I just arrived home from watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the big screen. And how, you ask, did I feel after watching the movie? Was it worth the wait? Has it lived up to the hype? And can 65 year old Harrison Ford still pack a punch as Indiana Jones? I will answer them all later on, but first, a little backgrounder.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Synopsis

Indiana 4 takes place roughly 19 years after the last movie. The timeline’s in the 1950s, a time when the USSR was a very powerful nation. The usual Nazi antagonists of the older Jones films have been replaced by a power hungry KGB faction led by a sword wielding lady played by Cate Blanchet. Indiana Jones (Ford) is thrown straight into the action and we are once again taken back to the familiar “crate warehouse” from the first Indy film Raiders of the Lost Arc. Seeing this place again gave me goosebumps. Back in the first film, this scene created a lot of questions in my mind. Who runs this place? What do they store here? Now in Indy 4, we finally get some answers, if not all.

But is it Really Indy?
Let’s see. Signature Indiana Jones hat? Check! Whip? Check. Trigger happy antagonists backed by political enemies? Check! Car chases, explodions, gun fights and crumbling temples? All check! Yes, the gang’s all here, it is definitely Indiana Jones.

Old & New
the movie brings back old characters and introduces new ones as well. Indy’s old sweetheart Marion (played by Karen Allen) returns to the storyline and we also meet a new character named Mutt Williams (played by rising star Shia LeBeouf) who seems like some street thug at first but there’s actually more to him than meets the eye, and I won’t spoil that for you yet. Here’s a hint though: he MIGHT be related to Indy.

A scene showing Indy teaching a bunch of college students in a classroom is a nod to a similar scene that can be found at the old films. I couldn’t but smile during that scene because it was really a nostalgic moment for an Indy fan like myself.

Cliches
True to the Jones canon, the core of the story remains loyal to it’s predecessors: a massive treasure hunt. This time, forced by the KGB militia, Jones is hunting for the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is actually… (wait for it) the City of Gold. As soon as I found this out during the movie, I was like “Not the city of gold cliche again!”. Let’s face it, almost all movies with treasure hunting as their theme has already used the “city of gold” premise. Such movies include (but not limited to) National Treasure 2 and The Road to El Dorado. The concept is getting really, really old.

WTF Moment
And then here’s a surprise that really caught me off guard. ALIENS! Yes, aliens. It is implied in the story that a group of 13 aliens paid a visit to ancient Mayan and Aztec civilization and taught them how to farm. I’m not kidding! And the producers actually showed the aliens in the movie. And even its appearance is the already cliche’d skinny, big eyed and bald headed looking alien.

This is a really, really great departure from the Biblical themes of the first three movies. Although the effects look great, sometimes I just can’t help but feel like I’m watching an episode of the X-Files especially in the climax part.

Producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg must have been drunk when they wrote the scripts that they decided to add some Star Wars and War of the Worlds touch to Indy.

Harisson Ford
For a 65 year old, Harrison Ford is in great shape as Indiana Jones. He can still cut it. It was actually good because I initially expected that the movie will portray an old, and worn out Jones as a new “Jones successor” arrives. But then again, it would be boring that way.

Possible Sequels
It’s possibly game over for Indiana Jones in this film as he gets married to Marion at the end of the film. And it’s implied that he might probably settle down a nice, quiet life in peace. And there’s also a “passing of the torch” moment and it is hinted that Indy will have a successor. Though there are no announcements whatsoever, this twist opens up the possibility for future Indy films but with a different “Jones” as the lead character.

My Verdict
So after all that, is the movie really worth the wait? Yes, definitely. Fans of the old movies will love this 4th entry. But I’m not so sure about the non-fans. Does it live up to the hype? Now that I’ve seen it, I can say it does. This is good entertainment. Watch it on the big screen.