If you plan on seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, just remember, when you enter the theatre, to abandon your sense of reality at the door. In reality, our protagonists would have died twenty or thirty times over in trying to achieve their mission. When Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) walks away nearly unharmed after flying miles (inside a refrigerator) from a nuclear explosion, we know from early on in the movie that death is not appropriate for this theatre.

The Russian soldiers chasing after Indy have the ability to shoot everything except for our protagonist himself. Surviving three consecutive plunges over water falls, our cast of croaky academics and one greaser with a peculiar obsession with his hair (Shia LaBeouf) has more lives than a cat. The film, despite its awesome action scenes and amusing gags, fails really to drive itself. What is the worst poison for this film is that we know that, in the end, our good guys will win and all will be saved. Since we know the ends, we can only assume the means will play to much of the same pattern of the genre, and it does.

The plot line of The Crystal Skull isn’t spectacular, but it keeps you entertained, as the cast tries to return the skull to its rightful resting place. If you can forget what you know about action movies, then you’re in for a great time. The communist scare of the fifties comes back to life in this film, and this time it’s under the leadership of Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), a dominatrix and scientist. One of the most vibrant characters of the film, Blanchett has the chops to represent the entire evil side of the film compared to the four characters who rally together to help Indy win the day. Spalko can fight, wield a sword, dissect an alien, and read minds—we can only imagine her powers outside of the film’s forte. In the end, her desire to know more about the human mind (and to create an über-ominous super-weapon to convert everyone into followers of Lenin through mind control) is what leads her to her—expected—death as the Woman Who Knew Too Much.

The film demands a lot, but it pays back with a fun, nostalgic two hour ride. To experience the film fully, forget what your physics teacher and your common sense may tell you. If you can handle the rough parts of the film that litter the plot, you’ll be rewarded in the end. Comrade Blanchett is enthralling enough to make the movie truly worth your while, even if she is your only reason to see the film. The Crystal Skull leaves you with a fantastic journey carried by the iconic theme. It also leaves you begging to ask: Just how many times can we hit Shia LaBeouf in the crotch with consecutive ferns in a rain forest?