Movie Reviews
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | Reelviews Movie Reviews
Raiders of the Lost Ark was a nearly perfect action
movie – upon its release in the early 1980s, it redefined the genre for decades
to come. It also provided a trap for co-creators Steven Spielberg and George
Lucas, forcing them to repeatedly try (and fail) to recapture what they
harnessed in the first installment. The character of Indiana Jones, as played
by Harrison Ford, has proven to be durable but a case could be made that the
filmmakers should have stopped after that first, great outing. The Dial of
Destiny, the fifth and final Indiana Jones film, illustrates the
impossibility of reformulating the alchemy that the Lucas/Spielberg 1981
pairing unearthed. Although neither Lucas nor Spielberg is materially involved
(both are given honorary Executive Producer credits), the rhythms are much the
same under the auspices of director James Mangold as they were in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Dial of Destiny is too long (with
a running time of about 150 minutes) and unevenly paced. It’s a better written
movie than its immediate predecessor but suffers from the difficulty of
presenting a septuagenarian
man as a viable action hero. In this case, it’s both the years and the mileage.
The best part of The Dial of Destiny is the opening
prologue. Set in the waning days of World War II (1945), it features a de-aged
Harrison Ford alongside Toby Jones as Professor Basil Shaw – two adventuring
archeologists trying to liberate priceless artifacts from the Nazis. One of
those items, Archimedes’ dial, comes into their possession after a struggle
with Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who is obsessed with its potential power.
This sequence, which lasts about 20 minutes and transpires mostly inside and on
top of a moving train, highlights the advancements made in digitally altering
the facial appearance of an actor. By using Ford in close-ups and a stunt
double for action sequences, Mangold is able to turn back the clock. This looks
like something Spielberg might have filmed in 1990 and hidden away in a vault.
Alas, for the rest of the movie, Indy is a lot older (and looks it).
who are old enough to collect Social Security. The plot is “classic” Indy but
the character’s age makes it almost sad to watch Ford go through the motions.
The majority of the film transpires in 1969 (the Manhattan ticker tape parade
honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts is featured). Indy is retiring as a professor
and, on one of the last days of classes, he is reunited with his goddaughter,
Helena “Wombat” Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Basil’s daughter. Their
interactions result in one last adventure for Indy, who again dons the fedora
and cracks the whip as he travels in search of the other half of Archimedes’
dial with Voller one step behind the entire way. The myth is that anyone who
possesses both halves of the dial and uses it correctly can slip into the past
through a fissure in time.
With the Indiana Jones movies, you simply have to accept the
supernatural/fantasy/science fiction elements. Those are baked into the
premise, so time travel is no great leap. The problem is that, of the five
films, this one is the lightest when it comes to action scenes and most of
those that occupy the screen aren’t all that exciting, with the exception of
the 1945 train ride. There’s too much “dead time.” The earlier films had a
pattern of “action-catch breath-action.” For The Dial of Destiny, it’s
more like “action-take nap-action.”
It’s not just that he’s physically impaired but that a background story point strips
him of his unflappability. He’s a drunk who no longer cares about much of
anything, least of all himself. The self-deprecating one-liners seem obligatory
rather than heartfelt. While it’s great to see Marion (Karen Allen) and Sallah
(John Rhys-Davies) again, the actors playing them are too old to be given more
than token screen time. On this adventure, Indy’s companions are Helena and a
young pickpocket named Teddy (Ethann Bergua-Isidore).
There’s a passage from my review of the fourth Indiana Jones
installment that’s as valid for The Dial of Destiny as it was for The
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: “But [it] doesn’t work on the most basic
level [of] getting viewers on the edges of their seats. That’s not to say the
film is without action; it features a number of such sequences. But a key
element is missing: excitement. There’s no suspense and not a lot of energy. We
never believe that Indy or a member of his entourage is in danger. There’s
never any sense of ‘How’s he going to get out of this?’ The cliffhangers are
easily shrugged off. The reason to see [the movie] is not to rediscover the joy
and thrills of the Indiana Jones of old but to connect with familiar friends.”
From the beginning, I was dubious about the value of a fifth
Indiana Jones movie. The result has borne out my skepticism. As an
action-adventure film, this one is adequate but there’s a sense that with
something as venerable as Indiana Jones, the production should be more special
than “adequate.” Although there’s nothing in The Dial of Destiny that
damages the character’s legacy, this is as unnecessary as any franchise entry
in recent years. Indy’s time has passed. It’s time to let him go gently into
that good night.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (United States, 2023)