by Matthew Adams

Created on: June 09, 2008   Last Updated: September 14, 2008

*Director: Steven Spielberg
* Producer: Frank Marshall
* Screenwriter: David Koepp
* Stars: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent
* MPAA Rating: PG-13

So, Indy has returned in this latest addition to the franchise. After a period in which the series seemed to have been closed, up pops Crystal Skull to reawaken the franchise. In many respects, the latest addition leaves mixed feelings.

Indy is older at 65, and his attempt at another fully-fledged action fling is noteworthy. With the film set in the 1950s to reflect his age, the Soviets are introduced as the chief protagonists. The opening sequence doesn't mess about, with captured Indy and his not so reliable sidekick Mac leading the Soviets and Irina Spalko towards a mysterious item within a top-secret military destination in the Nevada desert. After it transpires that Mac is in fact a Soviet spy, Indy pulls off a quite dramatic escape from his captors. Alas, being dropped off within a nuclear testing ground, he hides within a lead fridge and gets blown out of the nuclear mushroom cloud - but is safely concealed within the fridge unit. In many respects, this type of typically unrealistic survival scenario crops up a few times within the film.

His association with Mac leads the FBI to suspect him as a Russian spy. Indy is sacked from his teaching role and only then begins his journey towards the Crystal Skull when he meets his unknown son. During this time, the film dwells a little on previous films with Indy reflecting on his late father and Marcus. This nostalgia is reflected when Mutt accidentally rides a bike into the Marcus statue while escaping the KGB, much to Indy's disapproval.

The film then follows the usual archaeology route, with Indy and Mutt making the long trip to Mexico to find the mysterious artifact. Once found, it turns out the skull is supremely crafted beyond anything Indy has seen. Again rumbled by Mac, Indy is captured and brought back to the Soviets with the skull.

So, the cycle repeats with another great escape. But with further Indy nostalgia revived by the introduction of Raider's of the Lost Arc heroin, Anna Maria. Indy now becomes aware that Mutt is his son, and as such further continuity from The Last Crusade reveals itself. This time, however, Indy is the father. An obvious pitfall is that Mutt is actually not much alike to Indy in terms of appearance, or indeed a great archaeologist like his father. In truth, you would not

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