Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

I know I was not alone in catching up with the other Indy films before the latest would drop.

A quick overview:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark: One of the very best adventure movies ever made.
2. The Temple of Doom: Fun (thank you Short Round), despite its dark themes and cultural depictions.
3. The Last Crusade: One of the best father-son duos in cinematic history.
4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Honestly, some decent moments and set pieces (despite falling completely flat at the conclusion).

Despite how you rank the films, one thing is universal: the role of Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. should only be played by Harrison Ford. To recast him would indeed seem nothing short of sacrilegious, meaning we “needed” at least one more Indy film as Ford is now an octogenarian. 

This brings us to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a film that is sadly like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but only more so. Granted, the character of Indiana Jones has always been about surviving the impossible (which is why I gave a pass to the whole “survive a nuclear explosion in a fridge” thing), but it seemed off when it started to dive into …well, I’m getting ahead of myself. The film starts off with a preface, set toward the last year or two of the second world war. While this segment does go on five to ten minutes too long, the CGI used to de age Indy is possibly the best I have seen in any film (although I did catch moments where the voice did not not sound young.) It is here we meet his friend and ally Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), who discovers with Indy half of a Dial by Archimedes that has unimaginable powers.

Fast forward to a present day version (1969), and we see Indy is deep in his twilight years, on the brink of retirement from teaching and bullwhipping. That is until he gets a visit from Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), daughter of the late Basil and Indy’s goddaughter, who is after the other half of the dial. Of course, she is not the only one chasing after it, as the opposition of the film comes in the form of a former Nazi scientist Jürgen Voller, played by Mads Mikkelsen (because, of course it is). Indy also gets help from old friends like Renaldo (Antonio Banderas), Helena’s sidekick Teddy (Ethann Isidore), and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies).

Aside from the aforementioned  de aging, the film does have some other moments worth noting, and I don’t just mean a couple of worthy action sequences. Despite being one of the top three or so movie stars of the last five decades, Harrison Ford has never really been known as a great actor (he has been nominated only once for an Academy Award). Still, there are some moments in this film that have some of the best acting I have seen from him (especially one scene on a boat, when answering a question from Helena).

Parents, there is nothing sexual in the film. It is a standard PG-13 action flick, with some violence and swearing (the violence is not as extreme as it was in the original trilogy).

As previously stated, I feel the film (the first not directed by Spielberg, instead being helmed by the talented and multifaceted James Mangold) is much related to the more recent film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (say what you will, but the title is still dope). As in that film, this film’s major fault is in the final act as it dives into (arguably) science fiction (a different type from KOTCS, but science fiction none the less). It also does not help that the CGI (among other things) are rather well below par. In short, they don’t land the plane (so to speak).

This is well known to be the final film for Indiana Jones, as Ford is no longer up for any other adventures with the fedora and bullwhip (though very few old men seem as mobile as he is). The film also marks the end of an era for another legend, one I would argue even more important to the history of cinema. After around seven decades of work, composer John Williams (who I am not afraid to say is my man crush) has reportedly decided this will be his last film. No man deserves retirement more, and I don’t exempt Henry Jones, Jr.

Overall: