a row and not miss a beat. It is suspenseful and packed full of action and adventure (with a whole lot of thrill and humor added in).

The movie is rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images. It’s just over two hour long, and there’s never a wasted minute. I could not be more impressed with this movie, I happily and excitedly give it four out of four stars!