Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Blu-ray)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the fourth installment of the franchise and comes out nearly 20 years after the last one. With every sequel there are always expectations, most of which demand bigger and better than the previous installment. Director Steven Spielberg does a nice job keeping true to the previous movies' tones and allows the audience to see how Dr. Henry Jones has evolved with time. At 66, Harrison Ford is every bit the action adventure character he brought to life some time ago. They address how time has past in a poetic way by giving the audience a bit of credit and not just making it blatantly obvious that Indy has gotten a bit older. By allowing the scenery to set the period, Spielberg pulls this off nicely. Now instead of Nazis in the 40's, Indiana finds himself battling against the Russians in the 50's. With Cate Blanchett playing the ultimate villain and newcomer Shia LaBeouf as Indiana's side kick of sorts and reprising her role from the original movie is Karen Allen as Indy's love interest. TheKingdom of the Crystal Skull takes you on a journey chasing treasure and saving lives with all of the usual traps that befall Indy on his adventures. There are plenty of thrills that keep you on the edge of your seat hoping that our hero Indy can get out of these perils with only minor scrapes and bruises. I feel that Spielberg caters to a younger crowd and the feeling is a bit lighter and more innocent and honestly it should be done this way. Other movies try to make things complicated but, Indiana Jones always keeps the flow going with kid gloves on and doesn't try to confuse the audience. Good vs. evil with good coming out on top.

With the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Blu-ray this is the first of the franchise to be put on Blu-ray DVD and I am sure the die hard fans can't wait for the previous installments to make their way to this format. The picture quality really has a beautiful look with the colors at times being over saturated giving a warming feeling as to what our hero is going through and then at times the colors get a bit muted setting the feel for the perils that are brought before us. Along with the stunning picture quality is the Dolby TrueHD sound track, which isn't as in your face as other movies and the dynamics keep more to an even tone rather than knocking you out of your chair. This keeps with the innocent feel to the movie. With that being said, when the Indiana theme anthem is heard, It is sure to bring a smile to everyones face hearing it in such clarity.

The bonus features begin with the movies pre-production and continue through its completion. There are interviews with Steven Spielberg that take a look inside the approach to making this movie.

Features include:

• Pre-Production - Featurette
• Indian Jones timelines
• Trailers - 2 and 3
• The return of a legend - Featurette
• Production Diary: making of Kingdom of the crystal skull

Shooting begins - New Mexico

• Back to school - New Haven , Connecticut
• Welcome to the jungle - Hilo, Hawaii
• On set action
• Exploring Akatar

Wrapping up!

• Warrior make-up
• The crystal skulls
• Iconic props
• The effects of Indy
• Adventures in post production
• Closing: Team Indy
• Pre-visualization sequences - mapped out in CGI
• Galleries:

The art department

• Stan Winston Studio
• Production photos
• Portraits
• Behind the scenes photos

This Blu-ray DVD is sure to keep the most discerning fan occupied with content and quality and while this isn't my favorite Indiana Jones movie, it certainly is entertaining and shows that Harrison Ford can still put on the hat and grab his whip and take us for an adventure. Hopefully there will be another installment, as I am sure the movie going audience will never get tired of tagging along with Indy. Lets just hope we don't have to wait as long for the next one.