Blu-ray: Karen Allen: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Harrison Ford dusts off his infamous brown fedora for another Indiana Jones film, which is once again made by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The year is 1957, and Indy is on the run from a team of Russian spies led by a rapier-wielding Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). The Russians want Indy to help them locate an ancient artefact that they believe can be used as the ultimate military weapon. Indy manages a narrow escape, and tries to return to his life as a professor of archaeology, but he soon bumps into a '50s greaser named Mutt (Shia LeBeouf). Mutt's mother, as well as one of Indy's longtime friends, have been captured somewhere in Peru. Mutt and Indy hop on a plane to the country, where they manage to track down both Mutt's mother, Marian (Karen Allen), and Professor Oxley (John Hurt), but they also find themselves surrounded by the same scheming Russians. The Russians have found the artefact they were seeking, but Indy now knows its secret and dangerous powers. With the help of Mutt, Marian, and Oxley, he races to return it to its rightful resting place.
While a bit more grizzled than the last time we saw him cracking his whip in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, Ford still manages to bring the right mix of humour and swagger to Indy. Longtime fans are sure to love the many inside jokes and nods to the previous films, as well as the reappearance of some favourite old characters. While CRYSTAL SKULL has the same exotic locales and wild chases of the earlier movies, it definitely sets itself apart with its heavy use of CGI. This fourth instalment of the Indy franchise is immensely enjoyable entertainment that contains some fun surprises along the way.