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| Images courtesy of Disney/Lucasfilm |
Some 15 years after the critically panned, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the hero returns for what is said to be his final adventure.
If anything, this movie follows through on its promise of giving the character one momentous last chapter and a thoughtful retirement of the franchise. James Mangold, taking over for Steven Spielberg, delivers an infinitely better film than the fourth entry and never loses sight that Indiana Jones has seen better days. As a farewell, Dial of Destiny is bittersweet and doesn't play too heavily in the dark sandbox that so many of today's films seem to revel in.
This is chock full of great fight scenes, amazing car chases, exotic locales and some wonderful character work on the part of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She doesn't ever steal the spotlight, but truly works in cahoots with the writers and Ford to craft an interesting role that picks up some loose slack where Ford might struggle to perform physically at his age. And reports of her taking over the series in some form are totally misguided and not true in the slightest. She serves the counterpart balance very well and gives the film that much needed female edge that would have otherwise been missing. Indy has almost always needed that balance and luckily for us it doesn't come in the form of a squealing love interest this time around, but an experienced and knowledgeable character.
Immediately setting us down in the concluding moments of World War II, the feature kicks off with a rousing action set piece that returns us to the glory days of a much younger Indiana Jones doing battle against his ultimate foe, the Nazis. The first twenty minutes of the film is definitely a highlight as it sets an adventurous tone that was somewhat missing from Crystal Skull and also brings a sense of nostalgia for the original movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mads Mikkelsen (of course) shines in his role as the latest Nazi foe, Dr. Voller as well.
Despite some major advancements in de-aging technology, the uncanny valley is immediately entered as it looks way better than past attempts but still cannot get profile shots exacted. Movements look strange. Some facial expressions look unrealistic and nearly too rendered. Darkness serves these scenes well and should have been used way more to hide the flaws. However, it's come a long way and it's nice to see a younger Indiana Jones fighting Hitler's troops bare fisted and with oomph.
Spinning into modern day late '60s, we're given a more grizzled Indy,one that's seen his last days as a globe-trotting archaeologist with a bull whip, revolver and female partner in tow. This Indiana Jones has a sense of finality and is at the end of his rope, literally and figuratively. The new day has taken its toll and he's ready to retire from his college professor tenure, giving this later version of the character a sense of wear and tear we've not seen from him before. He's much older. He's much more tired and world weary. But still ready to take another shot at saving the planet from Nazis and their evil plan for world domination with a brand new Macguffin.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny takes large swings at being even more fantastical than the last entries in the series. And for me, it absolutely worked. If you hated interdimensional aliens in the last one, you may be in for a rough ride here. This one pushes the fantasy elements much further than any of Dr. Jones' previous exploits. It's going to be a major topic of rabid internet bashing and will definitely set off major hate posting in social media threads. However, if you were fine with immortal knights, visitors from other dimensions, and an all powerful Ark of the Covenant, this one should accepted in the canon as not too grandiose.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a spectacle of times past. It has its feet firmly rooted in the past but does a hell of a job taking Indiana Jones into a new decade. It was never going to be perfect. Nothing ever is. There are problematic script issues. There's definitely some pacing problems. But Mangold and his creative team somehow came up with a way to service fans with a final adventure for Indy that doesn't rely too heavily on recreating scenes from the franchise. There is really only one repetitive moment in this entire feature film that calls back directly to Raiders and it's a touching scene that brings a sense of closure to two long running characters. And it's really the only way it could have ended. And to add, the handling of Mutt's character is perfectly written and a thoughtful way of explaining his absence.
It's disappointing that a nuked fridge and swinging monkeys ruined Indiana Jones for so many (ahem) fans, because The Dial of Destiny is one that should be seen in theaters on the biggest screen possible with amazing sound.
-CG