INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
A thrilling, pro-family adventure with mystical themes for discerning families.
Should You Watch It?
This is the kind of adventure that earns its title as “Worth the Wait.” Steven Spielberg delivers chase scenes, fights, close shaves, humor, and enough spine-tingling thrills for several movies. Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, and Cate Blanchett give the film a strong team of performers, while the story ultimately celebrates family commitments, wisdom, and courage.
The content keeps it from being a choice for younger children. There is foul language, intense action involving guns, skeletal remains, carnivorous ants, and other frightening situations. The mystical crystal-skull material also calls for thoughtful parental guidance.
If your teenagers are ready for intense adventure and you are prepared to discuss its spiritual themes, this is WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIn 1957, Indiana Jones becomes entangled with ruthless Russian agents searching for mysterious findings connected to Area 51. Soon afterward, rebellious young Mutt Williams asks Indy to help find Mutt’s missing mother and Professor Oxley, who disappeared while searching in Peru for the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator.
The Russians are after the skull, too. Their leader believes it can help them control people’s minds. Indy, Mutt, and Marion must reach the ancient temple before the Russians do.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is a highly entertaining, expertly made adventure. The movie starts with a literal bang and hardly lets up. Spielberg handles state-of-the-art action sequences as well as practically any other film director, with tremendous chases, fights, close shaves, and humor.
Harrison Ford deftly reprises one of cinema’s most iconic roles. Karen Allen is wonderful and feisty as Marion Ravenwood, Indy’s true love. The film also delivers positive emotions and ends on an upbeat note. Its mystical crystal-skull storyline is less satisfying, but the action, humor, performances, and moral outlook make this an exciting return for Indiana Jones.
The Worldview
The film strongly values family, wisdom, and knowledge over money and power. Indiana Jones continues to learn that true wisdom means making strong commitments to close family relationships in good times and bad. The story also presents the Russian Communists as ruthless villains and openly rebukes their ideology.
The mystical crystal skulls and ancient aliens from another dimension bring in New Age science-fiction ideas associated with Erich van Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods. The story places occult powers in the hands of intelligent, high-tech beings from another dimension. However, the hero does not seek that occult power; the villain does. The film also includes a light, slightly revisionist history of 1950s blacklists, with the hero objecting to a McCarthy-esque government blacklist.
The movie includes a positive reference to God and part of a Christian wedding ceremony, including a minister quoting Jesus’ words in the New Testament, though Jesus is not mentioned specifically. Its central lesson—that wisdom is better than power—fits Scripture’s warning: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong moral worldview with very strong anti-Communist content, strong pro-American content, some positive family content, the search for wisdom and knowledge is extolled above the lust for money and power, a positive reference to God, and part of a Christian wedding ceremony with a minister who quotes the words of Jesus in the New Testament (Jesus is not mentioned specifically, however), mitigated by some Erich van Daniken (CHARIOTS OF THE GODS) science fiction New Age content placing occult powers in the hands of intelligent high-tech beings from another dimension, but the hero does not seek such occult power, unlike the villain, who does, plus a light politically correct, slightly revisionist history scene with the hero objecting to a McCarthy-esque government blacklist; 15 obscenities, three light exclamatory profanities such as “for God’s sake” and one English “bloody”; plenty of strong action violence, some of it scary but with little blood and no gore, includes chase scenes with guns firing, a precarious sword fight, some intense fist fighting, tumbling down waterfalls, implied murder of defenseless people, large carnivorous red ants cover two men to eat them (one shot shows the ants entering a man’s mouth but there is no gore), a plunge off a cliff, explorations of a graveyard and a tomb, dead alien body appears to have been burned to death; no sex scenes but woman says that she became pregnant and married a man who was not the real father because the real father was not there with her and didn’t write after he went away until she had married the other man about a year later; brief upper male nudity; alcohol in one scene; no smoking; and, Communism overtly rebuked multiple times, kidnapping, extortion, death threats, betrayal, and a wedding kiss.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film contrasts wisdom with the lust for money and power. What does godly wisdom look like in your choices?
Proverbs 9:10 · James 3:17The story ends with strong commitments to family. What helps a family remain faithful through difficulty?
Joshua 24:15 · Ephesians 4:2–3The crystal skull’s power is sought apart from God. Why does Scripture warn us against occult power and forbidden spiritual practices?
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 · 1 John 4:1The Final Word
This is a thrilling, well-made adventure with a strong pro-family, anti-Communist moral outlook. Its foul language, intense action, and mystical themes make parental discernment important for children 12 and under. For teenagers and adults ready for those concerns, WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP.
