Collective Rating: 3 / 5 Bull Whips

Comments: It was entertaining to see Dr. Jones back in action, and I thought Shia LaBeouf was a good addition (he’s been great in everything he’s done, I think).  I also thought they did a nice job of expressing the history that had passed in the lives of the characters since The Last Crusade, and in capturing the essence of the times for this movie, with the red scare and all that.  However, I was disappointed by the main storyline.  The previous movies had all been about religious artifacts and questions about the existence and power of God, so the whole alien skull thing just didn’t wash with me.  It felt very politically correct, as if they were afraid to approach religion in today’s world.  Also, I want to smack George Lucas upside the head for going so overboard on the cheese factor.  All the movies have had a certain amount of over-the-top action, but it always felt acceptable in the confines of the story, and believable as such, but this one was quite a stretch.