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Physically, Harrison Ford holds up spectacularly well in the fedora, despite nearly two decades gathering dust on the rack. The stunt pieces in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" are first-rate, slam-bang, spine-jangling action worth a whoop and a holler.

A pity that the script isn't quite in the same fighting trim that Ford is.

The "Indiana Jones" films were all fast-paced thrill rides featuring the intrepid archaeologist getting into scrape after scrape. But they had coherent storylines that were fantastical yet plausible. In "Crystal Skull," it feels like the stunts are the star, and the narrative has been arranged around the action centerpieces, rather than the other way around.

Don't get me wrong: The movie is thoroughly enjoyable, and no fan of the '80s films is going to walk out feeling Phantom Menaced. Indy battles Commies, skull-wearing natives, quicksand, a nuclear explosion, double-crossers, scorpions, McCarthy-esque feds and, most nastily, some giant Amazonian ants.

After spending most of the first three flicks in the Middle and Far East, the setting switches to South America. Indy sets off in search of the artifact of the title: -- elongated skulls made of quartz that have a strong magnetic presence and are reputed to contain fearsome psychic powers. It's 1957, so the bad guys aren't Nazis but Communists -- led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), a sword-wielding Soviet agent sporting a pageboy haircut and killer smirk. She wants to use the skulls to make the world see Red.

Indy gets some new sidekicks to help out. There's Mac (Ray Winstone), who performed some alluded-to heroics with Dr. Jones during the war (an FBI agent addresses him as "Colonel Jones"). And rising star Shia LaBeouf shows up in Marlon Brando's "Wild One" gear as teenage motorcycle punk Mutt.

No secret has been made of the fact that Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood, Indy's spitfire girlfriend from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," which has led to much speculation about Indy's progeny. Far be it from me to reveal any secrets, but let's just say the filmmakers surveyed the road not taken, and decided not to take it.

Mutt and Indy engage in some good-natured sparring, with repeated references to the archaeologist's advanced age. ("What are you, like 80?") It's a clever way to acknowledge that, yes, Harrison Ford has gotten older, and Indiana Jones has, too. So have director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas (who also carries a story credit with Jeff Nathanson) and screenwriter David Koepp. So have thee and me. We can wallow in it, or we can deal with it and move on.

The very last scene tells the tale. There's an opening for a figurative passing of the torch, and Indiana Jones decides he's not quite ready for the rocking chair. Based on how much fun "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom King of the Crystal Skull" is, audiences should be pleased he shrugged off retirement.

Call Star reporter Christopher Lloyd at (317) 444-6326.