Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The movie begins in 1957, with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) held captive in a remote US military base in Nevada. Soviet agent Colonel Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) and her men force Indy to help them locate a crate containing the remains of an extraterrestrial being, known as the "Roswell Incident." Indy escapes but is caught up in a car chase between the Soviets and a group of teenagers called the greasers. He manages to eliminate the Soviets and survives a nuclear test by hiding inside a lead-lined fridge.

Indy returns to Marshall College, where he meets a young motorcycle-riding greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). Mutt's mother, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), reveals that Mutt's father, Harold Oxley (John Hurt), had recently disappeared while searching for the legendary crystal skull of Akator, a city of gold deep in the Amazon rainforest. Oxley had left behind a letter for Indy, urging him to find a new cradle that has information about the skull's location.

Indy and Mutt travel to Peru, where they meet up with Oxley's former colleague, Professor Harold Porter (Jim Broadbent). Following the clues in Oxley's letter, they decipher the location of the "Nazca lines" and find a hidden underground temple. Inside, they discover a crystal skeleton and a series of clues leading them to Akator.

The group is captured by the Soviets but escapes with the help of Mutt's fencing skills. They reach a small village near Akator, where the natives warn them of a powerful alien presence within the city. Pushing forward, Indy, Mutt, Marion, and Oxley enter the ancient temple of Akator. There, they encounter Spalko and her Soviet soldiers, who believe the crystal skull has immense psychic powers that could grant them world domination.

Indy and his group discover that the crystal skull belongs to an extraterrestrial being that had crash-landed on Earth thousands of years ago. The skull contains vast knowledge and can communicate with other beings. Spalko attempts to harness its powers but is disintegrated and consumed by the crystal beings. Indy and the others barely escape.

Inside the temple, they find a chamber filled with these crystal beings, with Oxley seemingly in a trance. Indy realises that the beings want their crystal skull returned, and Oxley snaps out of his trance and joins them. They return the skull, leading the beings to vanish and the temple to collapse.

Indy, Mutt, Marion, and Oxley are rescued by the US military and flown back home. The government covers up the events, claiming the temple collapsed due to a natural disaster. Indy and Marion get married, and Mutt swipes Indy's iconic fedora, hinting at his role as the potential successor to the Indiana Jones legacy.

Visible crew/equipment: When Dr. Irina Spalko is descending the cliff, you can briefly see the harness cable that is holding her up right next to the rope on which she is climbing down.

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Indiana Jones: Put your hands down, will ya? You're embarrassing us.

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Trivia: When in the tent and forced to face the Crystal Skull, Indy dismisses the skulls as being from "Saucer Men From Mars". Indiana Jones and the Saucermen from Mars was actually an early title for the film.

Jedd Jong

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Question: Perhaps I've forgotten some details from The Last Crusade in the years since I've seen it, but shouldn't Henry Sr. not be dead in this movie, because he drank from the Holy Grail which gives immortality?

Answer: Yep, you've forgotten some details. The Knight specifically states that the immortality bestowed by the Grail is limited to those who remain within the shrine. Jones Snr left the cave, ergo, no immortality.

Tailkinker

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