Despite grossing over $300 million and ranking as the year’s third biggest film behind “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man,” which topped it by only one million dollars in receipts, I’ve run across more people than I would have expected who didn’t get around to seeing “Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” during its theatrical run. To those of you who didn’t for whatever reason, today’s release of the film on DVD is a second chance to enjoy what could well be the final chapter, at least with Harrison Ford in the role of the globetrotting professor.

Granted, a whole lot has changed since George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” premiered 27 years ago, and some of that film’s razzle-dazzle has since become all too familiar. But that doesn’t change the fact that “Crystal Skull” is one heck of a good Indiana Jones adventure, with a lead performance from Ford that proves why the character will forever be his and his alone.

While none of the series entries can match the classic stature of the original, “Crystal Skull” lives up to its pedigree with ease, offering large doses of special-effects, humor and the kind of Saturday matinee, over-the-top action fans have come to expect from this one-of-a-kind collaboration between two cinematic giants. The story is fast paced, the plot an exercise in bringing a part of the story full circle, and the addition of Mutt a sleight of hand overture to a possible changing of the guard.

Of course we’ve seen much of what “Crystal Skull” has to offer in one form or another before. But what makes a film (and series) like this special is the way it goes beyond mere production values to plumb the depths of character, and the characters in “Crystal Skull” are as well developed and interesting as any in the genre.

Screener courtesy of PREMIER VIDEO - LA CROSSE