"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBoeuf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone

Rated: PG13 (for brief violence, spooky images)

Running time: 125 minutes Best suited for: Indy diehards

Least suited for: cutting-edge adventure fans

One begins to feel old when the nostalgia craze envelopes that which you swear happened only a backward glance ago. But then you blink twice and A Flock of Seagulls aren't putting out any new LPs, cellphones fit in a pocket and Indiana Jones has gone oh-so-gently gray.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is the fourth installment of the prolific Jones' chronology. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" began the craze back in '81 (when Harrison Ford was still a moonlighting Han Solo to most folks). But we haven't heard a peep from Henry Jr. since 1989- and many thought Harrison Ford, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas had moved on to other things, indefinitely.

Apparently, "The Crystal Skull" has lurked in one file cabinet or another for nearly 20 years, percolating, a myriad of drafts coming and going. A year ago, a script by David Koepp (whose projects include "Jurassic Park" and "Spider-Man") appealed to producer, director and actor- and so Indiana Jones returns, a little older, wiser and slower.

The Nazis are long gone, of course- but now there's a new threat afoot. (Isn't there always?) Dr. Jones finds himself held hostage in the Nevada desert; the Commies have infiltrated a top secret military installation (think Area 51) and, as was common in the '50s, the clock's ticking on an impending nuclear test blast somewhere in the Nevada desert. Somewhere close, it turns out.

Would Indy have it any other way?

Nostalgia buffs will have a blast. Despite the time lapse, there's really little stylistic difference between "Raiders" a generation ago and the current film. In fact, Spielberg went to great pains to remain stylistically similar to the previous Indiana Jones' films- using stunt doubles instead of CGI characters and maintaining paranormalrich, mysterious artifact-laden plotlines.

Yet I fear "The Crystal Skull" relies a tad too much on nostalgia. Scene for scene, one can point to a previous Indiana Jones installment and say, "I remember that." Similarities abound. There's the edgeof-the-precipice car chase, the obligatory (of course) snake scene, the itch-inducing bug swells, the chase by savages and the artifact du jour, in enemy hands and wreaking havoc for the rest of us.

Not a bad ride, admittedly, but not a stupendous one either.

There's also a hint of fatigue- is it just me?- around the edges of Harrison Ford and crew. This isn't an age issue- hey, at 65 Harrison Ford looks better than most of us do at 30. But Sean Connery, the same age when he starred in "The Rock" back in '96, emitted a fullblown exuberance I found lacking in "The Crystal Skull."

As if perhaps Indy's a tad weary of saving the world, one artifact at a time.

Still, there's a pretty nifty story involved, and for the metaphysical buffs among us, the plot covers some pretty heady ground. Where "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Last Crusade" had Biblical overtones (Old Testament and New Testament respectively), "The Crystal Skull" is otherworldly in nature, more sci-fi than religious folklore.

The film also introduces a new sidekick for Jones. Shia LaBoeuf- still fresh in the minds of every prepubescent male who's seen "Transformers" 20 times- plays Mutt Williams, a '50s teen biker (aka greaser) with both a 'tude and a sense of adventure. (For Brando fans, LaBoeuf's entrance is in clear deference to "The Wild One.")

Mixing old and new characters, Karen Allen nicely reprises her roll as Marion, and Cate Blanchett is Irina Spalko, a cartoonish stereotype of a Soviet fanatic in search of the crystal skull.

Not a bad cast. Not a bad story. And yet, when the dust clears, I'm left with that odd sense of weariness- yeah, the film was probably a blast to make, and Indy lovers may sigh and yearn again for Bow Wow Wow and the Bflicks of yesteryear (to which the Jones franchise is clearly an homage.) Oddly enough, many of today's action flicks are already an homage to Indiana Jones, so perhaps it's a weird conundrum of who came first, what's on second and where are we going from here? I readily admit to a blissful Sunday evening in front of Indy of Yore, and no doubt I'll someday add Indy of Now to my DVD collection.

Just that, in a theater, I'm too eagerly awaiting what's next?