Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This is the first appearance of Indiana Jones in many years - and accurately the archaeologist adventurer has moved from tackling the Nazis to confronting the Communists in the 1950s. Star Harrison Ford is not showing his age and is almost as much of an action hero as he was in the early films, but now he has a sidekick in the form of Mutt Williams (mmm silly name played by the equally unlikely named Shia LeBeouf - and yes that is a man). The leader of the enemy is Cate Blanchett as a remarkably glamorous Soviet scientist. The film opens with a nuclear explosion and then goes along traditional lines - there is this miraculous artefact to be traced and tracked through the jungles of South America, and finding this object will bring (a) great wealth (El Dorado?) (b) the secret and meaning of life (c) the solution to ancient legends. The fun is fast and furious, but this film isn't nearly as tongue in cheek as the earlier ones, which is a pity, but well worth bringing back the formula for another outing - and maybe Shia will take the torch on for yet more adventures. Rating: 8/10