[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]
Only in theatres.
Now it’s over. The Indiana Jones saga, which has spanned five decades since the adventure seeking archaeologist first cracked his whip back in 1981, comes to an end with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final installment starring the man, the myth, the legend himself: Harrison Ford.
The good news is Dial of Destiny is fun, and if you need to hear this: it’s better than 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which to be honest is a lot better than you remember, if you keep in mind these movies are based on silly, serial adventure stories from the golden age of Hollywood. The bad news is, I have to just remind you that literally nothing is as good as it was in the beginning, and that goes for aging heroes, even dudes cool enough to play Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and Jack Ryan.
Dial of Destiny finds our aging archaeologist in 1969, on the brink of retirement from teaching. He’s sad, he’s alone, he’s bored. Until his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up to dust him off and pull him on one final adventure to look for a macguffin that Indy and her father, played in flashbacks by Toby Jones, stole from this Nazi scientist guy back in the day, played by Mads Mikkelsen on auto pilot. I know, that’s pretty much the plot of every Indiana Jones movie, but Hey! — the Nazis are back!
For the most part, the movie is fun and fast paced. It’s fun to see Harrison Ford donning the hat and whip again, even if the world is passing him by. And Ford delivers probably his most emotional performance as Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, a man looking back on his life and accomplishments and weighing what he has lost and sacrificed in his journeys to collect artifacts that ultimately belong in a museum. Waller-Bridge provides a great contrast to Ford’s gruff demeanor, while we get a couple of cameos featuring what is left of Indy’s surviving pals, including Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and Marion (Karen Allen).
It doesn’t all work though and while it’s fun to watch Indy, even at 80+ years-old and Helena chase down the film’s macguffin, the legendary Archimedes Dial, a device that purportedly holds the power to locate fissures in time, the device itself and the villain’s ultimate goal for what he wants to do with it is pretty dumb and lacks any sense of urgency.
What is really going to be divisive is the way-too-long prologue that features a de-aged Harrison Ford and Toby Jones squaring off with Nazis aboard a train. It’s a fun sequence that could have been a hell of a lot shorter. The de-aging isn’t even that bad as long as Indy is masked by shadows. But more than anything it seems like a test. How long can they use a de-aged actor, and how long will the audience buy it? There’s hit and miss success with the technology here that surely is paving the way for Humphrey Bogart and Brad Pitt to star with Marilyn Monroe in a movie someday. It will probably happen.
Mads is solid as Dr. Voller, the former Nazi scientist who now wants revenge on the worlds because the lost WWII or something, but he really isn’t given much to do except be an awesome screen presence. Would have been nice to see him push his performance a little more over the top. At times it seems like he’s sleepwalking through this. Plus, for a movie about archaeology, there is a surprising lack of it and puzzle guesswork as our heroes chase each other towards the climax. I will admit, the final purpose of the dial is infinitely more interesting in the story that drags us to that goal. Director James Mangold (Logan, Ford v. Ferrari) takes over for the master himself, Steven Spielberg, and does an admirable job of nearly recapturing that old magic.
But this movie is all about Harrison Ford and saying goodbye to one of the most iconic characters in movie history. Despite ridiculous plot motivations by the film’s antagonist, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny manages to remain a fun, even if predictable thrill ride thanks to the sheer badassedness of Harrison Ford and his chemistry with Phoebe Waller-Bridge. He may have rode off into the sunset back in the 90s but Dial of Destiny provides a fun boost of nostalgia and one more chance to say goodbye.
Lover of movies and tacos. Ad man. Author. Member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Founder of the Terror on the Plains Horror Festival. Creator and voice of the Reel Hooligans podcast.
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