INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

The last decade has seen Harrison Ford return to two of his most iconic roles, including as cocky space pilot, Han Solo, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049. The former was incredibly successful, both with critics and at the box office, making over $2 billion and becoming the highest grossing film of 2015. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the latter which was a disappointment at the box office, making $267 million, despite the mostly positive critical response. What both films had in common was Ford’s commanding screen presence and natural ability to return to his most memorable characters. His latest film sees him returning to another iconic character and that’s the thrill seeking archaeologist, Indiana Jones. Ford first portrayed the character in Raiders of the Lost Ark which, following its release in 1981, was a huge success with critics and was the highest grossing film of that year, making $212 million. Two sequels were released throughout the 1980s, including The Temple of Doom, which was another box office success but was criticised for being too dark, and The Last Crusade, which was described as an improvement over its predecessor and saw Sean Connery delivering an amusing performance as Jones’ father, Henry. Almost two decades after the release of The Last Crusade, a fourth Indiana Jones film was released, named The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, unfortunately, critics and fans of the franchise were less than impressed with what returning director and visionary filmmaker Steven Spielberg had created. Fifteen years later and a fifth Indiana Jones has been released, with the title, The Dial of Destiny, with James Mangold replacing Spielberg as director. However, is it an improvement over its predecessor and a satisfying outing for the titular archaeologist?

Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi who works for NASA.

As someone who didn’t grow up watching the Indiana Jones films, my expectations for The Dial of Destiny weren’t that high and, as a result, I enjoyed it, however, it was never going to reach the highs of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Dial of Destiny premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and had its release in cinemas at the end of June and, since then, the overall response has been divisive. Fans of Indiana Jones were disappointed with what Mangold had created with The Dial of Destiny and, after The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull failed to impress, they were hoping for a sequel similar in quality to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Going into the latest Indiana Jones film, I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as the original. I was hoping for an entertaining film that sees Indiana Jones on another adventure and that’s what I got with The Dial of Destiny.

The highlight of the Indiana Jones films was always the thrilling adventure sequences which, due to lack of CGI in the eighties, were practical, with Ford performing most of the stunts himself, making them all the more impressive. At the time of filming The Dial of Destiny, Ford was in his late seventies and no longer as fit as he was in his forties so it’s understandable why the adventure sequences aren’t as exciting as they originally were, with most of them being created through CGI. When Indiana, Helena and their young sidekick, Teddy Kumar (Ethann Isidore), are on a car chase in Tangier, it’s obvious that the trio aren’t really driving through the streets of the Moroccan city. Although the special effects and adventure sequences are mostly disappointing, the opening scene is where they’re at their most impressive, which sees a young Indiana (created through de-aging Ford) and his friend and Helena’s father, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), finding the titular artefact, known as the Antikythera, on a train. This also where they come face to face with the main villain, Dr. Voller, who is a Nazi and wants the dial in order to travel back in time to 1939 so he can assassinate Adolf Hitler and lead Germany to victory in World War II. Mikkelsen is no stranger to villainous roles, including most famously as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, which starred Daniel Craig as agent James Bond. He’s also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the evil Kaecillus in Doctor Strange and, most recently, replaced Johnny Depp as the dark wizard Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. While his role as the Nazi turned scientist Dr. Voller doesn’t represent one of his most memorable, Mikkelsen is still perfectly intimidating.

An issue I’ve had with the previous Indiana Jones films are the female characters. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, there was Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood, who was Indiana’s love interest. Despite her character being underwritten, Allen brought an natural likability to her portrayal and shared chemistry with Ford. The same couldn’t be said for Kate Capshaw’s character, Willie Scott, in The Temple of Doom, who was nothing more than a damsel in distress and love interest for Indiana. She spent most of her screen time screaming and complaining which made her irritating, however, I think that was more fault with the writing and Spielberg’s direction rather than Capshaw’s acting, making her marriage to the director all the more surprising. Fortunately, Waller-Bridge’s Helena is an improvement over Scott as she’s smart and seeks adventure and, because she’s Indiana’s goddaughter, there’s no unnecessary romance between the two distracting from the main story. Waller-Bridge is best known for writing and starring in the hit comedy drama series, Fleabag, and, as Helena, she brings the same witty personality that made her character on the TV show  so popular. Allen and John Rhys-Davies return as Marion and Indiana’s lifelong friend, Sallah, however, anyone hoping to see them alongside Indiana on his adventure will be disappointed. 

Because I hadn’t grown up watching any of the Indiana Jones films, I didn’t have any high expectations for The Dial of Destiny other than to see the famous archaeologist on another adventure and that’s what I got. It was never going to reach the heights of Raiders of the Lost Ark, however, I can understand why so many have been left disappointed by Indiana’s latest and final outing as I can imagine the films were a huge part of their childhood. I think that it’s best to go into The Dial of Destiny with low expectations as it still provides audiences with over two hours of adventure and Harrison Ford in one of his most iconic roles.

6/10