The first press audience to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in Cannes this afternoon greeted the final credits with sustained applause after whooping and hollering throughout.

Make no mistake, there is no danger of this film tanking. Harrison Ford is back to his athletic, wise-cracking, combative best as Dr Jones in Steven Spielberg's fourth episode of the series, and new side-kick Shia LaBeouf is a revelation, in more ways than one.

Everything about this Indiana Jones is bigger and more spectacular than previous instalments. The movie is effectively one long chase, from it's opening scenes in the New Mexico desert to a climactic ending deep in the Amazonian jungle.

Ford is greyer than before, but otherwise looks and acts much as in the misleadingly titled Last Crusade 19 years ago. He has his usual quota of punch-ups, chases and hair-raising getaways, including a frankly implausible escape from a nuclear explosion where he's blasted to safety inside a lead-lined refrigerator.

In his first dialogue, Dr Jones admits that "it won't be as easy as it used to be", but for the rest of the movie he goes about disproving his own theory.

His first jump is more like a lumber than the rolling leaps of 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the thrills and spills get more and more impressive as the movie progresses. Indiana has to deal with giant waterfalls, giant red ants and the biggest temple complex he's ever had to negotiate.

Playing a Soviet agent keen to harness the Crystal Skull's powers as a weapon, Cate Blanchett is less menacing than Indy's Nazi rivals in previous movies, but the real battle was always going to be winning over the critics. If today's hyper-critical Cannes press audience liked it, there's a good chance you will too.

Tonight on the Cannes red carpet, Spielberg, Lucas and Ford will confidently stride up the steps knowing they've delivered a sure-fire hit.

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette