Everyone joking about Harrison Ford’s advanced age seems to be forgetting one thing. Even when we first met Indiana Jones in his youthful Raiders of the Lost Ark days, he was something of a grumpy old man. This fourth installment not only acknowledges his aching bones. It also allows him his signature grumpiness. It’s as if Indy’s demeanor and age are finally in sync. As long as the movie stays rooted to the Indiana Jones persona – to this indelible creation of Ford, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas – it is a cheerful addition to the 27-year-old series. That the picture occasionally strays from character in favor of generic spectacle is, well, its major character flaw. Yet even during the movie’s bombastic, effects-driven finale, Indiana Jones is tellingly left in the bottom corner of the frame, standing almost in defiance of the technical wonder whirling around him. It’s a reminder that he – not any sort of computer-assisted action – has always been the series’ anchor. With the welcome return of Karen Allen from the first film and the enjoyable additions of Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett.
