Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny
(B or 3/4 stars)
The long-awaited final installment in the Indiana Jones franchise has arrived and, while it does not reach the pinnacle of Steven Spielberg's incredible 1980s trifecta {Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade}, it is at least better - for me - than the ambitious, if overblown Kingdom of Crystal Skull from 2008. This film, 'Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny' (directed now by James Mangold - a very good filmmaker - but he lacks Spielberg's intangible magic touch) stars Harrison Ford in a fine send-off as the beloved title character.
This film opens with a prologue set at the tail end of WWII with 30-something yr. old intrepid archeologist Indy {Ford de-aged from 79 via state-of-the-art visual effects} fighting off Nazis for Greek mathematician/inventor Archimedes' Antikythera - a.k.a. the "Dial of Destiny" - a remarkable clock-like instrument that can send you through fissures {or cracks} in time. German Col. Weber (Thomas Kretschmann, always on-hand to play a German villain) has taken Indy's professor buddy Basil 'Baz' Shaw (Toby Jones) + the Dial captive. And so, Indy must free 'em both. Complicating this is Dr. Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, always on-hand to play a European villain), a Nazi scientist, who is ALSO obsessed with the fabled Dial's potential power.
The story then jumps to 1969 where Prof. Jones is retiring from his position at Hunter College in NYC. Due to a devastating family tragedy, he is separated from his wife, Marion (Karen Allen), and wallowing in a rather lonely existence - with a bottle of booze in hand. That is until Basil Shaw's now-grown daughter - and Indy's goddaughter - Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), shows up & defiantly steals the Dial from a museum to sell on the black market. Indy would prefer is Helena be like her father in helping him liberate priceless artifacts from the Nazis. But, alas.
After a zany chase around NYC, including Indy on horseback, Dr. Jurgen Voller & his Nazi henchmen, plus representatives of the United States government, Helena manages to escape to Morocco. There, she & her young sidekick, Teddy (Ethann Isidore -- there's always a sidekick, right? Remember now-Oscar winner, Key He Quan from The Temple of Doom!?), plan to sell the valuable antiquity to the highest bidder. Of course, Indy, donning his brown fedora, leather jacket & whip, has followed and, he - along with Helena & Teddy - does alllll that he can to keep the illustrious Dial from ending in Voller's hands. Adventure ensues.
So, 'The Dial of Destiny' is a fun, globe-trotting action/adventure romp through the decades with derring-do heroes & nefarious villains. Cool! But it also never reaches the enthralling, kinetic heights that an Indiana Jones movie is expected to attain. The 1st segment of this film is amusing & entertaining. Most of the action sequences are as such; diverting, propulsive, etc. Problem is: there are a quite a few slower sequences in-between the action. I wasn't 'bored', but you don't expect as many slow parts in an Indiana Jones flick. The story set-up in NYC in 1969 takes too long to get through. And speaking of too long, this film didn't have to have a 154 min. run time. There has been a Hollywood trend as of late to bloat their blockbusters to 2.5-3 hour mark or beyond and, I don't quite know why. To make them 'feel' more epic? Simply put, efforts need to be made to tighten scripts; not elongate.
There is no denying that Harrison Ford has been the quintessential Indiana Jones; a swashbuckling hero who will live-on way past this last adventure. And though he was 79 yrs. old at the time of filming this, he absolutely maintains that cheeky wit, charisma & charm that he has always been known for. Ford has several noteworthy scenes; one with John Rhys-Davies' Sallah; one with Antonio Banderas, who plays Renaldo, an old seafaring pal of Indy's; one heartrending moment he shares with the Helena character about his son -- Phoebe Waller-Bridge & Ford actually share some genuinely fun moments, as well; nice godfather/goddaughter yin-&-yang chemistry; and another with Karen Allen, which closes out the film with pathos & love.
As anyone would expect of an Indiana Jones saga, the stunts, visual effects {the aforementioned de-aging on Ford, some enormous bugs}, period-perfect production designs, camerawork, costumes and, of course, the nostalgic music score {who doesn't get goosebumps at hearing John Williams' iconic themes} ... are all marvelous. And I was giddy throughout the final set piece -- once you realize exactly what {or where} is going on, it's such a hoot. If you're a casual fan of Indiana Jones - and of summer blockbusters - you'll likely enjoy this film. If you're a die hard fan, you may long for Spielberg's alchemy & the Indy adventures of old. But 'The Dial of Destiny' sells the homage of all that came before well enough to satiate willing audiences.
