Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 2-Disc Special Edition.

Mike Rogers -- Library Journal, 10/7/2008 7:41:00 AM

color. 122 min. Paramount Home Entertainment. 323-956-8091; www.paramount.com/homeentertainment. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4157-4422-2. $39.99. FILM

The last time we spied our intrepid adventurer, he was riding off into the sunset after again preventing the Nazis from acquiring an artifact that would render them invincible. Fast forward two decades later, a craggier, older Indy performs a similar feat against the Russkies. The original series pastiched 1940s action serials; this one mimics 50s B sci-fi fliks. Director Steven Spielberg does a thorough job of taking Indy, who from the audience’s perspective is still a relic of the 1930s, and plunking him down in cold war, McCarthy-commie-paranoid, A-bomb, and Elvis 1957. Harrison Ford slips back into character as easily as he slips back into the hat and jacket, and newcomer Shia LaBeouf gives the film a good nifty 50s aura by channeling Brando’s leather and jean clad motorcycle-riding Wild One with James Dean’s Rebel switchblade added. Cate Blanchett, however, steals the show as the nail tough, psychic, KGB über bitch Irina Spalko, the series best villain since Raiders’ Belloq. The two-disc set sports a number of featurettes detailing the production including “The Return of a Legend,” “Production Diary: The Making of …,” and some shorts on how the crystal skulls and other props were fabricated as well as looks at special effects, makeup, post production, and the standard galleries of set pix and artwork. Sorely lacking, alas, is a deleted/extended scenes reel. Despite a mixed reception from critics and the geekosphere, Crystal Skull found a huge audience, earning $770 million, so will be in demand. Of all this summer’s blockbusters, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull perhaps is the only one parents and their kids will enjoy equally.—Mike Rogers, LJX/LJ