Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (DVD)

Nineteen years after their Last Crusade, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford exhume everybody's favourite whip-wielding archaeologist
After years of rumour, speculation and false starts, the long wait by the devoted fans of a beloved fantasy trilogy is over. A new instalment arrives. You enter the darkened cinema, giddy with excitement and nerves. That rousing John Williams theme blasts forth. You surrender to the magic, high on precious memories - and then Jar Jar Binks dumps all over your dreams.

It's fair to say a sizable, predominantly 1980s-generation audience, badly burned by the Star Wars prequels, awaits Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull with as much trepidation as anticipation. Two decades on, with a leading man a year off his bus pass and CG-inflated action blockbusters two-a-penny, can George Lucas and Steven Spielberg really keep up with their own previous Joneses?

Lucas, given his track record with Star Wars Episodes I, II and III, one can legitimately doubt; Ford, too. Despite iconic Han Solo and Indy stints, his career has to be one of the most disappointingly safe and lazy of all modern movie stars. But allied with Spielberg, whose success ratio far outstrips them both, the trio have pulled it off. Raiders is no lost art: Indy's back.

Sure he's showing the years and the mileage, the action updated to 1957, but the film's wry acknowledgment of time's passing is deftly done. The sidekick, young greaser Mutt Williams (LaBeouf), allows for some neat age-gap gags; and our heroine is Indy's oldest - and best - flame, Marion Ravenwood (Allen) from Raiders Of The Lost Ark who brings some much-needed relationship traction.

Okay, it's clearer than ever when the stuntmen take over, but Ford can still trade punches and one-liners with the best of them. In fact, he hasn't been this sprightly or engaging in years. This is his role, his show and it fits him as perfectly as a battered Fedora.
It helps that David Koepp's screenplay, working from a story by Lucas and Jeff Nathanson, is the most intriguing since the original Ark of the Covenant gambit. The Cold War setting brings those long-forgotten villains, the Russians, back into play. Led by relentless mind-control acolyte Irina Spalko (Blanchett), the Russkies force Dr Jones and his pal Mac (Winstone) to identify a crate they helped unearth 10 years prior, now stored in the Nevada desert's notorious Area 51.

A series of revelations lead to a fabled lost city deep in the Amazon, once sought by Indy's erstwhile colleague Professor Oxley (Hurt), and the Crystal Skull of the title, an elongated, pure-quartz headpiece, evidently not shaped by human hands. Anyone recalling the more fanciful alternative propositions for this fourth outing, such as 'Indiana Jones And The Saucer Men From Mars', suddenly realizes the powers-that-be weren't necessarily joking.

Sci-fi tropes aside, what's most enjoyable about the film is its back-to-basics, old school feel. Indiana Jones was always a tribute to those 1930s cliff-hanger serials so beloved by Lucas and Spielberg, honoured (and buffed up by millions of dollars) by the physicality of the ingenious stunts, the elaborate, labyrinthine sets and Spielberg's exuberant but never disorientating editing style. There's a very funny quicksand set-piece and an epic jungle jeep chase that's the match of any action sequence from the first three films.

Verdict- Great film for the 19year gap.

Indie's Back in another excellent adventure. Continuation of the series leaves you wanting more. When they said they were making another I thought to old but they did it again. We loved it every bit as much as the others. Quality story, quality acting (tongue in cheek)double Quality effects. If you liked the first two you love this too. Don't wait get it now, you wont be disapointed.

I bought it because we have the others in the collection and all the family loves indiana jones i would buy more if there were some a brillent film to watch we would recomend all of them to other people to buy and watch

I love this film, totally daft but so are the previous three films. Its been criticised but people, sit back and just enjoy.....!

IT WAS FOR MY SON WHO LOVES INDIANA JONES.SO I BOUGHT IT FOR HIM.THE DVD WAS FREE POST AND WAS A GOOD PRICE ON EBAY.

Great action film although Harrison Ford is starting to look a little "creaky".

I know how it feels!!

Good family film. Enjoy in the dark with popcorn and a good sense of humour. Took me back to the old films full of action and fantastic fight scenes. Leave your reality head out of the room and prepare to be entertained. Indi doing what he does best.

arrived sealed so never opened until after xmas. the video inside was poor pirate copy. went on ebay to make complaint to seller, to find seller no
longer available.pretty disappointing all round.

OK, so i purchased the latest Indiana Jones film, having loved the whole series so far, and also thinking Indiana Jones were some of the best films made by mainstream Hollywood.
But Steven and George!! What were you thinking? What a dissapointment.
The film (from Harison Ford's point of view) is fine, even after all these years he can still pull of the role of the ageing Indiana.
Unfortunatley, Indiana "does flying saucers and aliens" just turned into a bit of a laughable farce.
There were also some very questionable CGI effects in the film, very surprising when you consider the two men who made it produce some of the most spectaculor effects in Hollywood.
Of course this is just my opinion, and if you want to see the film, please do and see what you think, i was just really let down by the whole thing.

THIS SELLER IS A CROOK AND SHOULD BE THROWN OFF EBAY,I CAN'T GET ANY RESPONCE FROM HIM AND NO DOUBT I HAVE LOST MY PAYMENT????

Great Quality, Great Value, Great Service. Thankyou!! Great Film, new release!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

as you would imagine from a indiana jones movie it is fantastic and finishes of the story. speilberg has done it proud.

Classic Indy 20 years on, plenty of action & comedy to keep you entertained.
Ok so there's more CGI etc but it works well in most cases.
Ending may not be to everyone's taste but still Lucas & Spielberg did a good job.
Visually Blu Ray delivers in every way for Lucasfilm's 1st film on the format.

as I wrote above, the film is excellent. Even though Harrison Ford is now over 60, he still leaps around like a teenager. Im not too convinced about the villianess, but Ray Winstons character is great. I love the idea of Jones having a son, ad im glad that Marion (Karen Allen) was brought back. Its only fitting that indys love in the first film should end up his wife in the last film. Superb

Even though he's getting on a bit Indy is back and this film is as good as ever! Really good plot couple with some good stunts mean this one is worth watching again and again!

This is an excellent dvd and very true to the Indiana Jones style. I bought this to complete my set as I have all the other titles. I good movie for the family to watch.

A bit tongue in cheek. A lot of of yeah right amongst us. Loads of action. A bit hard to believe people were still standing and alive lol.