Passing my neighborhood gas station today, I was struck with the painful reality of the $4 gallon of gas. So much for those summer road-trip vacation plans. Like many others in our country, looks like we'll be sticking close to home and, when possible, spending a lot of time in a darkened, air-conditioned theater. That is why it is so exciting, once again, to say hello to an old friend like Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a throwback to the good old-fashioned days of escapism when you can leave behind all the cares of life and get lost in a world of action and wonder.

Nineteen years after the last installment, it is understandable if there were doubts on whether this franchise had run its course. Those doubts are quickly dashed in the first fifteen minutes as Harrison Ford re-captures the magic donning his trademark fedora as the swashbuckling hero armed only with a whip and his wits. Check all plausibility at the door as you witness our hero surviving a nuclear test-blast by hiding inside a refrigerator. The frantic pace of the film only escalates from there—and it's an exhilarating ride.

Director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas masterly craft a classic popcorn film that provides a vintage feel of simpler days when films didn't take themselves so seriously and it was all about having fun. Heavy on action and breathtaking chase sequences and light on plot-twists and character development, it is precisely what movie-goers are hungry for.

Along for the ride with Ford are Cate Blanchett as Russian officer Irina Spalko, Ray Winstone as Indy's on-again/off-again sidekick Mac, and Shia LaBeouf as an aspiring adventurer named Mutt clad in a leather-jacket and armed with a switchblade. Mutt's presence and youthful recklessness energize Indy to keep up with the young upstart. LaBeouf seems more than able in charisma and charm to keep the Jones franchise rolling if the creative forces choose to do so.

The best role of this installment is another returning character: Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, the long-lost love interest of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indy's one true love. Their chemistry is rekindled immediately and Jones poignantly cannot hide his true feelings. Kudos to Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp for resisting the urge to hook Jones up with a younger woman half his age for the sake of audience palatability. Allen is not your typical leading lady but it is in their love for each other where Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull finds its heart and humanity.

Not to fear, however, lest you think that Spielberg and his gang would let the franchise reduce into schmaltzy sentimentality. Just imagine a wild motorcycle chase through a university quad, a cliff-side truck chase complete with a colony of wild, vine-swinging monkeys, an insane drop down a waterfall (not once, not twice, but three times) and, if that weren't enough, two words: giant ants. You get the idea.

As the world as we know it gets more uncertain and the painful struggles of life get more intense, it is good to cling to familiar heroes and escape with larger-than-life legends who conquer impossible odds. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull provides that much-needed escape and then some. Welcome back Indy. We need heroes like you more than ever.