We've been expecting you Dr Jones...

Introduction

Da da da da, da da da
Da da da da, da da da da-da

You know it, I know it. It's the famous Indiana Jones theme tune, an iconic sound all over the world, used to denote excitement and heroism. No matter where you are, you can't escape it. Even if you are riding the steepest incline railway in the world (the Katoomba scenic railway in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia). As you travel up (or down) the 415m descent through a cliff side tunnel into ancient rain forest, that theme belts out from speakers in the "carriages".



And even though there hasn't been an Indiana Jones film for a large number of years, the adventures of this old-school "swashbuckling" hero are still in people's minds. Rumours have been flying around for years that Lucas, Spielberg and company would get together for another film, but usually nothing came of it. And then all of a sudden, it was real. A fourth Indiana Jones film was on the way. It was happening.

This sent lots of people into various different types of frenzies. Many fans were foaming at the mouth at the prospect, whilst others were questioning whether Harrison Ford could still be taken seriously as everyone's favourite adventure hero.

And in the interim, we've had lots of pretenders to the throne of Dr Jones. The "National Treasure" franchise (featuring Nicolas Cage) has more than a passing resemblance to the adventures of Henry Jones Jr., and the films spun off from the hugely popular computer game Tomb Raider (essentially the female Indy) have also had a distinct Jones flavour to them.

But none of these pretenders have come close enough to recreating that "je ne sais quoi" of the Indiana Jones films. So it's time that the original team came back and had another go at it. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the result of that.



You're probably aware of the plot so I won't delve too much. Essentially, we're now in 1950s America, the cold war is in full swing and anti-Russian sentiment is high. Indy gets mixed up with some Russians hunting for a certain artefact that may have arrived on Earth recently in the state of New Mexico. He then gets pulled further into the mystery when an old friend goes missing in South America. What are the secrets of the crystal skulls?

Video and Audio

As I've said quite a few times now, we are finally reaching a point where these sections are becoming redundant for big Hollywood blockbusters. The video and audio are both excellent as you would expect and there's nothing whatsoever to moan about. It looks and sounds great.



The film's use of CGI has been the subject of much debate though, and there are various views that some of the CGI on display here is not as good as you would expect, and some of it stretches the boundaries of possibility just that bit too much. But you can probably switch off just enough to let all that wash over you and enjoy a visual feast.

There are some great set pieces here and they are almost all perfectly executed. There are just a few moments that don't leave you entirely satisfied.

Extra Features

Again, as is the tradition with your big blockbuster, this is where the "meat" is in the set.

On disc 1 are a pair of mini documentaries, "The Return Of A Legend" which looks at how the film came about and "Pre-Production" which looks at how things started to come together before principal photography began. Both are entertaining and interesting enough and are worth a watch.

Where's the commentary though? Very surprised not to find such a thing on a Lucas/Spielberg collaboration.



Disc 2 is stuffed to the gills with more features and documentaries, both long and short. We have "Production Diary" which is essentially the "making of" the film, and is broken down into sections focusing on shooting in various locations, the sets, the props, the CGI and other elements of making the film. Lots to watch and listen to, and plenty to keep your interest.

There are also separate features on the special effects, the work of the artists, Stan Winston's studio, and more behind the scenes stuff with photos, posters and more.

Lots to keep you entertained, a nice package of extras.

Conclusion

So was it worth bringing Indy back then? Yes, I think it was.

It's fair to say that it doesn't match up to the previous films overall, but there is still much to enjoy about this. I could sit here and endlessly pick holes in every little scene that I somehow didn't enjoy enough, but I don't want to do that. There's plenty of debate already out there about the merits of the plot, the characters, the action and everything else besides.

All I'm going to say is that this is an enjoyable film, an acceptable addition to the first three, and it is worth watching. If you buy this DVD then you won't be disappointed with all the extra features, and they may or may not change one or two opinions on various issues. It's a shame there's no commentary, but there's really very little else to complain about on a technical level.



I'm sure this one will be in many Xmas stockings, and most fans have probably had it on pre-order for months.

Welcome back Indy, and I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of the Jones family...