Ahh, finally, the long-awaited 4th installment in the Indiana Jones movie series! Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull may not have been quite everything fans have been clamoring for, but it definitely hits the spot. Indy (Harrison Ford) is back and age appropriate as this adventure takes place in the height of the Cold War in the mid-1950's, some 10 years after his last adventure in The Last Crusade. This go-round, beloved Dr. Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Henry Jones, Sr. (Sean Connery) are nowhere to be found, having passed away in the Indy universe, which was really disappointing for those of us hoping for even a small cameo by Connery. But life goes on and Indy is off on a new adventure. This time, he seeks an infamous crystal skull, which he begins hunting after meeting up with reckless young "Mutt" Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who claims his mother (a mysterious woman from Indy's past) and Indy's old friend and colleague, Professor Harold "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt), are in trouble and in need of his help. Mutt is in possession of a coded letter from Ox which leads them on their chase, deep into the jungles of Akator, along with Indy's current compadre, "Mac" McHale (Ray Winstone).

The primary problem (and you know there is always a problem) is that Indy is not the only one searching for this priceless object. A team of Communist military, led by brilliant psychic scientist Col. Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), will stop at nothing to get their hands on any mystical treasure that they believe will give them an edge in the Cold War, the least of which being the crystal skull. Once Indy and Mutt manage to locate Ox and Mutt's mom, who turns out to be Indy's first love, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), the stakes increase and the ride gets ultimately more dangerous. There's plenty of action and double-crossing, along with a few surprises tossed in for good measure. They also went a new direction with creepy crawlies this time, giant killer ants!

When all is said and done, instead of going the typical direction of an Indiana Jones flick, that is, the object they are searching for relates in some way to religion/mysticism, they went a more sci-fi direction, which turned some fans off. However, it ended up being a good story and while not as pleasing as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, it was definitely better than Temple of Doom. The CG was pretty good overall and there were only a few cheesy CG moments. It was great to see the character of Marion Ravenwood come back into Indy's life and I really enjoyed Shia LaBeouf as Mutt, along with the other actors.

The Blu-ray version looks exceptional and is much sharper than the DVD version. Also, in addition to the scads of features included on the DVD version, there are also a number of Blu-ray exclusives such as the Indiana Jones Timelines where you can scroll through the events that take place in the movie, alongside the historical events which helped to shape them. There are also featurettes on literally anything you could want, from the making-of (there are six featurettes on this alone!), to the props, the skulls themselves, the special effects and on and on. If you have a high-def setup, this is the version you'll want, especially if you are a big fan of the series.