Returning to the screen 19 years later, Indiana Jones received a warm welcome from the critics who managed to attend the first screening of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Although many reviews noted that the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise isn't as impressive as its predecessor, 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," overall, the film was far from disappointing. And judging from the general public enthusiasm that seemed to transform the mood of the Croisette, the movie is set for a wild worldwide release with major box office revenues.

"The movie was absolutely effective enough to score with audiences everywhere," said Anne Thompson, deputy editor of Hollywood trade paper Variety. "This played way better than 'Da Vinci Code.' No one was gunning for it. They were excited going in, hooting for it in a positive way."

The summer's most anticipated film finds 65-year-old  Harrison Ford reprising his most famous role as adventurous archeologist Indiana Jones accompanied by much younger sidekick Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf, playing not against the Nazis but a band of Russian communists led by a dominatrix- style dressed scientist, Irina Spalko, played by Cate Blanchett.

Alain Spira of French magazine Paris Match found "Crystal Skull" a perfectly acceptable "Indiana Jones" tale, a sentiment echoed by the solid applause the movie received as the final credits rolled.

"It's good. It's a product that is polished, industrial, we're not getting ripped off in terms of quality," Spira said. "You know what you're going to see, you see what you get, and when you leave you're happy."

Taking place in 1957, 19 years after the last Jones film ended, the movie gives clues about the Jones' life since his last adventure, before setting him on a new quest involving an ancient crystal skull that's linked to a legend about Spanish conquistadors, hidden treasure, and supernatural powers.

"Nineteen years after their last adventure, director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford have no trouble getting back into the groove with a story and style very much in keeping with what has made the series so perennially popular," Variety's Todd McCarthy wrote.

Times' review (by Richard Corliss) noted that even though some scenes seemed like a stretching exercise, "once it gets going," Crystal Skull "delivers smart, robust, familiar entertainment."

Despite his age, "Ford looks just fine, his chest skin tanned to a rich Corinthian leather; he's still lithe on his feet, and can deliver a wisecrack as sharp as a whipcrack."

"Indy 4," Ford was quoted as saying by the Chicago Tribune at the press conference following the movie, is "a celebration of the movies" designed to "reacquaint people with the pure joy" of a collective escapist experience.