Movie Breakdown: Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
Pre-Screening Stance:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out 15 years ago but it was so disliked that it’s still hanging over the franchise and seemingly damning The Dial of Destiny. I’ve got faith though – James Mangold is a high quality director and there’s no way Harrison Ford didn’t put everything into his last turn as the character.
Post-Screening Ramble:
It’s weird because I think people want (or expect) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to either be amazing or awful, but here’s the deal – it’s just fine. The story begins with a flashback to the last days of WWII. Hitler is still desperately trying to find religious artifacts, and Indy (Harrison Ford) – plus a fellow archaeologist named Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) – are out to stop him. This leads to the pair coming across one half of Archimedes’ Antikythera, a device of great importance and value. From here, the movie skips forward to 1969, where a lonely, on the verge of retirement Indy receives a surprise visit from Basil’s daughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who wants to find and complete the Antikythera. Things aren’t exactly what they seem though, and before he knows it, Indy is off on one last adventure.
For those whose only parameter for The Dial of Destiny is that it be better than The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you can go ahead and slap a smile on your face because it is absolutely a step up from that mess. Now, at nearly two and a half hours, it is a little long with a couple of sections that lightly drag, and while director James Mangold does a commendable job overall with the movie, it does feel like he played it a bit safe. There’s a special pizzazz, maybe one that only a Steven Spielberg can bring to something, that’s missing from the film, but either way, it’s still an entertaining effort that features some great action pieces and a lot of funny moments. The performances are on point as well – Ford brings a nice mix of old man grumble and charm, Mads Mikkelsen’s Dr. Voller is a solid villain, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s sharp playfulness is a nice fit. On the nostalgia side of things, there’s some to be had, like the inclusion of Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and a couple of other references, but the film doesn’t lean in that direction too much, which I found to be a positive thing. One last note – just because there’s a solid chunk of it in The Dial of Destiny – but the de-aging FX on Ford range from great to noticeably weird (often in the same scene), and it’s fairly odd to see a young Indy that still has the voice of the old one. Why wasn’t that altered?!
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny isn’t perfect, but it’s a good time. You should give it a go when it hits theaters this Friday, June 30.
One Last Thought:
Few things can immediately jazz me up like John Williams’ Indiana Jones Theme. It’s too bad he’s retiring, but I hope he gets to have the best time just kicking back somewhere.
