Quickie: Indiana Jones and the Crystal in his Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Directed by Steven Spielberg. Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf. I'm struggling with the possibility that both National Treasure movies, lowbrow as they were, may just be better than this latest Indiana Jones outing (which unfortunately rips off both endings of the National Treasure movies). The first half was quite pallid -- maybe 1950s McCarthy America is just an inherently grim with its depressing conformity, even as compared to the 1930s with Nazis squirreling around the globe. And crossing over the respective universes of Indiana Jones and Fox Mulder is a thematic mistake that neuters the distinct charms of either milieu. But as soon as the movie shifts into timeless pre-Incan Peru and meets up with Karen Allen (returned from the dead, Margot Kidder should be next), it picks up pace. Still, an Indiana Jones film whose highlight is a swordfight between Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett (channeling Frau Farbissina) must count as a disappointment. Kudos to John Hurt for accepting what just may be the worst-written role in a Steven Spielberg movie that is not Hook. 

(I wonder how Sean Connery, a mere 12 years older than Harrison Ford, must feel over this new movie's several gratuitous, and presumably backhanded references to his Professor Henry Jones having passed on)