It's a welcome return for a long-lost hero in the form of archaeologist / college teacher Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). Set in 1957, Indiana gets into a swift but daring encounter with some Russians in a warehouse which culminates in an exhilarating tussle with ice-cold, lead baddie Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). Soon the two are on a quest for the missing Crystal Skull of Akator, an object which has very special powers if it is returned to the kingdom whence it came from.

Indiana has to assist a young leather-jacket James Dean type Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) and also get on again with his first love Marion (played by Karen Allen) whilst his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) can't decide which side of the fence he's on - one moment he's an agent batting for the other side, later he becomes a double agent and so on. I made my mind up early on not to trust Ray Winstone's Mac and I expect you not to either.

Does the film work? Surprisingly, yes it does. It's Indiana meets Close Encounters with a dose of Apocalypto in the period of Back to the Future.

The action sequences are good, Indiana gets to issue some decent wisecracks and Shia LaBeouf as his sidekick is not as irritating as you might expect. I also expected Harrison might be getting too old for the part but through the magic of special effects and stuntmen, we get to see him perform some hair-raising action sequences - look out for sword-fighting in jeeps in the jungle - that's coupled with some nice archaeological gobbledy-gook which leaves you feeling you're comfortably learning about ancient history as well.

If the ending is a slight cop-out, the lead-up to it is good and word is that Indiana has already done enough in this film to warrant a further episode in the series. Given the lively and entertaining fare that is delivered here, many won't be complaining. It's mythical hocus pocus, of course, but it has a decent comic element which makes it fun to watch. Welcome back Indy - keep cracking that whip ol' son!