Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) Paramount/Action-Adventure RT: 154 minutes Rated PG-13 (sequences of violence and action, language) Director: James Mangold Screenplay: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and James Mangold Music: John Williams Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael Release date: June 30, 2023 (US) Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, Mads Mikkelsen, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Olivier Richters, Karen Allen. Box Office: $174.5M (US)/$384M (World)
Rating: ** ½
I will start by answering the question that’s been on everybody’s mind since the fifth (and supposedly final) chapter of the Indiana Jones series was announced. Yes, it’s better than Crystal Skull. That’s the good news. The bad news is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny still doesn’t measure up to the original or the two sequels that followed. It’s a decent enough movie, but something is missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it yet, so let’s put a pin in this for a moment.
Directed by James Mangold (Logan), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens with a sequence set during the 1944 Allied Liberation in Europe. A digitally de-aged Indy (Ford) is after some object called the Lance of Longinus. Of course, it’s in the possession of the Nazis. Unbeknownst to all but the movie’s main villain Voller (Mikkelsen, Doctor Strange), they also have the Antikythera, a gadget invented by Italian mathematician Archimedes. It has powers beyond belief. Whoever has it…. well, let’s just say it belongs in a locked vault under heavy 24/7 guard. It’s that dangerous. Anyway, Indy and his companion Basil Shaw (Jones, Captain America: The First Avenger) acquire the Dial after fighting off an army of Nazis aboard a train.
The movie then cuts to 1969 where we find an elderly, embittered Indy alone in a crummy, cluttered apartment. He’s separated from wife Marion and being forced to retire from teaching archeology to bored college students. He’s approached by his goddaughter Helena (Bridge, Fleabag), the daughter of Basil, who he hasn’t seen in nearly 20 years. She wants to pick up where her deceased dad left off in his search for the other half of the Dial. First, she needs the half that Indy supposedly destroyed at the request of his friend. It was causing him to go insane. He takes her to it only to be attacked by a group of mean-looking guys working for Voller (now going by Schmidt). During the ensuing fight, Helena absconds with the Dial, intending to sell it on the black market at an illegal auction in Tangiers. So begins another adventure for one of the greatest action heroes in movie history.
From this point, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has the heroes and villains racing around the globe to obtain the Dial. In other words, it’s business as usual for the series. We get chases, fights, narrow escapes and stunts of derring-do. Best of all, we get to see Indy and Helena hunt for the object of everybody’s desire in a dark, pitfall-laden tomb complete with cobwebs, creepy crawlies and a rickety bridge. That’s what I like to see in an Indiana Jones flick. In addition, we get the best female sidekick since Karen Allen in the first movie. I wasn’t sure Bridge could pull it off, but she nearly steals the show as Helena. She’s a plucky one, this gal. I guess I can tell you she goes from adversary to ally by movie’s end, so it’s okay to like her despite her lack of principles early on.
At 80, Ford could have just phoned it in and collected a hefty paycheck. He doesn’t do that. He’s as game as ever as his character hunts for yet another historical artifact surrounded in myth. Yes, he’s slowed down some since 1981 (and ’84 and ’89), but he still punches Nazis like nobody else. Not only that, he hits all the right emotional beats as an old man coming to terms with being a human artifact. The world around him is changing and he’s stuck in the past. He’s also dealing with a personal tragedy for which he blames himself. It’s a reminder that Ford is still a solid actor as well as a movie star.
Mikkelsen does a good not great job as the archetypical Nazi megalomaniac who still believes in the cause. Boyd Holbrook (Logan) is suitably evil as Voller’s trigger-happy main henchman. Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro) shows up briefly as a friend of Indy’s who aids him in his quest. Young French actor Ethan Isidore (in his first major role) is fun as Helena’s aviation-obsessed sidekick. You could say he’s her Short Round. He’s a resourceful lad, this kid.
As entertaining as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is, isn’t as engaging as it should be. It’s fast-paced and never boring. It has some cool action set-pieces and the chemistry between Ford and Bridge is solid. Also, it’s nice to see John Rhys-Davies rejoin the party as Indy’s Egyptian friend Sallah. At the same time, it left me wanting a little more. It didn’t pull me in like Raiders did. One of my fondest movie memories is seeing Raiders for the first time at a special advance sneak preview. Although I was already obsessed with movies, it’s the one that sealed the deal for me. I’m aware that the experience can never be recreated and I didn’t go into Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny expecting it.
Now I know what’s missing! I loved the FX work in the original. The finale blew me away. The CGI in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a little better than Crystal Skull, but it’s still CGI at the end of the day. It takes me out of the picture. What’s missing is the purity in form I love so much in Spielberg’s original. I hate to say it, but the whole affair is rather hollow; however, the same can be said of 90% of new movies.
I suppose what’s most important is whether or not I was entertained by Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The answer is for the most part, yes. It’s good not great. It’s a little long at just over two-and-a-half hours, but like I said, it’s never boring. John Williams’ score is right on-point as usual. Who doesn’t get chills hearing the classic Indiana Jones theme? It also has an effective emotional aspect to it. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend after one last adventure. Both Disney (which acquired the rights to the franchise along with Star Wars) and Ford have said this fifth installment will definitely be the last. There are no additional scenes, so no need to sit through the credits. I’m inclined to believe Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the end. It’s not exactly a low note nor is it a high one. It’s enjoyable enough, but I wish it had been better.
