Release Date: May 22, 2008

(out of 4)

You are not required to see “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” the last Indy installment 19 years ago, to catch up on the newest adventure, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." It's a nagging “huh?” for anybody that did see the previous Indiana installment where, in a pinnacle climax, he drank from the cup of life. Harrison Ford, as grizzled 65-year old Indy, never acknowledges his previous conquests and neither does the movie.

What we do get is another snappily choreographed Steven Spielberg adventure movie with death-defying stunts and illustrious locales, especially of the scenes set in the Amazon at the tale’s tail-end. Indy’s adventure cohort this time is Mutt Williams, played by Shia LeBeouf from “Disturbia” and “Transformers,” a motorcycle rebel (1950s idea of a rebel), who is thrown into the action just because he wants to be along for the ride. Indy the adventurer is better known as the bow-tied Dr. Jones, a university archaeologist professor, and Jones is an old man to Mutt until he sees the old man break out his adventure hat and whip. Immortal or not, Indiana Jones is unweathered and unflappable. Even during an atomic bomb test at a remote Nevada site, Indy survives a countdown to get the hell out of there.

Heroes never die, but you’d expect a supporting character or two to bite the bullet – but this family packed adventure requires that no one within the inner circle gets seriously hurt. Karen Allen, as Marion from “Raiders,” makes her long-awaited return. John Hurt is a burned-out professor colleague along for the ride. And Ray Winstone is Mac McHale, a government agent and temp sidekick. Three waterfall plunges down, and the bones in all these characters remain intact.

We knew from previous movies that Indy won’t die, but there was still an element of danger because we witnessed him bruised, battered and broken down. “Crystal Skull” is the kind of adventure movie where actors wear fake bruises applied by the makeup department. “Crystal Skull” swoops up the audience with a staggering sense of choreography and timing – sword fight on the back of speeding jeeps? This is a show-stopping wow Steven Spielberg balancing act, mustering up joy and giddiness out of impossible scenarios. Spielberg gets us giggling at the absurd, and that’s his gift as a filmmaker. Mutt vine-swinging through the jungle is the epitome of absurdity, and Spielberg knows it. Self-aware humor underlines this as the corniest Indy tour of the series.

A good villain in a matinee adventure movie always helps, and Cate Blanchett is a cold and heartless Russian villainess Irina Spalko. Irina wants what Indiana is after: a crystal skull hidden in the ancient ruins of South America. Early on, we hear a bunch of jabbering on in a café scene about what the crystal skull is supposed to signify, but the audience has really no idea of what any of it means (it is a bunch of hokum) until we actually see the damn thing and draw our associations.

(Spoiler Warning: You may not want to read ahead)

The mythology is convoluted and muddled, and the plots of these escapist movies 9 out of 10 times are supposed to be outrageous, absurdist stuff. The crystals, in their complete 13 piece set, is supposed to lead to a portal. When combined, in a structured order, they are supposed to blast somebody to what Indy describes as “the space between spaces.” Yes, a portal to another dimension! You’ll have the knowledge to see all! When somebody is finally sucked into the portal, we see a whirly-twirly space vacuum. The special effects are neat but not awe-inspiring because it doesn’t pop outside the boundaries of our imaginations.

(spoiler end)

Liking this movie depends on whether you get jollies out of the impossible and are in the mood for heavy doses of corn-feed. Overblown story aside and lack of genuine threat notwithstanding, the acrobatics are a delight and Spielberg keeps his camera dashing along. LeBeouf is a resilient sidekick, but the other supporting good-guy characters feel like extra baggage, especially John Hurt who slows the flow down. The first warehouse action scene has more slam-bang than most action movie climaxes.

Self-aware of being self-conscious, the movie tickles the giddy little child inside you. There are scenes so cool that make you forget about the preposterous story and what the skull crystals are all about. Indy fans will find this final installment a bit disappointing in relation to high expectations. It’s not the classic anyone would have wanted but it satisfies our curiosities of an Indy revival. That makes it a stand-out in a movie month of slim pickings.