Utter the words Indiana Jones and immediately everybody knows what you’re talking about.  You’re talking about fast-paced, globe-trotting quests for long-lost artifacts, ancient deathtraps and amazing action sequences.  But most importantly, you’re talking about a cinematic icon who has become a household name for any film buff.  From the fedora hat to the bullwhip, Indiana Jones the character is one whom almost everybody loves.

This year, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released after a 19 year-long wait, and the results were for the most part a mixed bag for everyone.  Of course there were those (myself included) who continued to be thrilled and fascinated by everything, however there were also those who were disappointed by it.  All I have to say to those people is were you watching the same movie I was?  Because the “Indy 4″ I’ve now seen a total of five times retains everything that made the original three so great, making for yet another solid entry in the franchise.  Yes, i agree that sometimes it does stretch the boundaries of logic even by Indy standards (i.e. the whole refrigerator scene and a piece of the jungle sequence), but overall it’s a very fun ride that returns us to the world of a hero missing from the big screen for too long.

Without going into great detail about the plot, the fourth film involves a hunt for an ancient artifact that may contain clues to extraterrestrials.  Yes, aliens actually made an appearance in an Indy movie, although they’re commonly referred to as ‘interdimensional beings’ in the movie.  Along for the ride is Indy’s long-lost son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), a double-crossing friend (Ray Winstone), and old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).  This time, the Russians are the bad guys and they’re led by the cold Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett).  Everyone’s after the Crystal Skull, which has a mystery surrounding it that has to do ith the mythical Lost City of Gold.

This 2-Disc Limited  Edition is loaded with behind-the-scenes features that detail every step of the filmmaking process.  Along with the film itself on the first disc are two short featurettes:  “The Return Of A Legend” and “Pre-Production”.  “Pre-Production”, of course, gives a brief glimpse into how Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and the others went about developing the idea for “Kingdom” and “Return Of A Legend” pretty much does the same thing, only it focuses more on the collaborative team behind Indy talking about how the dream of a fourth Indiana Jones movie finally became a reality.  The second disc includes more behind-the-scenes goodness, with a detailed 12-part look at the creation of the film.  With this multi-part documentary as well as the one featured on the “Iron Man” Special Edition gives me a renewed faith in the “Making-Of” features for blockbuster DVDs in the future.  Also included are Pre-Visualization Sequences that show exactly how three of the film’s most exciting sequences were conceived, prepped and executed AS WELL AS Galleries, Trailers and a Game Demo for the LEGO Indiana Jones XBOX 360 game.

All in all, this is a must-buy for anyone who enjoyed the film, or any Indy fan period.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have not been a big proponent of a new Indiana Jones movie. I think “Last Crusade” is just a rehash of the far superior “Raiders”, and I really didn’t want to have my wonderful memories of my favorite movie hero to be tarnished by seeing him as an old man. I have heard plenty about this and through it all I’ve been skeptical.

Well, YAHOO has given us the first real peak at what we can expect right here:

I have to admit that I totally started to geek out when I heard the strings start to hum and the Paramount logo morphed. Then we get that silhouette:

I ask you, is there any more iconic image than this? It just says it all. So yeah, they had me thinking positively about the project for a change.

The trailer stayed strong with some good swinging, punching and crashing. All important staples of the franchise. Indy is clearly older, and I could have done without the “I’m too old for this shit”esque comment, but I totally expected it.

The things that worked best for me though were the familiar things. Obviously the stuff mentioned above, but maybe my favorite thing is the location. My favorite sequence from any Indy movie is the opening of “Raiders”. Nothing captures the spirit and excitement of Indiana Jones better than that scene in the temple where he steals the golden idol (a replica of which adorns my TV cabinet in my living room). I’ve always wanted to see more of Indy in South America and it looks like Steve-o and Georgie Porgie finally listened to the threatening Candy-Grams I’ve been sending them and sent Indy back where he belongs. You just can’t beat a South American temple full of BOOBY TRAPS! Especially with hordes of angry natives chasing him.

It is a delight to see Marion back at his side (she always was the only one for him), even if it looks like she might have had some “work” done. I’m no Shia-Hater, but I really wish they had gone with a grown-up Short Round for Indy’s sidekick in this one. Sure you wouldn’t have the whole familial thing going on, but I’d like to think Indy didn’t just leave the kid on a doorstep somewhere.

Just from the glimpse we get here it did seem like some of the backgrounds were a bit to CGI looking, which really disappoints me. Hopefully that can be corrected in post-production. But that is really the only complaint I could offer at this point.

So here we are, he’s older, probably wiser, definitely a little slower, and clearly gray, but he’s still clearly Indy. I’m more positive about it now, but still a little cautiously optimistic.