The House Bunny

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Elegy

Bottle Shock

Pineapple Express

Step Brothers

Brideshead Revisited

Tropic Thunder

The Dark Knight

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hancock

Wanted

You may want Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to grab you out of your theater seat with big laughs, cheesy B-movie thrills and the punch of great popcorn entertainment. Instead, it pokes, glides, talks and hops you up with a couple of good stunt chases, goes frenetic with computer-generated special effects and noise and, finally, just ends with a whimper. Aside from a rattling good storyline, most sorely missing from the newest entry in the beloved franchise series -- back on screen after 19 years -- is the eye-winking charm and gee-whiz wonder of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, let alone the charismatic sneer and pizzazz of a much-younger, wirier Harrison Ford as the action-ready archeologist. It's entertaining, and everybody's going to want to see it; it just isn't anywhere near as fun as Raiders of the Lost Ark. But how many movies are?

The story is set in 1957 and has way too much to do with explaining the myths, legends, whys and wherefores of sending Indy to a lost city in Peru where he searches for a crystal skull believed to contain the source of the world's knowledge and power. Along the way, the movie pits Indy against Soviet villainess Irina Spalko, personified by Cate Blanchett who has a good hoot for herself with a Louise Brooks wig, borscht-thick Ukrainian accent and a lesbo vibe akin to Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love. As Mutt Williams, Shia LaBeouf joins the hunt James Dean-style riding a cycle and copping a (one-note) attitude, presumably to take over the franchise in a couple of years when Harrison Ford decides to go easier on the bullwhip and the quips. After all, Ford is now seven years older than Sean Connery was when he played Ford's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Karen Allen gets called back, too, as Marion Ravenwood, and though she is clearly up for fun, that opportunity is blown because she's given terribly little to do. Hey, at least this Indy stands head and shoulders above the recent Star Wars flicks. Still, for all its gloss, proficiency and well-staged action, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull doesn't send you out feeling zippy and exuberant, just nostalgic for a time when Spielberg and company seemed able and willing to share their sense of fun with an entire movie-going generation.

by Stephen Rebello

Credit: David James ™&©2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Used under authorization.