Indiana Jones is back. In the new action-adventure film, 80-year-old Harrison Ford dons his hat and whip for the last time Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This film marks the 42nd anniversary since he first played the character in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He joins our legendary hero on another adventure as he teams up with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to find a mysterious dial that can change the course of history. This marks the first time Ford has played the character since the critically mixed 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unfortunately, the new part is not much better.
Indiana Jones is back. In the new action-adventure film, 80-year-old Harrison Ford dons his hat and whip for the last time Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This film marks the 42nd anniversary since he first played the character in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He joins our legendary hero on another adventure as he teams up with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to find a mysterious dial that can change the course of history. This marks the first time Ford has played the character since the critically mixed 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unfortunately, the new part is not much better.
I’m not happy to say that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a disappointing conclusion to Ford’s tenure as legendary archaeologist. There are many fun moments in the film, notably a chase scene through Tangier. Ultimately, however, the film fails to recapture the magic that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created with the original trilogy in the 1980s. These three films were the epitome of action-adventure and defined the genre with their mix of fighting, humor, drama and horror. Like most other films of this genre that have come out since, this film feels like a copy of it.
The film begins with a flashback to decades earlier, where we see a young Indy just after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The opening sequence is excellent. It features an aged indy, which is one of the nicer uses of the technology. While it’s flashy and there are times when the dialogue doesn’t match the lip movement, it looks great. Seeing a younger Indiana Jones ride a horse, battle people on trains and show his smile makes it a classic Indy adventure. Phedon Papamichael’s cinematography effectively captures the spirit of World War II in Spielberg’s work with Douglas Slocombe.
Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold, who previously worked on a number of films including Logan, Ford v. Ferrari” and “Girl, Interrupted”. With such a diverse filmography, he seems like the perfect replacement for Spielberg, who stepped down from the director’s chair in 2020. He has a great flair for staging and editing action, as seen in the early train sequence, the chase in Tangier and… there’s a chase scene where Indy parades on horseback to escape the bad guys. Although the film looks much better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it still isn’t as visually impressive as the original trilogy. In a movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark, every scene feels like the best possible version of that scene. With this movie, every scene feels like 75% of the best possible version.
Perhaps the weakest aspect of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the script. This film recycles a lot from the previous films, and not in a good way. Helena is the new Mutt Williams; She is a child character to Indy, a sidekick who accompanies him on his mission, part of the film’s initiating event, connected to someone from Indy’s past, equally likable and developed, and played by a relevant actor of the era (Waller-Bridge of Fleabag, Shia LaBeouf from Transformers). They serve the same purpose in both films.
One of the most emotional scenes in the film is when Indy reflects on what has happened to his family since the events of the previous film. It’s a beautifully written scene, but the problem is that it’s mostly a standalone moment. His tragic backstory doesn’t haunt him all the time, nor is it relevant to Indy and Helena’s relationship. There’s a surprising lack of emotional involvement in Indy’s godfather relationship with Helena. While their backstories are established, they are nowhere near interesting enough to give audiences a reason to care about their relationship.
Another character introduced in this film is a child named Teddy Kumar (Ethann Isidore). You don’t just bring another child character into a franchise that has already produced one of cinema’s cutest children in Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. While it would have been great to see Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan reprise his role, we get Teddy. Teddy’s backstory is exactly the same as Short Round’s; He tried to rob Helena, but when she caught him, they teamed up. However, Teddy is a much less likable character than Short Round. While Short Round had a positive energy and saved Indy, Teddy seems to want nothing to do with this adventure throughout the film.
As in most Hollywood films, Mads Mikkelsen is used insufficiently as the villain Jürgen Voller. Mikkelsen is an excellent actor who does his part well, but his character’s motivation comes far too late to be interesting, and his performance is no different from his other villainous franchise roles in Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore. or Doctor Strange. Speaking of underutilized actors, Antonio Banderas may appear in the film for less than five minutes. It’s more of a cameo than a real role, but what a waste of another talented performer.
In the finale, the film almost completely collapses. There’s a fun motorcycle sequence, but Teddy pulls off an incredible feat that no child could realistically pull off. If you think back to the Indiana Jones finales, you’ll realize that the original trilogy contained some fantastic episodes. Even though Ford is 80 and can’t reach the physicality he once was, the film should have given him more to do than sit on a plane for most of the finale. Indy does very little in the finale, both in terms of action and characters. Most of the action is played by Helena, the new character who’s not so easy to get excited about. Although Waller-Bridge lends the character some charm, she isn’t endearing enough for audiences to cheer for.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny doesn’t have enough of Indy’s classic charm, especially in the final act. While these movies are meant to entertain and delight and cringe at the violence and cheer for the heroes, this movie lacks all of that. It’s not delightful, violent, or exciting. I was more excited to have seen Extraction 2 on Netflix than this movie, which is shocking to say the least. It takes a little too long for the movie to hit the classic dark corridors and creepy creatures. The emotional moments in the film have no effect as Indy makes a decision at the end that really doesn’t work out. While the final act takes a big swing compared to what we’ve seen from those movies, it’s ultimately disappointing.
The best thing about Ford’s swan song as Indiana Jones is, of course, Ford. He portrays the character perfectly. The film does a great job of acknowledging its age without overemphasizing the credibility of its action sequences. For a franchise finale and a farewell to the character, however, the emotional risks don’t seem as high as they should. Because Indy’s tragic backstory is so far removed from the film’s story and the relationships depicted in it, it doesn’t work. There are moments in the movie that might make you feel like a kid again watching another classic Indiana Jones adventure. But Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny only proves that the series should have ended in 1989, when Indy, Henry, Marcus and Sallah rode into the sunset.
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RESULT: 5/10
As explained in ComingSoon’s Rating Guidelines, a rating of 5 is Fair. The positives and negatives negate each other making it a wash.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press preview for us Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review