The new film has Indiana Jones (Harrison ford) joined by teen biker sidekick, “Mutt” (Shia LaBeouf), long lost colleague Harold Oxley (John Hurt) and fans get to see Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) from the first film return to the series in one of several nods to the previous films throughout Crystal Skull. Cate Blanchett plays the sword wielding Soviet Scientist, Irina Spalko and Ray Winstone plays Indiana’s OSS buddy, George "Mac" McHale.
With the Indiana Jones character being out of the public eye for so long this film had to serve as both a sequel and reintroduction to a character that younger members in the audience may not even know.
What Worked: The action scenes in the film were great and the humor was in all the right places. The film does not ignore Harrison Ford’s age which makes for some extra huffing and puffing for Indy. Karen Allen was a great addition to the cast as Marion Ravenwood and LaBeouf's Mutt character fit in well with the story.
What did not work: The movie seemed loaded with exposition that was unnecessary or more complicated than necessary. The pacing was slow at times and the fight between Jones and Colonel Dovchenko seemed to last longer than an entire Rocky film.
After a near twenty year hiatus expectations for a new Indiana Jones film were sure to be unfairly high but the film still delivers in most areas. As far as its place in the series, the film fares better then Temple of doom but not quite as good as the first and third films.
CraveOnline Rating: 7 Out of 10
