Critics Generally Pleased with New Indiana Jones

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Ford Summer blockbuster kings Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have a lot riding on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, their fourth installment in the series about the beloved bullwhip-cracking archaeologist: With a budget of $185 million and another $150 for marketing, the flick has to gross more than $500 million worldwide to avoid being a disappointment.

The movie's built-in fanbase all but guarantees that, though appeasing said fans is a different beast altogether. And early Internet speculation surrounding the flick was not exactly stellar. Last Thursday, a poster at aintitcoolnews.com proclaimed, "This is the Indiana movie that you were dreading ... Ford has a few lines that work and a million that don't." But fret not, Dr. Jones fans! Official reviews are now mostly in, and they're generally favorable: