ONE of cinema’s most iconic heroes has returned for one last adventure in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Our resident film buffs Tom Parry and Stefan Bradley went to check it out.
TP: It would be remiss of us not to start this review without discussing our thoughts on the other four movies in this long-running franchise. Stefan, what is your history with “Indy”?
SB: I’ve seen Raiders of the Lost Ark a bunch of times, and I saw the other two films in the “original” trilogy, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade, around the time Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released in 2008. And I haven’t seen any of those sequels since then, so I feel like I’ve aged together with Indy. How about you?
TP: My parents didn’t let me watch the Indiana Jones trilogy as a kid because they believed the movies would be too scary for me – and they were probably right – so I didn’t see any instalments until Crystal Skull came out. I’ve got a soft spot for all the movies, even the much-maligned fourth one.
SB: Same here – the casting of Shia LaBeouf and infamous “nuking the fridge” scene aside, I quite enjoyed Crystal Skull. As for this instalment, the plot of Dial of Destiny takes place in 1969, for the most part, and sees retiring archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) join his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe “Fleabag” Waller-Bridge) on a journey to recover a device known as the Antikythera.
TP: And they must do so while preventing it from falling into the hands of Dr. Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi scientist with bold plans of re-establishing the Third Reich. The premise has all the makings of a classic Indiana Jones film; and yet, this is probably the movie I was least enthused by in the entire series.
SB: My expectations were low for Dial of Destiny, and sadly those expectations were met but never surpassed. I’m calling it The Dial of Dullness, which sounds harsh, but it’s just painfully average. Obviously, Harrison Ford is great, as is Waller-Bridge – I’m a big fan of her show Fleabag. Her character’s shady motivations made Helena quite an interesting figure in the early parts of the movie; less so the second-half where she switches between antagonist and ally when it’s convenient.
TP: Part of me believes Helena was written with Waller-Bridge in mind, because we did see shades of her Fleabag character come through in her performance.
SB: I thought Ethann Isidore as Teddy, the child sidekick was pretty good as well, even though he’s similar to Short Round from Temple of Doom. As for the other characters, they were pretty hit-or-miss.
TP: You can count Dr Voller among the latter company. It’s becoming a bit of a cliché to cast Mikkelsen as the antagonist in every movie, and that seems to be the only justification for his inclusion here. Dial of Destiny is Mads at his least menacing or his least effectual as a villain. There’s nothing he does here which I saw as particularly menacing or sinister, aside from his Nazi associations.
SB: It is unfortunate we’re stuck with another boring villain, that’s for sure.
TP: One performer I did like was Shaunette Renée Wilson as Agent Wilson, who is by far the coolest and most-interesting character, but the time we spend with her is disappointingly short – she isn’t seen beyond the halfway point.
SB: On a more positive note, the movie started strong, with a prologue set in the past with a de-aged Indiana Jones and his classic Indy energy and humour in its action sequences. Although that chase scene on the train would have been better with less shaky cam, and it was so dark it was difficult to watch. Someone should have told the editor to adjust that Dial of Dullness to a higher brightness! There’s also a fun horse chase through the streets of New York City, and a fun tuk-tuk chase through the Moroccan city of Tangiers.
TP: All three chase sequences are the highlight for me, because without them, the film never feels like a romp. You watch the original trilogy, or even Crystal Skull, and it plays like an old-school adventure serial and you’re along for the ride; in Dial of Destiny, it feel like the narrative just happens, and the events just wash over you. It’s strange how the other Indiana Jones chapters are criticised for being cartoonish or silly, and this fifth movie – even though they have these wacky or outlandish ideas – it doesn’t have that same sense of fun.
SB: This film peaks at the beginning, and the level of enjoyment charts south from there. Overall, it’s a bland and forgettable affair. It especially starts to feel its 142-minute length once you get to the underwhelming third act. There were many examples of scenes that could have been shortened or outright cut to improve the pacing. However, the ending – without wishing to spoil anything – was a nice way to finish this saga.
TP: Honestly, those final moments did melt the heart and bring a tear to my eye. It was predictable and milked for all it was worth, but you couldn’t help but like it.
SB: Is this movie worth seeing? I think just one viewing does the trick – I won’t be watching it again. This is certainly not anywhere close to the original three movies in quality. If you’re expecting a big comeback for Indy, à la Mad Max: Fury Road or Top Gun: Maverick, this isn’t it.
TP: I can only echo what Stefan has said. Dial of Destiny isn’t awful, nor bad; yet at the same time, it’s hardly the best action movie we’ve seen this year – that title easily belongs to John Wick: Chapter 4, which also stands as one of the best action films ever made.
SB: We probably come across as overly negative here, but that’s because of the prestige which the Indiana Jones series carries. While it’s good to see Ford back in his trademark fedora, this film failed to reach its true potential.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is rated M for frequent action violence, and is currently screening at Sale Cinema.
