Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Greetings, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is a 2023 movie directed by James Mangold and serves as the fifth film in the franchise that started back in 1981. Mangold is known for directing ‘Walk the Line’, ‘3:10 to Yuma’, ‘Knight and Day’ as well as the well-received ‘Logan’. ‘Dial of Destiny’ is the first entry in the series that wasn’t directed by Steven Spielberg or had creative input from George Lucas and the lack of their cinematic touch is pretty self-evident early on. Harrison Ford returns as the iconic globetrotting adventurer and is accompanied by new comers Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Mads Mikkelson, Toby Jones and Ethann Isidore who is fairly new to the industry. Some of the old cast reprise their previous roles including Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood and John Rhys-Davies as Sallah. Celebrated conductor John Williams, best known for his world renowned collaborations with Spielberg and Lucas, provided the score once more for this latest Indiana Jones film and provides stellar work as per usual.

The plot begins in the French Alps in 1944 with Nazi forces being pushed back and hurriedly evacuating the territory as it comes under Allied bombardment. Indiana is being held captive by the Nazis in a castle after his cover has been blown during an attempt to retrieve the Lance of Longinus, the spear that pierced Jesus’s side during his crucifixion, from the Germans. His friend Basil Shaw, a British archaeologist, was also part of the recovery efforts before being captured and taken on board a Berlin-bound train. Indiana isn’t treated as mercifully as he is sentenced to death by hanging but before he is strung up, astrophysicist Jürgen Voller informs his superior officer that the spear is a fake. Voller assures his boss that he has something more impressive in his possession. He boasts of half a dial made by the ancient mathematician Archimedes that, once fitted with its other part, is believed to reveal fissures in the space-time continuum that allows for the possibility of time travel. Voller boards the train with the dial as Indiana is being hung. Indy tries to distract the soldiers by mocking Hitler as he clandestinely cuts through the ropes that bind his hands with a shard of glass.

One of the Nazis kicks the stool out from under Indiana in a rage but Indy is quickly saved by a bomb that crashes through the roof and incinerates the soldiers. He is thrown around the room by the impact but narrowly manages to escape his death by removing the noose just in time. Still dressed as a Nazi, Jones makes his way to the train after a danger filled chase and manages to climb on to the moving carriage. He manages to sneak around in his disguise until he encounters Voller and the kidnapped Shaw. Indiana quickly knocks out Voller and takes the dial for himself while the train is soon attacked by Allied planes. With Shaw in tow, they escape the train packed with German soldiers who are now fully aware of his presence by fighting them off and leaping into a river below. The film then skips forward to 1969. A white haired Indiana, who has long since retired from adventuring and is on the cusp of retiring from his academic career, is about to find himself caught up in another perilous mission.

While I enjoyed the opening scenes which felt like the fun action movies that preceded it, it was unfortunately all downhill from there with Phoebe’s character of Helena being a considerable source of irritation. Her inclusion made me long for the return of Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt Williams who was unceremoniously killed off screen in the Vietnam War according to the latest movie. There is also a poor stand in, meant to invoke the sidekick role that had previously belonged to Short Round, called Teddy who has none of the charm of Ke Huy Quan’s character. While it isn’t as egregious as the rumours suggesting Indiana Jones would literally be erased from existence and replaced by Helena, it’s still an unnecessary movie that damages the brand. It is farcical this picture exists when it was clearly joked in ‘Crystal Skull’, 15 years ago when this blog first started, that the ageing Indiana was not at the top of his game back then. As such, this is one instalment that you can miss.

Plot=5/10

Characters=5/10

Special Effects=6/10

Overall=5/10

Quote of the Day

Army or not, you must realize, you are doomed.

General Grevious

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