This film opens with a prologue set at the tail end of WWII with 30-something yr. old intrepid archeologist Indy {Ford de-aged from 79 via state-of-the-art visual effects} fighting off Nazis for Greek mathematician/inventor Archimedes' Antikythera - a.k.a. the "Dial of Destiny" - a remarkable clock-like instrument that can send you through fissures {or cracks} in time. German Col. Weber (Thomas Kretschmann, always on-hand to play a German villain) has taken Indy's professor buddy Basil 'Baz' Shaw (Toby Jones) + the Dial captive. And so, Indy must free 'em both. Complicating this is Dr. Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, always on-hand to play a European villain), a Nazi scientist, who is ALSO obsessed with the fabled Dial's potential power.
The story then jumps to 1969 where Prof. Jones is retiring from his position at Hunter College in NYC. Due to a devastating family tragedy, he is separated from his wife, Marion (Karen Allen), and wallowing in a rather lonely existence - with a bottle of booze in hand. That is until Basil Shaw's now-grown daughter - and Indy's goddaughter - Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), shows up & defiantly steals the Dial from a museum to sell on the black market. Indy would prefer is Helena be like her father in helping him liberate priceless artifacts from the Nazis. But, alas.
After a zany chase around NYC, including Indy on horseback, Dr. Jurgen Voller & his Nazi henchmen, plus representatives of the United States government, Helena manages to escape to Morocco. There, she & her young sidekick, Teddy (Ethann Isidore -- there's always a sidekick, right? Remember now-Oscar winner, Key He Quan from The Temple of Doom!?), plan to sell the valuable antiquity to the highest bidder. Of course, Indy, donning his brown fedora, leather jacket & whip, has followed and, he - along with Helena & Teddy - does alllll that he can to keep the illustrious Dial from ending in Voller's hands. Adventure ensues.
So, 'The Dial of Destiny' is a fun, globe-trotting action/adventure romp through the decades with derring-do heroes & nefarious villains. Cool! But it also never reaches the enthralling, kinetic heights that an Indiana Jones movie is expected to attain. The 1st segment of this film is amusing & entertaining. Most of the action sequences are as such; diverting, propulsive, etc. Problem is: there are a quite a few slower sequences in-between the action. I wasn't 'bored', but you don't expect as many slow parts in an Indiana Jones flick. The story set-up in NYC in 1969 takes too long to get through. And speaking of too long, this film didn't have to have a 154 min. run time. There has been a Hollywood trend as of late to bloat their blockbusters to 2.5-3 hour mark or beyond and, I don't quite know why. To make them 'feel' more epic? Simply put, efforts need to be made to tighten scripts; not elongate.
There is no denying that Harrison Ford has been the quintessential Indiana Jones; a swashbuckling hero who will live-on way past this last adventure. And though he was 79 yrs. old at the time of filming this, he absolutely maintains that cheeky wit, charisma & charm that he has always been known for. Ford has several noteworthy scenes; one with John Rhys-Davies' Sallah; one with Antonio Banderas, who plays Renaldo, an old seafaring pal of Indy's; one heartrending moment he shares with the Helena character about his son -- Phoebe Waller-Bridge & Ford actually share some genuinely fun moments, as well; nice godfather/goddaughter yin-&-yang chemistry; and another with Karen Allen, which closes out the film with pathos & love.
As anyone would expect of an Indiana Jones saga, the stunts, visual effects {the aforementioned de-aging on Ford, some enormous bugs}, period-perfect production designs, camerawork, costumes and, of course, the nostalgic music score {who doesn't get goosebumps at hearing John Williams' iconic themes} ... are all marvelous. And I was giddy throughout the final set piece -- once you realize exactly what {or where} is going on, it's such a hoot. If you're a casual fan of Indiana Jones - and of summer blockbusters - you'll likely enjoy this film. If you're a die hard fan, you may long for Spielberg's alchemy & the Indy adventures of old. But 'The Dial of Destiny' sells the homage of all that came before well enough to satiate willing audiences.