ONE HARSH CRITIC: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Growing up, this was my Star Wars. I loved the adventures. I loved the puzzles and clues. I loved the history and religious elements woven into a fantastic story of good vs. evil. I loved Indiana Jones.

Nearly 20 years after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the hat-wearing whip-toting archeologist is back, and twenty years later, he's just as much fun.

I'm biased on this one, I'm not going to lie. But I'm not going to pull any punches here, either. I'm not going to pretend that this latest installment of the franchise is as good as the original trilogy. I'm not going to say I loved the story as much. I didn't. But the bottom line is, Indiana Jones is fun, no matter what the era or avenue.

In this latest adventure, Jones (Harrison Ford) is caught up in a Soviet Plot to harness an ancient power that will enable them to rule the world. Jones, accompanied by a tag-a-long greaser named Mutt (Shia LeBeouf), follows a distress message from the estranged and missing professor Harold "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt). Following the clues to find his friend, Jones stumbles across a crystal skull, the subject of Ox's long-term research. This skull is also the subject of the Soviet's massive worldwide search, keeping the Russian army hot on the scientist's trail.

If Jones and Mutt can return the skull to its rightful resting place, the power and balance of earth might remain in tact. But if it falls into the hands of the Russians, another campaign for world domination will begin.

Action abounds in true Indiana Jones fashion as Jones and Mutt stumble through ancient ruins and clues and out smart the trailing Russians. Special effects add a new layer to the franchise as years of technology have come into fruition. One-liners don't seem as natural as the quips constantly emit from the aging archeologist. But the film seems to realize that with age, this isn't the same Indiana of the 80's.  He's stiff, grumpy and out of shape, but if he wasn't, this would truly be a ridiculous film. Barring the animated animals, this film seems to make a valiant effort to stay as far from ridiculous as possible.

The problems I have with this film lie in the story. SPOILER ALERT!

While in episodes past, the historical references have been very important to the Indiana Jones franchise. Nazis, the World Wars and societies need for salvation were as big of characters as Jones himself. And while this latest film occurs in history at the time Roswell and area 51 were big events, it just seems strange that an Indiana Jones film has incorporated aliens.

The conclusion of the film is Jones, Mutt, Oxley and Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) return the crystal skull to its rightful resting place. It summons some kind of sleeping alien being, and an enormous space ship takes flight, taking the power of the skull with it. Seriously?

Sure the other films have had fantastic endings, but Aliens?

We're also allowed into the life of Mutt to find out he's Marion and Jones' child. If audiences hadn't figured that one out about 45 minutes earlier, I'm losing faith in America.

But as I said, the bottom line here is that this film is a fun movie. Reality must be checked at the door and inner children must be channeled. Forgiveness for a strange plot allowed, this film is worth the price of admission.

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Josh Gloer, Movie Correspondent

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