So, this isn’t really a formal movie review, but rather my basic impressions of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Like many, I was quite worried about this film. The previous Indy movies were masterpieces of adventure film, and set a very high standard. After the relative debacle of the Star Wars prequels, I was worried to see what this sequel would bring. Would they capture the fun and adventure of the original, or simply devolve into ridiculous silliness? There was only one way to wind out, and that was to fork over the big buck to the movie theater.

Going into the theater, I noticed that the movie was hugely popular, showing on eight screens with massive lines everywhere. I couldn’t help but think how amazing it must be to be able to create a piece of art with that level of following, such that millions of people would take the first possible opportunity to see what you follow it up with. Amazing.

Getting into the theater, and sitting through the previews (nothing too promising there, unfortunately), I was greeted with the familiar Paramount logo, and the trademark transition into the film. This transition was decidedly less epic than those in years past, but was at least somewhat amusing. The first half hour or so of the film starts off with a huge bang, not unlike the opening of Casino Royal, another film attempting to live up to franchise expectations. It is in this opening act that we meet Cate Blanchett’s villianess, who seems up to playing Jones’ first post-Nazi nemesis. Despite some fairly implausible turns of events, I liked the opener quite well.

Moving into the meat of the film, we are greeted with many familiar sites and scenes. After Jones meets up with Shia Labeouf’s greaser character, the familiar around the world treasure hunting begins. This whole middle section of the film was great, in my opinion, and really kept up the fun and flavor of the original.

The ending, however, simply falls a little flat. It’s nothing terrible, but it certainly seemed anticlimactic, which is always disappointing. However, on the whole, the film is certainly a worthy member of the Indiana Jones family of films, and is definitely a solid summer adventure film. Even if Spielberg didn’t quite stick the landing, I had a lot of fun watching it, and in the end, thats what really makes a film worth seeing.