Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Aliens. Yes I did just say aliens.
Seeing as how it's been 20 years since the release of The Last Crusade, this movie is definitely either long overdue, or a very nice surprise. To have an Indiana Jones movie come out in my lifetime is pretty awesome though, and this one still isn't as good as the first one, it's one of the best movies I've seen.
This movie stays very true to Indiana Jones formula. You have your first action sequence, university sequence, plane ride, several action and exploration scenes, a brutal death sequence, the last action and exploration sequences, capture, the self-destruction of the bad guy, escape, and the ending. This movie follows this basic outline, but adds as it goes. Several send-backs to earlier movies are also strewn throughout, the lost ark is found in a warehouse, the return of Marion Williams (but not Shortround, Temple of Doom.), and Indy's father. (Introduced in Last Crusade.) The one thing that felt out of place in this movie were...aliens.
It's the only thing I didn't enjoy about the movie, (Indiana Jones survives a nuclear explosion. That's the best ever.) in past movies Indiana Jones meet up with Nazis, Thugees (An Indian tribe), and now Russians. Aliens just seemed like a weird place to go. And it sort of ruined my perception of what Indiana Jones is. But It's fine. Don't avoid this movie because you may leave confused, this is still one of my favourites. But make an investment, if you want to watch this, read up on, or watch the other three first. This one, just barely, scrapes a six out of six.

Rapid Fire Reviews: Indiana Jones Movies

Raiders of the Lost Ark: six out of six.
One of the best movies of all time.
Temple of Doom: five out of six.
Shortround over-acts, and this adventure wasn't as fast paced as the first.
The Last Cruisade: five out of six.
The flash back to young Indy is long overdue, and this one still can't compare to the first.