Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I finally caught up with 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. this weekend. Having read mixed reviews I wasn't expecting anything as good as the original trilogy, but it was still with some excitement that I sat down to watch it...

The story, written by George Lucas, is set in the 1950s, and involves the mysterious crystal skull of the film's title, an explosive encounter with some evil Russians, and a trip to the Amazon in search of El Dorado. Sounds promising enough and indeed the first half hour is pretty impressive. The depiction of 1950s America is enjoyable, and enfused with some of the nostalgic affection that was evident in Lucas' 'American Graffiti', and the scenes that follow Indy accidentally triggering an explosion on a nuclear test site contain the same flair and wit as the original trilogy.

It is a very likeable start to the adventure, and Speilberg and Lucas both appear to be on form and enjoying resurrecting the franchise. Unfortunately however, once the adventure re-locates to the Amazon things take a turn for the worse. The problem is simple - there just isn't enough action. It becomes far too talky, with Indiana and his sidekick (Shia LaBeouf) travelling from location to location, only to stand there and talk endlessly, deciphering hieroglyphs, and discussing the origins of the skull, all of which add nothing to the film but boredom.

When the Russians finally catch up with them it improves slightly, largely due to the performance of Cate Blanchett - whose comic-book villain Irina Spalko is one of the few truly enjoyable things about the film. Even so, even the encounters with the Russians largely consist of standing around talking, albeit at gunpoint.

The latter half of the film is saved by one great action sequence involving a jeep chase through the jungle and a swarm of killer ants. The adrenaline-fuelled camera work and lively stunts finally give the audience what they wanted, even if the sequence is marred by an ill-advised use of CGI to create a highly improbable 'Tarzan' sequence that breaks the viewers suspension of disbelief in a manner similar to the infamous iceberg surfing sequence in 'Die Another Day'.

After the chase sequence comes the climax, the nature of which is signposted in the films opening scene to anyone with a passing interest in sci-fi. Unfortunately even this is a disappointment, with yet more wordy explanation of what we are seeing in front of us. I'm reminded again that this is the same writer of 'The Phantom Menace', which suffered a similar problem. Lucas seems too often to forget that all the mythology he creates in order to write a story should remain in his notebooks - it should be a means to an end (the end being an action-packed story), not the end itself.

With a few edits in the mid-section of the film, and a more dramatic confrontation at the climax 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' could have been much improved, but as it stands it is rather a disappointment. It isn't without its moments, and is by no means a bad film, but once that first half hour finishes it has to be said that the old magic fades. Shame.