Indiana Jones and the Unlikely Awesome Sequel

At first I want to throttle critics who can't bring themselves to like a movie like "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which just provided me with the most fun I've had in a movie theater since ... well, maybe since the last Indiana Jones movie. Let's face it, what film has come out in the last 19 years that has been any fun at all? I've basically stopped going to the movies out of fear somebody will be forced to cut off his own arm with a hacksaw. And that's just in the audience.

But I found the latest Indy adventure to be fun, funny and exciting -- maybe it's because my expectations were lowered by George Lucas' last attempt at revisiting a beloved old franchise, but I actually found it more enjoyable than the last two. Part of that could be the fun of watching my son Tim enjoy the movie so much, just like I loved "Raiders" 27 years ago. But it could also be that if we ever needed Indy cracking that whip again, it's right now. Without him all we've got for heroes are those kids from Superbad and Robert Downey in a metal suit. Robert Downey!

So you fuddy-duddy critics looking for a plot that made sense and an age-appropriate Indy who would crumple the first time a bad guy hit him in the jaw can go take a flying leap off three successive giant waterfalls. I'll go with critics like the Flick Filosopher, who summed it up this way:

All I know is this: I sat through two hours of Crystal Skull and when it was over, my jaw was aching, because I hadn’t stopped grinning like a little kid the whole time. I love this movie. I love it.

Or the great Roger Ebert, who noted: "I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you."