I don't know how many of you who are reading this are like me, teenagers of the '80's but I saw all of the previous Indiana Jones not on DVD but in genuine movie theaters! In fact, at the risk of sounding old here, I saw them before we even had such a thing as DVD's. Gasp!

I had mixed emotions when I first heard that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were once again working together on a 4th Indiana Jones movie. At first I scoffed and said "Pfft, can't they leave those happy memories of Indiana Jones alone." I mean c'mon poor Harrison Ford must be pushing 70 by now, no? Frankly, ol' Harry just hasn't been himself in...oh I don't know 20 years! But then I started to get a little excited the more I thought about it- The action! The comedy! The monkeys! That darn catchy theme music!

And now onto my review, why do I suddenly feel like I'm going to be the bad guy here?
The new film begins in 1957 Nevada,on an Air Force nuclear test site. These Russians have kidnapped our good ol' friend Indiana Jones and are forcing him to find a crystal skull inside a huge Costco-like warehouse (still holding that "Raiders of the Lost Ark" thingie!) The crystal skull comes from "out there" which holds the key to eternal power and mind control. Still with me? Ah, ya know what, I'll just leave it at that. Because it's face it, Harrison Ford's in it, it's written by George Lucas, and directed by Steven Spielberg, which means you're all going to go see it anyway.

I went to go see the newest Indiana Jones without any pre- conceived notions. All I wanted was to see a real Indiana Jones film. And to like it. Not even love. Just like. Judging by the way I've been let down time and time again with sequels as well all the hype and hooplah surrounding big movies, frankly nowadays I settle for like. And like is what I got, nothing more, nothing less.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie-really I did; but I can't put my finger on why it felt a lil off to me. I am a glass half full kind o' gal, so it is in my blood to focus on the positive.

Listen, all I want is old fashioned Indy entertainment. What I want is goofy action- lots of it. I want man-eating ants, whip-slinging duels,dark dangerous caves filled with buried treasure, and throw in monkeys while you're at it, lots of monkeys!

Shia La Bouef is good here and not as annoying as you'd might think, he plays a biker dude named Mutt who joins Indy on a mission to find the Crystal doo-dad or whatever the heck it is.But as much as I like him, I'm not so sure he has what it takes to carry the torch the next time out. Gasp!(record scratching) Oh, c'mon don't act so surprised we all knew they were grooming him for this as soon as they cast him.

It's a kick seeing actress, Karen Allen return as Marion Ravenwood, Indy's love interest in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Some have hinted that Mutt might be Indy's son. Umm, ya think?

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas tried hard to recapture old times here and they did to a certain extent for example there’s a great scene involving Indy’s fear of snakes that had me completely turned back into a kid again. But if you take away the first part of the title- it's just an o.k. movie I mean come on, would you go see a movie just called "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"? Seriously,

In the end, I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about this latest (I'll never say last again) Indiana Jones movie.Well, at least I got to see monkeys!

Rated PG-13

Trivia

- M. Night Shyamalan (writer/director of "Sixth Sense", "'Signs") was asked to write the screenplay for this movie.But he declined, something about being busy with his own stuff.

- Sean Connery was asked to do a cameo as Henry Jones Sr., Indiana's dad, but he turned it down, finding retirement too enjoyable!

- Shia LaBeouf was so excited about doing an Indy film that he didn't even read the script!

- 64-year-old Harrison Ford spent 3 hours a day working out, and eating a high-protein diet of fish and vegetables in order to get his body in tip-top shape so that he could perform his own stunts, something that he prides himself doing in every Indiana Jones movie.

- Harrison Ford apparently kept himself in such good shape over the years that when he put on the same wardrobe from 19 years earlier, no alterations were needed at all!