But the passage of time is definitely a theme in this ballyhooed third sequel to 1981's Steven Spielberg-directed, George Lucas-produced Raiders of the Lost Ark. (OK, the first follow-up, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, was technically a prequel, if you want to get picky.)
Set in 1957, at a time of Cold War dread (Commies, nukes), and starting in the American Southwest - before hopscotching to the Amazon and the jungles of Peru - The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull finds Harrison Ford reunited with his fedora and bomber jacket, muttering archaeological mumbo jumbo (check out those "geoglyphs") as he runs, jumps and socks his way through relentless chase sequences in search of, um, a mystical, ancient something-or-other.
That would be the Crystal Skull of Akator, a storied artifact whose powers, in the wrong hands, could be awesome. Enter the awesome Cate Blanchett, sporting a Louise Brooks wig, a jumpsuit from the house of Hammer & Sickle, and a Russian accent borrowed from Rocky & Bullwinkle's Natasha Fatale. The Oscar-winning thespian is Irina Spalko, a spy with paranormal prowess, and Indy susses her nationality in a rare show of wit: by noting how she sinks her teeth into her "wubble-ewes."
By the time the Crystal Skull is over, Blanchett has dogged Dr. Jones and company across hemispheres, down waterfalls and through armies of carnivorous ants, and has engaged in a swordfight with Shia LaBeouf - the two whacking each other from the flatbeds of two trucks hurtling side-by-side through dense, monkey-festooned rain forest.
