HE may not have sent us on a family thrills-and-spills ride for 15 years, but, as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proves, the magic is still there for maestro Steven Spielberg.

The comeback of iconic academic swashbuckler, Indiana Jones, is a powerhouse of a film and though it creaks in places, it still stands as a triumphant return to form.

The comeback of iconic academic swashbuckler, Indiana Jones, is a powerhouse of a film, and though it creaks in places it still stands as a triumphant return to form which in no way tarnishes our rose-tinted memory of the originals.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull introduces us to an older Indiana Jones in the 1950s.

Our hero lives a lonely and unhappy life in the time of atomic weaponry and anti-communist fervour until Mutt Williams, a rebellious young biker, visits Jones and persuades him to don the fedora and pick up his bull whip for a new adventure to find a legendary crystal skull in the Amazonian jungle.

Harrison Ford, though grey and leathery skinned, still has sufficient agility and toughness to bring the legendary hero back to life.

Inevitably, the franchise does not seem as fresh as it was in the 1980s but the brilliance is still there.

Harrison Ford, though grey and leathery skinned, still has sufficient agility and toughness to bring the legendary hero back to life, and he is thrown into some wonderfully inventive scenarios.

The big question, of course, is does it live up to the originals? Well, not quite.

The big question, of course, is does it live up to the originals? Well, not quite.

What we should be comparing it to is the Marvel comic-obsessed action films of the noughties, which, for my money, Indy still outdoes hands down.