If you have not seen the film and do not want the story spoiled then stop reading now. You've been warned that I will divulge some details from the latest Indiana Jones film. But before you stop reading know this...Indiana Jones is back!

SPOILER WARNING

So last night here in Prague I went to go see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull after I watched my team Manchester United, win the UEFA Champion's League title in what might have been one of the best matches I've ever seen in my life.

So at midnight the film was showing on two screens at the nearest theatre to the pub I was at and I had bought my ticket in advance online which is new here but I was glad I did as I had an almost perfect seat for what was to be an amazing ride.

The film opens in a typical founding shot with some American teens drag racing a US army convoy. What does it have to do with the story you ask? Well that convoy is not full of US army soldiers but actually Indy's new nemesis, the Russian Communists. After having helped defeat Hitler Indy had to move on to the next big menace which happened to be red at the time. We find out they're headed to Area 51 to recover a secret something or other...

While there are some predictable plot twists in this roller coaster ride through history, myth and legend but they didn't impede my enjoyment of the film in any way. It turns out that Marion and Indy did hook up and were even slated to be married in between the last film and this one but never tied that knot. They did consummate the relationship though and that culminated in Mutt - Henry Jones III - Indy's son. Funny that he chose mutt for a name just like his father chose Indiana "Indiana was the dog's name" - Henry Jones Senior. A good setup for future films in the series with the new Mutt Jones...hmmm that doesn't have quite the ring to it as Indiana Jones now does it?

The story and action are classic Indiana Jones. He still does some amazing things as he always has but they did show that he was getting old as not everything he did was totally successful. Of course that was always part of his character, charming and adventurous and at times almost bumbling, like the backwards bazooka or the getting the journal signed by Hitler scenes of the past.

Some purists will claim that this title deviates from the previous ones in content. I would say that it does. It introduces some elements into the universe that are simply alien. In fact, it introduces aliens. However considering that the first film had the Ark of the Covenant, an item many would believe as imaginary as aliens, I saw no problem with this move. Others will say there are far too many special effects in the film. That one I agree with to a point. Some of the effects seemed unnecessary and I thought they were put in there to 'wow' the crowd and not to forward the story. But overall I thought there was a decent balance in the usage aside from just a few places.

So what do I think? I think it was a fantastic film. From beginning to end it was as if no time had passed since the last film had come out. The tone, style, dialog, cinematography and feel of the film were definitely Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is getting up there in years and I would like to see one more film in the series before he can't do it any longer. Of course Sean Connery managed to pull off Henry Jones Senior at the ripe old age of 59, though Harrison Ford is already 66 so they better get moving on that one final film before it's time to totally pass the torch to Mutt.