Technically, it’s well-made and, even though it sorely needs some trimming for time, it manages to provide a few chuckles and a bit of Indiana Jones style action and fun.
After I wrote my review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, I never thought I’d review another Indiana Jones film. Here we are, 15 years later, and another — and presumably the last — entry into the long-running franchise has arrived in theaters. Can it stack up to the originals? Is it at least better than the last one?
I recently re-watched Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and, in retrospect, my review was pretty harsh compared to my feelings for it now. I re-watched it to steel myself for the new one. I’m glad I did because it gave me a new appreciation of what director Steven Spielberg brought to the series.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the first movie in the franchise not to be directed by Spielberg. James Mangold (Logan, Walk the Line) takes the reins of the series’ fifth film. Working from a script by frequent collaborators, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari) along with the prolific David Koepp, Mangold follows the blueprints of a typical Indiana Jones film. Of course, the man who plays Indiana Jones is now 80 years old. How do you create a believable action film where the protagonist is an octogenarian?
The answer is that you have to make some compromises. Harrison Ford, no matter how good he looks in the fedora and leather jacket, can’t be asked to perform the same type of derring-do as he did in 1981. (Or 2008, for that matter.) So, that’s what the script does. It compromises. And cheats a little thanks to computer de-aging technology.
The movie opens with an extended — some might say overlong — action sequence set in 1945. Indiana Jones and his partner, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), look to intercept a Nazi shipment of stolen artifacts. While doing so, they come across the Antikythera, an ancient dial created by Archimedes. Or at least half of it. In typical fashion, there are narrow escapes, gunfights, inopportune mishaps, and a number of happy coincidences, as Indy and Basil try to liberate the Antikythera from Nazi scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen.) Carrying the weight of all the rough and tumble action is someone in a motion capture suit who — courtesy of computer graphics — is made to look like Harrison Ford might have in the 1980s. (Unfortunately, Ford’s real voice from the present day lacks the same youthful quality of his digital facade.)
Flashing forward to 1969, Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones prepares for his retirement as an archeology professor. His whip-cracking days seemingly behind him, he’s approached by archeologist Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge,) the daughter of Basil. Apparently, Indiana is her godfather. She wants a peek at the half of the dial that she knows Indy and her father retrieved from the Nazis 24 years ago. As Indiana obtains the relic from the the school’s archives, a group of men working for Jürgen Voller attempt to get the dial back from Indy, murdering some college employees in the process.
Voller now works for NASA under a new identity. Presumably brought to the United States as a result of Operation Paperclip, he’s been searching for the dial for his own nefarious purposes. As luck would have it, Helena doesn’t have the best interest of science in mind either. She sells illegally-obtained artifacts on the black market. In the confusion and gunfire, she steals the dial and takes off for Morocco to sell it.
From that point on, the plot gets a little fuzzy. I’m still not entirely sure why Indiana Jones has to go after her to get half of the dial back. With the other half undiscovered, the dial possesses no power. But, of course, he does. And, you know the other half will be uncovered as a result.
Harrison Ford’s character isn’t asked to perform anything that might cause you to shake your head in disbelief. At least, not more often than the typical Indiana Jones movie. Most of the intense physical stuff is handled by Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena. However, the action is the least problematic thing about the film. The script and the direction, however, suffer from the lack of George Lucas’ and Steven Spielberg’s guiding hands.
The plot simply feels like Mangold and his team of co-writers were checking boxes off a list. Car chase? Check. Map showing Indy’s far-off destination? Check. An real-life artifact being granted fictional powers? Check. Another chase scene? Check. Annoying kid sidekick? Check. Appearances by characters from the older movies? Check. On paper, it looks like it would work but, in reality, it falls a bit flat.
Even in the villain department, Jürgen Voller doesn’t have much to do. He simply follows Indiana Jones and Helena around and they basically give him everything he needs on demand. For a movie series that originated from the classic cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 40s, there’s a serious lack of suspense regarding the well-being of our hero. I won’t even get into the strange characterization of Helena Shaw, who starts as an antagonist and then very quickly becomes devoted to helping Indy.
It’s easy to criticize the movie on many fronts because it’s an unnecessary addition to the franchise. Although many people disliked Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, its ending seemed like an appropriate send-off for the character of Indiana Jones. Showing the retired adventurer living alone and dozing off on his Barcalounger in his underwear doesn’t add much to our collective memory of him. But that’s the kind of scene we get in Dial of Destiny.
All of that said, Dial of Destiny isn’t a bad movie. Technically, it’s well-made and, even though it sorely needs some trimming for time, it manages to provide a few chuckles and a bit of Indiana Jones style action and fun. Overall, though, it seems more like someone’s fan-fiction version of what could have happened after Kingdom of the Crystal Skull more than it does an essential sequel. We didn’t need to see it. But it here it is.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
