Opening day here in the US was yesterday. We got our tickets online for a 5.30 showing expecting it to be pretty full…… it wasn’t. Choose where you want to sit. There was plenty of choice.

indy-crystalskull-posterl-small.jpgConsidering this film was 18 years removed from the last outing, the excellent Last Crusade, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, especially from Harrison Ford, who is, lets face it, no longer of action hero age. This latest Indiana Jones film revolves around crashed aliens, a mythical lost city in the Amazon basin, a completely deranged Prof. Oxley ( well done to John Hurt for a great performance ) plus the usual baddies who this time are communist bent on world domination through mind control. Of course, Denholm Elliot and Sean Connery are both absent but the film does pay them a brief homage. Enter Jim Broadbent as Charles Stanforth, Dean of Students and Karen Allen reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the lost Ark. Also add to the cast Shia LaBeouf as Mutt Williams, Cate Blanchett as head commie Irina Spalko, and surprisingly, Ray Winstone as McHale, a former colleague of Indiana Jones gone bad.

I wont spoil the rest of the story line but you can probably figure most of it out as you go along with the film. It is pretty much the tried and tested formula from Lucas /Spielberg and although it works, I left the theatre feeling a little short changed. I felt they could have done a little more with it and the end was, I’m afraid, a bit predictable.

I’m sure it wont spoil it for you to learn that Mutt Williams turns out to be the offspring of Indy and Ms.Ravenwood, so rest assured that there is a younger actor to take up the reigns if Mr. Lucas and Mr.Spielberg ever run short of cash… not that it is very likely.

Having said that, if you liked the other 3, then you’ll probably want to see this.

Score 7 out of 10