Only half of a great movie

At an airfield in 1957 Nevada, Indiana (Ford) and pal Mac (Winstone) encounter villainous Soviet agent Irina Spalko (Blanchett) and her gun-toting goons.

Indy whip-cracks and wisecracks his way out of trouble, then returns to Marshall College where Dean Stanforth (Broadbent) asks the professor to take "an indefinite leave of absence".

A chance encounter at the railway station with a rebellious greaser called Mutt (LaBeouf), an acquaintance of Indy's old pal Professor Oxley (Hurt), propels the archaeologist on a quest to locate the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator.

Alas, Irina and her henchmen also seek the artefact, and they intend to use Indy to find it - by threatening to kill old flame Marion Ravenwood (Allen) if he doesn't help him.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull is only half of a great movie.

During the action sequences, when director Steven Spielberg is on a sure footing, this fourth film in the blockbusting series is an absolute joy, delivering adrenaline-pumping thrills and spills interspersed with smart one-liners.

Unfortunately, the hocus pocus storyline holding all these breathtaking set-pieces together is both gossamer thin and preposterous.

It's been almost 20 years since Ford last flexed his trusty bullwhip as the eponymous treasure hunter, but he's in remarkably good shape for his pensionable years, performing many of his own stunts.

Blanchett is under-served, which is a pity because she has great fun with the role and an almost comical accent, while LaBeouf clearly prepares to accept the mantle of Indy's fedora for subsequent films.

Indiana Jones: The Complete Collection DVD box set, comprising Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, is also available.

DVD Extras: "The Return Of A Legend" featurette, "Pre-production" featurette, six-part "Production Diary: Making Of Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" featurette, "Warrior Make-up" featurette, "The Crystal Skulls" featurette, "Iconic Props" featurette, "The Effects Of Indy" featurette, "Adventures In Post Production" featurette, "Closing: Team Indy" featurette, 3 pre-visualisation sequences, 5 galleries, production photographs, portraits, behind the scenes photographs; Blu-ray: "Indiana Jones Timelines" featurettes, "The Return Of A Legend" featurette, "Pre-production" featurette, six-part "Production Diary: Making Of Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull" featurette, "Warrior Make-up" featurette, "The Crystal Skulls" featurette, "Iconic Props" featurette, "The Effects Of Indy" featurette, "Adventures In Post Production" featurette, "Closing: Team Indy" featurette, 3 pre-visualisation sequences, 5 galleries, production photographs, portraits, behind the scenes photographs.

Rating: Three out of five.

Speed Racer (Cert PG, 129 mins, Warner Home Video, Family/Action/Comedy/Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £27.99) Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Scott Porter, Rain.

Speed Racer (Hirsch) is a demon behind the wheel of the sleek and sexy Mach 5 designed by his father Pops (Goodman).

The family racing business arouses the interest of Royalton Industries, owned by EP Arnold Royalton (Allam), who offers Speed a lucrative contract to sponsor the team.

The young driver declines the exceedingly-generous offer, determined to remain an independent and honour the memory of older brother Rex (Porter), who crashed and burned during the notorious Crucible cross-country rally.

Royalton doesn't take rejection gracefully and reveals that the prestigious race has been fixed by greedy businessmen for years.

Determined to repair the tarnished reputation of the sport he holds dear, Speed declares war on Royalton, aided by his girlfriend Trixie (Ricci), the mysterious Racer X (Fox) and rival driver Taejo Togokhan (Rain).

Based on a Japanese animated series, Speed Racer is a high-octane, turbo-charged blast for kids, with enough breathtaking action sequences to satisfy even the most demanding pint-sized adrenaline junkie.

Unfortunately for experienced drivers, directors Andy and Larry Wachowski forget to put sufficient genuine emotion in the tank and their film is several laps too long at 129 minutes.

Production designer Owen Paterson is given free rein to saturate the screen with every conceivable combination of rich, primary hues.

This is a non-stop assault on the senses - older viewers may want to don their sunglasses. Hirsch, Goodman and co play their roles with absolute seriousness while Allam's pantomime villain is almost as much fun as Speed's trouble-seeking little brother Spritle (Litt) and his animal sidekick Chim-Chim.

DVD Extras: "Wonderful World Of Racing" featurette, "Spritle In The Big Leagues" featurette; Blu-ray: "Wonderful World Of Racing" featurette, "Spritle In The Big Leagues" featurette, Speed Pass in-movie option, "Supercharged" featurette, "Car Fu Cinema" featurette.

Rating: Three out of five.