The original Indiana Jones trilogy ranks among my favorite movies of all time. With the possible exception of “Temple of Doom”, they, like the original Star Wars movies, are American popcorn cinema at their best. However, my experience with watching the prequels to the Star Wars trilogy was like expecting a feast and being served chilled monkey brains. Needless to say, I remained cautiously optimistic about seeing the new Indiana Jones movie.

Pleasantly, however, I discovered that cautious optimism is not required. The fourth Indiana Jones film, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” is a sequel worthy of its predecessors.

**Caution: Potential Plot Spoiler**

The plot revolves around Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford) racing to beat the Soviets and Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) to possession of a mythical crystal skull. The skull gives the person who returns it to its rightful resting place great power. (Yes, the plot does sound familiar.) With the help of Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) Jones travels across the global to rescue Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and find the skull before the Soviets can use its power to rule the world. While the plot does seem a tad recycled and more than a little comic bookish, it’s nonetheless engaging and fun to watch.

The visual effects in the movie are impressive without being overbearing. While they are a presence in the film, it is not a menacing presence as the visual effects were in the Star Wars prequels. Visually, and special effects aside, the movie is pure eye candy. The locations are sprawling and the sets impressive. This movie is just fun to watch.

The score of the film is, of course, brilliant as any John Williams score is.

All of this is not to say Crystal Skull is perfect. It is a movie in which the viewer will undoubtedly cringe occasionally. The less-than-wonderful moments include failed homages to the original films and moments that just seem to bend the fabric of possibility a little too much. Some of the acting falls flat and once or twice the movie seems slightly cartoonish.

Bottom line: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is what the original films were - American popcorn cinema. While it will never win an academy award, the film is engaging, fun to watch, and leaves the viewer with a slight sense of awe and wonder.

It also left me with more than a passing desire to bull whip something.

Rating: 4.5/5