BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas bring you the greatest adventurer of all time in a film packed with “sensational, awe-inspiring spectacles” (Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES). Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull finds Indy (Harrison Ford) trying to outrace a brilliant and beautiful agent (Cate Blanchett) for the mystical, all-powerful crystal skull of Akator in a quest that is filled with “spectacular fun” (Claudia Puig, USA TODAY). Teaming up with a rebellious young biker (Shia LaBeouf) and his spirited original love Marion (Karen Allen), Indy takes you on an action-packed adventure in the exciting tradition of the classic Indiana Jones movies!

FILM REVIEW: Despite the fact that the major players from the original films were back to execute this latest instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise, one could not help but be sceptical about “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” for the simple fact that so much time had passed since the last film that there was the inevitable question of whether or not the film could resonate in today’s cinematic world and whether or not it would be as good as the previous films. On balance, this film is probably about as good as the previous two sequels, if not the original “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, but there are some glaring issues with the film that would certainly dent your enthusiasm for everything Indiana Jones. There’s certainly nothing wrong with Harrison Ford, and in fact, you would be hard pressed to tell that any time has passed as he looks almost the same as he did before. The central object that Indy goes after is perhaps one of the series best in the mystical and powerful Crystal Skull; and the film makes the unusual, but logical move of pushing the series in to the late fifties to account for Ford’s age which allows the story to include Communists as the bad guys and a new visual aesthetic representing the 1950s. The down side comes in the form of certain choices made by both Spielberg and Lucas, including the use of some very silly humour, uninteresting secondary characters and a preponderence of computer generated images which give the feeling that the film was shot almost entirely on soundstages as opposed to live locations which the previous films had done. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is a decent Indy adventure that will entertain, but it comes up short in several areas.

The film opens with a great re-introduction for Indy’s character as he is forced to help the communists, lead by an icy Cate Blanchett, to penetrate Area 51 in search of a mummified alien corpse. There is a nice reference to the Ark Of The Convenant from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and the first shots and action are just as great as the previous films. The film then moves on to Indy being pulled in to the search for the Crystal Skull when Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) convinces Indy to take up his mentor’s (John Hurt) quest to find the mystery city of Akator where the skull must be returned. This is where the strength of this film lies in that the mystery at the heart of the film is quite strange and mystical, offerring a paranormal feeling that betters the search for the Holy Grail from the previous film. The Crystal Skull itself is spooky to look at, particularly with its pulsating energy which manages to control people’s minds. Before long, Indy traverses the globe, investigating strange caves and pyramid structures before he finds Akator, and the resting place for the Crystal Skull. Spielberg still shows he has an affinity for the material, creating a lot of mystical and fun sequences which are up there with the best of the series while simultaneously updating the film for the modern audience. It is in this respect that the film still manages to stand along side the previous sequels made.

Each of the Indy films opens with the Paramount logo morphing in to a real mountain; this time however it morphs in to a mole hill with a little gopher digging its way out of it. This change in motif towards the silly encapsulates what is probably not right about this instalment in the franchise which make a mockery of the whole thing. The subsequent sequences of Indy escaping from the communists and managing to survive a nuclear blast by locking himself in to a lead-laden fridge is absolutely ridiculous and one cannot imagine such a stupid sequence appearing in any of the previous Indy films. However, things do not let up there with LaBeouf’s character Mutt learning to swing through trees from monkeys, Indy and Marion bickering like school kids while sinking in quick sand and the horrifying moment where Mutt almost picks up Indy’s hat in a nod to say he may be the character to continue the franchise in Indy’s footsteps (thankfully Spielberg chooses to have Indy pick up the hat before Mutt can). All of these moments cheapen the film greatly, and one has to wonder about the hand of George Lucas in any creative capacity in a film these days; he had such a good touch in the 80s but it seems to have turned extremely corny and dumb. Spielberg is guilty somewhat for allowing it to happen, but at least he manages to handle all this better as a director than say what Lucas did on the Star Wars prequels.

Another major problem with the film is its extensive reliance on computer generated special effects. The Indiana Jones films were like James Bond films in that they relied on getting everything in camera which gave a feeling of authenticity to the storytelling. With even big action sequences filled in with blue screen vistas, everything now appears to have been shot in a studio and the realness is gone entirely. Fair enough for the climax in that it involves aliens and a very exotic location, but the big jeep chase sequence which sees Indy fighting to get the skull away from the communists is about as fake as they come. This is where things are disappointing with this film, especially when you remember back to the excellent and realistic-looking sequences in previous films such as the truck chase in “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” or the tank chase in “The Last Crusade”.

Indy films have not been known for great acting but even so, this instalment manages to downgrade this as well. Harrison Ford does a great job of reprising Indy, but the remainder of the cast seem to struggle, particularly Cate Blanchett who is normally brilliantly but quite terrible here with her poor Russian accent, and Shia LaBeouf who looks bored most of the time and would rather be somewhere else. The previous films had memorable supporting characters but there do not seem to be any on show here. Thankfully the film rests on Ford’s shoulders and he does not disappoint in this regard, recreating Indiana Jones with the same tenacity and fun that he did in the previous films.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is a decent entry in the Indy franchise and manages to hold its own against the previous sequels, but something has been lost in this new film; it may be wise for Lucas and Spielberg to leave this franchise alone now as some of their choices in this film, if continued and expanded upon with another film, could destroy the reputation of the franchise.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: Given this DVD was produced out of Lucasfilm, the transfer is nothing short of spectacular. This film was shot on film at Spielberg’s insistence but the transfer gives the impression of an all digital film; the picture is crystal clear with perfect colour representation and sharpness. The soundtrack is likewise brilliant, making full use of the surrounds in all the big action sequences, and even the quieter moments, particularly the spooky climax in the alien temple. Overall, the transfer of this film to DVD has been done brilliantly.

EXTRAS REVIEW: The extras package on this DVD is excellent. Although Spielberg does not offer an audio commentary (as he usually doesn’t), the film has numerous featurettes covering the making of the film, including a great one on the pre-production phase where Spielberg, Lucas and Ford discuss why this film took so long to get made, who pushed for it the most and how the whole thing had to be re-imagined in the wake of so much time having past since the last film. In addition to the extensive featurettes are a number of photo galleries, trailers, pre-visualisation sequences, and subtitles. Overall, a solid collection of extras that complement the main feature very well.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection if you're an Indy fan.