Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008)

Plot Summary

• In 1957, World War II hero Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his partner George "Mac" McHale are kidnapped by a group of Soviet agents led by Colonel Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). The Soviets infiltrate a warehouse labeled "Warehouse 51" in Nevada and force Jones to find a crate containing the remains of an extraterrestrial that crashed ten years earlier near Roswell, New Mexico. After finding the crate, with its highly magnetic contents, Mac, bribed by the Soviets, double-crosses Jones.After a running battle with the Soviets, Indiana manages to escape on a rocket sled into the desert; he stumbles into a deserted town, part of a nuclear test site and survives a nuclear detonation by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator. He is later debriefed by the FBI, who believe he's also working for the Soviets. Shortly after returning to Marshall College, Jones is offered an indefinite leave of absence to avoid being fired because of the incident.At a train station, Jones is stopped by greaser Henry "Mutt" Williams (Shia LeBouf), who tells him that his old colleague Harold Oxley was kidnapped after discovering a crystal skull in Peru. Jones tells Mutt about the legend of crystal skulls found in the mystical city of Akator and whoever returns the skull to the city would be given control over its supernatural powers. Mutt gives Jones a letter from his mother, who is also being held captive, containing a riddle written by Oxley in an ancient Native American language.This leads them to the Nazca Lines in Peru. There they discover that Oxley was in a psychiatric hospital, after suffering a mental breakdown from handling the skull, and was kidnapped from his cell by the Soviets. In Oxley's cell, they find clues that lead them to the grave of Francisco De Orellana, a Conquistador who went missing in the 16th century while searching for Akator. They discover the skull at the grave, with Jones reasoning that Oxley had hidden it there.Shortly afterward, Jones and Mutt are captured by the Soviets and taken to their camp, where they find Oxley and Mutt's mother, who turns out to be Jones' old love Marion Ravenwood, who reveals that Mutt is Jones' son, Henry Jones III. Spalko believes that the crystal skull belongs to an inter-dimensional being and holds great psychic power and proves her theory by showing that the corpse stolen from the warehouse has an identically shaped skull. She also believes that returning the skull to Akator will grant the Soviets the advantage of psychic warfare.Jones, Marion, Mutt and Oxley escape from the Soviets into the Amazon; however, they are recaptured after Jones and Marion fall into quicksand and Oxley fetches the Soviets to "help". While being taken through the rain-forest to Akator the next day, Marion and Indy argue so much that their guard Dovencho gags Marion. However, Jones and Mutt manage to overpower him, after Jones frees himself with Mutt's hidden knife. He removes the gags from Marion, then Mutt frees her while Jones takes over the truck, leading to a jungle chase resulting in many losses, then stopping in an area full of giant ants that kill a soldier and Dovencho.The group escapes and makes it to the city, but only after evading the Soviets and negotiating three waterfalls in a duck and narrowly avoiding being killed by a tribe guarding the long-abandoned city. Mac, who again switched allegiances and claims to be a double agent, has been secretly leaving a trail for the Soviets to follow.Inside the central temple, they find artifacts from several ancient civilizations. Jones deduces that the creatures were kindred spirits; they too were "archaeologists" studying the different cultures of Earth. The five enter a chamber containing the crystal skeletons of thirteen alien beings seated in a circle, with one missing its skull. After the Soviets arrive, Spalko replaces the skull.The aliens communicate to the group through Oxley using an ancient dialect and promises to reward them with a "big gift"; Spalko demands to "know everything". The skeletons grant her request and transfer their collective knowledge into her mind. At the same time, they activate a portal to another dimension. Jones, Marion, Mutt and the now restored Oxley escape the temple, but Mac and the other Soviets are sucked into the portal. Meanwhile, the skeletons combine to form a single being and the knowledge transfer overwhelms Spalko, causing her to disintegrate; her dust is then drawn into the portal. The survivors watch as the temple walls crumble, revealing a massive flying saucer slowly rising from the debris; it hovers for a second before disappearing into the "space between spaces".Sometime later, after Jones is reinstated at Marshall College and made an associate dean, he and Marion are married in a church.

Storyline

• During the Cold War, Soviet Agents watch Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr., when a young man brings him a coded message from an aged, demented colleague, Professor Harold Oxley. Led by the brilliant Irina Spalko, the Soviets tail Jones and the young man, Mutt Williams, to Peru. With Oxley's code, they find a legendary skull made of a single piece of quartz. If Jones can deliver the skull to its rightful place, all may be well. But if Irina takes it to its origin, she'll gain powers that could endanger the West. Aging professor and young buck join forces with a woman from Jones' past, Marion Ravenwood, to face the dangers of the jungle, Russia, and the supernatural. — Twenty-seven years after the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) , and nineteen years after the search for the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) , the brilliant professor of archaeology and intrepid adventurer Dr Indiana Jones is back in action. This time, in 1957, ten years into the Cold War, a cocky, Harley-Davidson-riding young greaser named Mutt Williams enlists Jones' help to find a long-lost friend. Instead, the challenging mission drags the explorers deep into the impenetrable jungles of Peru and the fabled Lost City of Gold. And as the dangerous quest for the mysterious Crystal Skull of Akator, a pre-Columbian artefact made of diaphanous quartz, unfolds, a murderous squad of Soviets is hot on their trail. But this was only supposed to be a time-sensitive rescue mission, not an adrenaline-charged treasure hunt. Is Indy prepared to expose unfathomable secrets and the ultimate truth? — Nick Riganas It's the height of the Cold War, and famous archaeologist Indiana Jones, returning from his latest adventure, finds out his job at Marshall College is in jeopardy. He meets Mutt, a young man who wants Indy to help him find the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator, and the pair set out for Peru. However, deadly agent Irina Spalko is searching for the powerful artifact, too, because the Soviets believe it can help them conquer the world. — FilmsNow