Movie: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Lucasfilm Ltd
Director: James Mangold
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Simon Emanuel
Scriptwriters: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp, James Mangold
Main Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, Mads Mikkelson
Release Date: June 30th 2023 (US)
Running Time: 154 minutes
Certificate: 12A
Introduction
Well I guess even Indiana Jones is eventually destined for a box office bomb. Terrible pun aside, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny really isn’t that good. Despite a killer opening 25 minutes, there’s very little else to celebrate, which is a shame. But, at least it’ll always be better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Not that surpassing that bar should be considered a milestone for success as a film but that’s besides the point. I guess there’s a SPOILER warning in effect if you’ve managed to dodge the time-y wimey nonsense.
Synopsis
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny follows the titular archaeologist (Ford) and his goddaughter Helena (Waller-Bridge) as they attempt to stop stereotypically evil Nazi Doctor Jurgen Voller (Mikkelson) from retrieving a dial which allows the user to travel back in time. Yep, somehow the logical progression from terrible CGI aliens was time travel but I digress. Also, joining Indy and Helena are a bunch of cameos from past films like Sallah and Renaldo but really there isn’t that much to say to the plot other than once again Indiana Jones has the same villain problem as Pirates of the Caribbean. Once they settled on Nazis or zombie pirates, they couldn’t be bothered with another villain but I digress.
Analysis
The Opening Sequence
Ok so bar the questions about time travel, the real question is what are the minimal redeeming parts of Dial of Destiny? Well, mostly just the opening sequence. Not only is there a killer John Williams score but it really does recapture the magic of the original trilogy. Look at the shots of Indy and Basil Shaw running across the top of the Nazi train while Allied planes start to bomb the train. And that doesn’t take into account the quick paced action as Indy fights his way up the train to Basil.
All this naturally creates a very quick pace which surely the film wouldn’t do anything to slow down. Also, props to the amount of de-aging work done for Harrison Ford who genuinely looks as young as he did in the original trilogy. But, as I briefly mentioned above the sheer frenetic pace created by the constantly moving camera and score really help elevate this opening sequence.
Time Travel Problems
However, I really can’t touch on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny without mentioning the ending. While it is wholesome to see Indy and Marion get back together surrounded by their friends and family, the whole time travel thing just feels out of place. Like I guess it makes sense for Indy to want to relive the glory of his youth but as Helena points out he’d be an anomaly in time possibly creating time-y wimey problems. Maybe this was the only logical progression from aliens but really?
All people wanted from Dial of Destiny was a funny, action film with some good set pieces sprinkled in for good measure. Instead we’ve got a weirdly paced film with yet more daft, out of place stuff in the name of shocking the audience. It’s just a shame because the film starts out so promisingly then fades into nothingness…
Summary
To summarise Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, this is an ultimately forgettable and mediocre film which does at least wash away the terrible stench of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But beyond a nice opening sequence, the rest of the film struggles with pacing and justifying its near 2 hours and 20 minute runtime. At least Harrison Ford got one last Indy pay check…
Overall Rating: 4/10 – Disappointing
Target Audience: 12+
Content Warning: Moderate Violence and Gore, Mild Profanity, Mild Alcohol, Drugs and Smoking, Mild Frightening and Intense Scenes
Recommendation: No
