To get it out of the way: no, this is not a great movie. It’s a worthwhile sequel, and honestly, I appreciate that it doesn’t try to step seamlessly back into the Indiana Jones world without any awareness of the time that’s passed. Harrison Ford is pretty haggard and they would have to come up with something pretty elaborate to pull him back into the fray.

Of course, this plot is really elaborate. There are Russians, double agents, FBI, psychics, aliens, atomic bombs, CGI animals, and all manner of other silliness. The movie is teeming with complicated, unnecessary messes, leaving Ford no choice but to crack wise as if he were James Bond’s meatheaded, defiant younger brother.

Shia LaBeouf steals this show, not because he’s a great actor (he is, but his character is written flat) but because he’s stylized as an archetypal greaser. I’ve seen this used as a criticism of this movie, which I don’t understand — besides Spielbergian daddy-issue bullshit, what real emotional depth or complexity exists in a franchise like Indiana Jones? Hell, if he brings me Shia LaBeouf in 501s and biker boots, I’m down.

Cate Blanchett also makes a great one-note turn here as a Ukrainian agent of the paranormal, replete with blue woolen jodhpurs, bitch boots, and a black inverted bob. As usual, her talents lie in inhabiting the qualities of a character — much like in The Aviator, she is not given a great deal of internal depth, but the character’s affectations allow her to show off her chameleonic bent.

Bottom line: This is Indiana Jones meets big dumb summer movie, but the result is still fun and worth seeing. I laughed at the movie and with the movie equally.

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