"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, everyone's favorite Nazi-defeating, whip-cracking, snake-fearing, snarl-bearing hero, is back, thanks to George Lucas's inability to leave the past alone. After butchering his most famous trilogy, Lucas is back, with Spielburg in tow, to take a crack at the Indy series. Despite his best efforts, Indiana Jones IV remains entertaining, though not for a lack of effort.

Harrison Ford, nearing his 66th birthday, reprises the role he originated, and he does it quite well. Ford is still a convincing hero, seemingly able to athletically whip and jump like he did when he was younger; how much of this is real and how much isn't remains a mystery. In this tale, Indy is faced with helping a young greaser (Shia LeBouef) rescue his mother from kidnapping while simultaneously preventing the Soviets from obtaining a weapon derived from the ancient Mayans. Of course.

LeBouef is good in his role, as he seems to always be. I'm convinced that he will end up a huge movie star; if not now, then certainly after "Transformers 2" comes out (and "Eagle Eye" looks pretty good, too). He remains one of the funnier young actors out there, and this role, which could have been played very stiff and old, provides much of the comic relief in the film. Cate Blanchett plays the nasty red Commie bastard, which seems comically close to a Russian caricature, complete with bob haircut, leather costume, and think Ukrainian accent. She does fine, but she could have been exchanged for any number of actresses; her part seemed to demand little more than an over-the-top accent.

I had heard a rumor that this Indy movie would be made in the same fashion as the others, with emphasis on action rather than special effects, and that what effects were used would be implemented in a low-tech fashion reminiscent of the original three films. What I saw was something completely different, as several scenes employed extremely high levels of effects (not as high as "Speed Racer", more on par with "I Am Legend"). Unfortunately, these effects were not always well-done, and the climax insulted the integrity of the action in the original films.

I understand that the purpose of an Indiana Jones movie is summertime fun. To that end, Indy IV accomplished its goal. It made a ton of money ($140 million, last I saw, opening weekend) and everyone in the world and their brother went to see it. In the long run, it doesn't really matter whether it is a film worth remembering, because Indiana Jones is one of the most memorable characters in film history. Even so, I would be remiss to say that I thought it was a good movie. I thought the effects were clunky, the plot was so contrived to be almost unbelievable EVEN for an IJ movie, and the movie made the audience suspend belief in reality and the laws of physics so much as to make most viewers say, "come on!".

But it was fun, and exciting, and that's why I went to see it.

ROTTEN TOMATOES GRADE: 78% critics, 64% viewers

ANDERSON ELLIS GRADE: C+