Quarantine Reviews 14: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Harrison Ford in his signature role as Indiana (photo credit: Lucasfilm)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (released June 30, 2023)
Ryan's Rating: ✯✯1/2 (out of four)

"If Adventure has a Name it's Indiana Jones"

I was going back and forth between 2.5 and 3 stars. I initially chose 2.5 but went to 3 and now am back to 2.5. Overall the movie a fun though overlong ride not as good as the previous Indy films but better than many of the recent re-boot/sequels to come along.

The majority of the story takes place in 1969,  shortly after the Apollo 11 moon landing, with our favorite Dr. Jones retiring from teaching at Hunter College in New York City (a seeming step down from the vast Marshall College he and Marcus Brody worked at in the 1940s). He lives alone in a small apartment and is basically a man out of his time which has made him a curmudgeon. Then his estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up asking for Indy's help in locating Archimedes' Dial which is said to have magic powers. If you know anything about Indiana Jones you can probably guess this leads to a globe trotting adventure.  

First off Ford is (still) wonderful as Jones, and it is exciting to see him put on the hat and whip one last time. He gives a great performance adding real pathos to some scenes and acknowledging that time is passing Indy by and he's seen so many things both great and terrible yet he still has one more run in him. It also has the meta quality of Ford himself as he has seen the movie industry change through the years and we as his fans have seen him change. Waller-Bridge's performance is great and engaging though her character occasionally is given odd changes in the beginning of the film in what seems an attempt by the screenwriters to give her unneeded depth, this is a heroes and villains story people. I would watch a stand alone period piece adventure movie starring Waller-Bridge, she is a great addition to the film.

The villains led by Mads Mikkelsen (always a fine villain remember Casino Royale) and his group of "former" Nazis are never as memorable as the ones in Raiders or even Cate Blanchett's Soviet in Crystal Skull. They serve their purpose but I feel Jones is better when he is taking on an army of endless soldiers with tanks as opposed to a set group of bad guys.

As we see in the movie trailer there is a sequence where Ford is made to look like he did forty years ago through CGI effects. And this opening sequence on a Nazi train is one of the most imaginative and engaging in the whole film. Though the CGI seemed a little off almost as if Ford is wearing a mask but I suspended my critique to thoroughly enjoy the sequence. Some of the later chases in the movie are often so clearly CGI creations it may take some viewers out of the moment.

The film is overlong at 2 hours and 45 minutes. The makers forget Indy is based on the old time Saturday Matinee Serials which are little short films from the 1940s which ran on TV in the 1950s and 1960s. All the previous Indy adventures were right around two hours yet here when we start heading for the three hour mark the story gets overwhelming where exposition drags and the chase scenes feel repetitive. I will say the dialogue is far better than the JJ Abrams TV banter of the recent Star Wars trilogy.

Director James Mangold is a good filmmaker and I've enjoyed a number of his previous films (I think Knight and Day from 2010 is one of the most enjoyable and underrated action comedies). He knows how to film big widescreen action chases and get good performances yet he has the unfortunate task of following Steven Spielberg and Mangold is not Spielberg (not many are). Spielberg is one of the most imaginative and greatest filmmakers of the last fifty years and probably in the history of all cinema. He is able to imbue a film with a true sense of awe and wonder and joy that few others can (Remember the crew of the cargo ship cheering as Indy is riding the top of the Nazi sub from Raiders, the wind blowing his hat back to him after surviving the tank going over the cliff from Last Crusade, etc).

All this being said the movie is fun and I had a good time. The film is a nice finale to the series (a better closing than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was fifteen years ago).It also reminded me how great John Williams' theme song is, the few times it is used brought me great joy. I saw it in a historic old movie theater which is how it is meant to be seen, a place where the seats aren't silly recliners, where you don't have to pick your seat in advance on a diagram that never resembles the actual auditorium, and the popcorn is not more expensive than the ticket. Maybe I have a little bit of Indiana Jones in me as well. "Give 'em Hell Indiana Jones".