{"id":4040,"date":"2024-09-14T16:44:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T16:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=4040"},"modified":"2024-10-13T18:09:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T22:09:20","slug":"indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/09\/14\/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> (2023)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 154 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (sequences of violence and action, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: James Mangold\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and James Mangold\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 30, 2023 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $174.5M (US)\/$384M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0I will start by answering the question that\u2019s been on everybody\u2019s mind since the fifth (and supposedly final) chapter of the Indiana Jones series was announced. Yes, it\u2019s better than Crystal Skull. That\u2019s the good news. The bad news is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> still doesn\u2019t measure up to the original or the two sequels that followed. It\u2019s a decent enough movie, but something is missing. I can\u2019t quite put my finger on it yet, so let\u2019s put a pin in this for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Directed by James Mangold (Logan), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> 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\u2019s in the possession of the Nazis. Unbeknownst to all but the movie\u2019s 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\u2019s just say it belongs in a locked vault under heavy 24\/7 guard. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The movie then cuts to 1969 where we find an elderly, embittered Indy alone in a crummy, cluttered apartment. He\u2019s separated from wife Marion and being forced to retire from teaching archeology to bored college students. He\u2019s approached by his goddaughter Helena (Bridge, Fleabag), the daughter of Basil, who he hasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0From this point, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> has the heroes and villains racing around the globe to obtain the Dial. In other words, it\u2019s 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\u2019s desire in a dark, pitfall-laden tomb complete with cobwebs, creepy crawlies and a rickety bridge. That\u2019s 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\u2019t sure Bridge could pull it off, but she nearly steals the show as Helena. She\u2019s a plucky one, this gal. I guess I can tell you she goes from adversary to ally by movie\u2019s end, so it\u2019s okay to like her despite her lack of principles early on.<\/p>\n

\u00a0At 80, Ford could have just phoned it in and collected a hefty paycheck. He doesn\u2019t do that. He\u2019s as game as ever as his character hunts for yet another historical artifact surrounded in myth. Yes, he\u2019s slowed down some since 1981 (and \u201984 and \u201989), 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\u2019s stuck in the past. He\u2019s also dealing with a personal tragedy for which he blames himself. It\u2019s a reminder that Ford is still a solid actor as well as a movie star.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Mikkelsen 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\u2019s trigger-happy main henchman. Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro) shows up briefly as a friend of Indy\u2019s who aids him in his quest. Young French actor Ethan Isidore (in his first major role) is fun as Helena\u2019s aviation-obsessed sidekick. You could say he\u2019s her Short Round. He\u2019s a resourceful lad, this kid.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As entertaining as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> is, isn\u2019t as engaging as it should be. It\u2019s fast-paced and never boring. It has some cool action set-pieces and the chemistry between Ford and Bridge is solid. Also, it\u2019s nice to see John Rhys-Davies rejoin the party as Indy\u2019s Egyptian friend Sallah. At the same time, it left me wanting a little more. It didn\u2019t 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\u2019s the one that sealed the deal for me. I\u2019m aware that the experience can never be recreated and I didn\u2019t go into Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> expecting it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Now I know what\u2019s missing! I loved the FX work in the original. The finale blew me away. The CGI in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> is a little better than Crystal Skull, but it\u2019s still CGI at the end of the day. It takes me out of the picture. What\u2019s missing is the purity in form I love so much in Spielberg\u2019s original. I hate to say it, but the whole affair is rather hollow; however, the same can be said of 90% of new movies.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I suppose what\u2019s most important is whether or not I was entertained by Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong>. The answer is for the most part, yes. It\u2019s good not great. It\u2019s a little long at just over two-and-a-half hours, but like I said, it\u2019s never boring. John Williams\u2019 score is right on-point as usual. Who doesn\u2019t get chills hearing the classic Indiana Jones theme? It also has an effective emotional aspect to it. It\u2019s 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\u2019m inclined to believe Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/strong> is the end. It\u2019s not exactly a low note nor is it a high one. It\u2019s enjoyable enough, but I wish it had been better.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 154 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (sequences of violence and action, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: James Mangold\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and James Mangold\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 30, 2023 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-action-adventure"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Indiana-Jones-and-the-Dial-.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4040"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4996,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040\/revisions\/4996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}