Well, at lease it’s not Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: James Mangold, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, & David Koepp
Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language, and smoking
Release Date: June 30, 2023
Runtime: 2:22
This review may contain spoilers
Indy is back!
In a summer filled with movies about Barbie dolls, atomic bombs, superheroes, and giant robots, there’s nothing like seeing Harrison Ford back as the iconic adventurer (again). With his trusty whip, fedora, and some supernatural artifact, Indiana Jones films were always a fun ride. And now, Indy has one more world-trotting adventure to bring audiences before hanging that fedora on the hat rack for good.
Dial of Destiny
DoD starts off Indiana Jones the right way – by punching Nazis. Near the end of WWII, Indy and Basil Shaw (Toby Jones, Infamous) steal an ancient artifact called Archimedes’ Dial from Nazi scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, NBC’s Hannibal).
Fast forward to the 1960s, with Indy old and retiring from teaching. Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Amazon’s Fleabag), Shaw’s daughter and Indy’s goddaughter, shows up with questions about the Dial and then just runs off with it. Rude.
Voller is also after the device, now under a fake identity working for NASA. With CIA henchmen, Voller chases after the legendary archaeologist and the Dial all over the map to rewrite history for the Nazis.
“We named the dog Indiana!”
Indiana Jones is one of the few movie heroes that cannot be replaced. And really, who wants to see anyone else play him? Sit down, Shia Lebeouf; you never had a shot.
Harrison Ford has been rocking the fedora since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Even in his eighties, he’s still awesome.
Indy is really showing his age this time. The film literally introduces him yelling at hippie neighbors in their apartments like a cranky old-timer. Damn whippersnappers smoking that devil’s lettuce and playing their loud music.
His age really shows in the fights, too. I’m not trying to laugh at his age, but he looks like an old man trying to fight men half his age now. Indy can still hold his own, but one or two big Nazis can shove him around. This isn’t a bad criticism since he is 80 (and still an elderly badass). I actually like this kind of perspective, instead of seeing an obvious stunt double doing all the fight scenes.
The CGI for Indy on a horse or jumping from tuk-tuk to tuk-tuk in a Moroccan chase scene kinda proves my point.
Also, when the hell is Indy getting the eyepatch? The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles clearly showed Old Indy with one. Don’t you dare tell me that isn’t canon now!
“You’re German, don’t try to be funny”
Mads Mikkelsen is just one of those actors that gets automatically cast as a villain. He’s a James Bond villain, a Doctor Strange villain, and a Fantastic Beast villain. Even his brother Lars is often a villain, like in Sherlock, The Witcher, and the upcoming Ahsoka show. Being bad guys is just in the Mikkelsens’ blood.
As fate-defying Nazi scientist Voller, Mads Mikkelsen is a cold, calculating villain for Indy to race against time to unlock the secrets of Archimedes’ Dial doohickey.
Jones… Indiana Jones
Mikkelsen is also one of several actors from the James Bond films to show up in an Indiana Jones film. Mikkelsen was the cold, calculating villain Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. In the past, actors like Julian Glover, Billy J. Mitchell, and Alison Doody also appeared in both franchises. Glover and Doody played villains both times.
Even the original James Bond actor, Sir Sean Connery, was Indiana Jone’s friggin’ father!
Finally retired
This officially marks the end of the franchise, for real this time. Both Disney and director James Mangold have referred to Dial of Destiny as the “final Indiana Jones adventure.” The ending has the final feeling of “we’re done! That’s a wrap! Just get that last shot of the fedora.”
Ford himself even wants Indy to die with him. In Vanity Fair, he said “I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy.”
Indiana Jones and the Last-Last-Last Crusade
This fifth movie was… a letdown. Not a bad letdown, but yeah, I was hoping for more from Indy’s last adventure. I mean, it’s nowhere near as frustrating as Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, but that last one really lowered the bar.
Having said that, Dial of Destiny wasn’t a complete waste. Harrison Ford is still great and fun to watch. There’s that familiar theme song we all love, and the action was still cool. The use of CGI kills the old-school vibe that I’d prefer from my ‘80s action heroes.
I think that the fact that this will be Indy’s last ride brought that expectation of film perfection to such a legendary action hero. I mean, how can you not give Indy an epic farewell to the audience? I still preferred The Last Crusade as that right feel to end Indiana Jones on. It just felt right at the end, where Dial of Destiny felt more like “We need to wrap everything up in the last 10 minutes.”
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is currently playing in theaters.
