ACTION ADVENTURE; 2hr 2min
STARRING: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett
The old one-two: from left, Igor Jijikine and Ford
Nineteen years after his so-called Last Crusade, Dr Henry Jones (Ford) is out and about, and how. Grizzled — 65 years’ worth! — but still game to defy gravity, Indy hightails it to 1957 Peru, in pursuit (very long story) of a crystal skull with wicky-wacky paranormal capacities. His right-hand young man and probable drawcard for the wrinkle-free demographic: a hothead with hairstyle issues (LaBeouf as the Brando-lite Mutt). His latest foe: the KGB, under the industrially chilled command of Ms Blanchett. His surprise inclusion: one Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy’s ex — and Mutt’s mama…
Jungle fever runs hot-’n’-heavy as Indy and his toey lot lock horns with the Ruskies (and evade a swarm of giant ants!). But Ford’s biggest real-life enemy is the crusty scourge of age. Not even director Steven Spielberg can rescue him from that one, but no matter: the actor is Mr Gruff personified, in any case, and while Indy’s latest expedition lacks the first-timers’ pedal-to-metal rush of 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, it’s serviceable escapism on a platinum-plated budget.
