Almost twenty years after Indiana Jones literally rode off into the sunset in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he’s back, thanks to director Steven Spielberg (War of the Worlds, Munich, The Lost World, Schindler's List, the Indiana Jones franchise, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws), producer George Lucas (the Star Wars franchise) and actor Harrison Ford (The Mosquito Coast, Witness, the Star Wars trilogy). Twenty years is a long, long time between entries in a franchise, especially a franchise that seemed done and gone (hence the “Last Crusade” of the title), but fans of the character and the franchise will be happy (well, mostly) with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as long as they keep their reservations in check and don’t expect another Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull picks up almost twenty years after the events in The Last Crusade. It’s 1957, fascism and the Third Reich have been defeated and the Soviet Union, temporary allies of the United States during World War II, have become our most feared enemy. Communist paranoia, initially fueled by Senator Joe McCarthy, still dictates government policy and public fears. For Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), an archeologist, college professor, and adventurer, the Soviet menace is real: he awakens inside the trunk of a car on its way to a U.S. army base in the Nevada desert. Extracted from the trunk along with his friend and fellow archeologist, 'Mac' George McHale (Ray Winstone), Indy discovers that he’s the guest of Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), a Soviet officer and medical doctor. Spalko wants something stored inside the army base and needs Indy’s help in finding it. He helps, but only as a means to make good his escape at the first opportunity.

Post-encounter with Spalko and her henchmen, Indy discovers that the U.S. government suspects him of collaborating with the Russians. Suspended indefinitely from his university post, Indy is all set to visit an old friend in Europe when he’s stopped by the arrival of Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), the greaser/biker son of Indy’s old flame, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). Williams reveals that Marion has gone missing in the Amazon after trying to locate an old friend and fellow archeologist, Professor Oxley (John Hurt). Before she disappeared, however, Marion sent Williams a letter meant for Indy. The letter reveals that Oxley was after one of several mythic crystal skulls and a lost city of gold, Akator. Moments later, Spalko’s men appear, forcing Indy and Williams to flee. They eventually travel to the Peruvian Amazon, where they pick up Oxley’s trail.

Whoever called Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a cross between Raiders of the Lost Ark, American Graffiti, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind wasn’t too far off (you can add The Wild One for good measure). Kingdom of the Crystal Skull relies heavily on the formula Lawrence Kasdan created for Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Indiana Jones and a supporting cast of characters jumping from one location to another in search of a mystical artifact with unheard of power for whoever grabs it first, Amazonian locations, and the return of Marion Ravenwood, a character near and dear to the hearts of Indy fans. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull borrows its rebellious greaser/biker from The Wild One by way of American Graffiti and science fiction elements from Close Encounters of the Third Kind by way of Erich von Däniken’s Chariot of the Gods, a pseudo-scientific non-fiction bestseller that purported to explain ancient artifacts through the intervention of extraterrestrial visitors.

Apparently, the twenty year gap between the third and fourth films in the Indiana Jones franchise was due to the lack of script approval by the Big Three: Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford. Lucas and Spielberg churned through several screenplays, including, most famously, a screenplay by Frank Darabont (The Mist, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) that was almost greenlit, but was rejected at the last moment by Lucas. In the end, Lucas and Spielberg brought in David Koepp (War of the Worlds, Secret Window, The Lost World, Jurassic Park) to adapt a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 3, The Last Shot, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, Rush Hour 2, Speed 2: Cruise Control). Nathanson and Lucas share story credit on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Background aside, the real question is whether the twenty-years-in-the-making storyline is any good (good meaning a fresh, original take on the characters and a storyline we haven’t seen before). The short answer is, alas, no. While Indy fares well, particularly during his interactions with Williams (echoes of Indy and his father, of course), the secondary characters tend to get pushed into the background too often, especially after Professor Oxley and Marion Ravenwood are introduced into the mix (two too many characters, it seems). With her inauthentic accent and severe, pageboy haircut, Spalko looks like she stepped out of an early Bond film (Blanchett modeled her character’s appearance on a From Russia with Love villain, Rosa Klebb).

Story wise, all the rumors that have been floating around the internet for the better of a year (or more) are true. The 50s setting, the nature of the crystal skulls (one look at the poster art will tell you everything you need to know), and several very obvious hints given away in the trailers and the TV commercials point in one direction and one direction only (and it’s far from original). If Raiders of the Lost Ark was created, at least in part, as homage to the Saturday morning serials Lucas and Spielberg remembered so fondly from their youth, then Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull pays homage to the genre that took the place of those serials in the 1950s. Alas, that also means Lucas and Spielberg have borrowed ideas from their own films, ideas that have frankly gone stale. And that’s not even touching on the various lazily developed, underwritten plot points, the ludicrous, gravity-defying stunts, and sub-par CGI (e.g., a jungle chase scene that veers into camp).

As for whether Ford is too “old” to play Indiana Jones, no, he’s not. Spielberg and Lucas made sure that Indy would age in real time (the same twenty years). While the occasional joke is made at Indy’s expense, the jokes are few and early on. Once Indy and Williams get to Peru and begin their search for Oxley, Marion, and the lost city, the action ramps up accordingly and any doubts about Ford’s ability to handle a physically arduous role are proportionately diminished. Still, it’s hard not to think that, as a character, Indy’s seen better days no amount of nostalgia will help him reclaim. Harrison Ford was 39 when he first appeared as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, 47 in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and 65 for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In contrast, Sean Connery was still a relatively spry 59 when he appeared in The Last Crusade as Indy’s father, Henry Jones (Ford was only twelve years younger than Connery at the time).

The forty-three year gap between Ford and LaBeouf makes the father-son dynamic relatively easy to accept. Just don’t expect the same level of wit or humor (or even chemistry) that Ford and Connery shared in The Last Crusade. The chemistry is there, definitely, but Ford and LaBeouf are often let done by David Koepp’s cornball dialogue. Karen Allen’s presence is welcome, but alas, outside of one action scene, she isn’t given much to do or say. Ford and Allen acquit themselves well, especially during the big revelatory scene, but the spark they shared on Raiders of the Lost Ark seems forced and rushed this time around.