Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Review: One Last Adventure

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Review

 It is quite the intriguing concept to talk about the idea of when a piece of media can gain a form of a legacy, a film, series or game that becomes so beloved from the past that it often stands the test of time so many years down the line of looking back on with fondness with certain films like Back to the Future, Star Wars (in most case the Original Trilogy and Prequels are getting that slight bit of that), Citizen Kane, Superman 78, Batman 89 and so many more. It becomes a case as well that down the line that at some point in time you will see a new entry of the series come along that is often labelled as the Legacy sequel where projects that have been left untapped for a long time will make a return as a new entry from filmmakers and directors that have an idea to tell or return to with films such as Blade Runner 2049, Mary Poppins Returns, Independence Day Resurgence, Ghostbusters (2016), Creed and in the case of the series that we will be delving into today for this review is with the globe trotting, whip cracking archaeologist of Indiana Jones. The series of this character started back in the early 80s from the envision concept created by the minds of 2 big names of the industry, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas where they had teamed up with each other to create the next great action hero that will be recognized for years to come and comes down to the character of Dr Henry Jones, played by Harrison Ford as he goes on these huge adventures with some unique characters as he goes on a quest to obtain an ancient treasure that will have some some crazy outcome from it and in the process to punching every Nazi in the face. Over the course of the 1980s saw the release of 3 films in the series with the classic Raiders of the Lost Ark, the slightly underwhelming but still enjoyable prequel of Temple of Doom and the return to form with the Last crusade. Besides the often forgotten tv series of Young Indy, about 2 decades later and a lot of back and forth on making a 4th one before it arrived in the summer of 2008 with the often divisive Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and is often seen as the weakest in the series. A little while after their was a bit of discussion for a possible fifth film in the series following around the time the discussion of the series Ford was also well known for in Star Wars was getting another crack at a new film and it would take a while with original director of Speilberg stepping back to a producer role and getting helmed by James Mangold, who was known for making the much beloved comic book film of Logan, some delays by the pandemic and from an arm or leg injury to the lead star, it finally dropped into cinemas last year with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (and was also the first film post pandemic that I won some tickets to the Irish premiere of). But the question that you may have wondered is if it is good, considering this one is a little similar in divisiveness as the last entry? Well I know some can each have their own opinion but honestly I enjoyed it a lot, may not be to the level of the classic trilogy but I feel it does come close and is what I will be delving into in this review.

A new adventure in a new time

So with any of the stories in this series they all have a distinct focus of seeing our main lead of DR jones learning from his colleagues or from those he crossed paths with in the past to go on a journey to a far away land from the university that he teaches at and going on a life threatening mission of finding a treasure, fighting Nazi's and a bad guy and spouting the important line of "it belongs in a Museum" and went from the Ark of the covenant that melted peoples faces off (a scene still as messed up today in a visual scene that holds up), lost village treasures in a secret underground death cult that is also a slave ring, The chalice of everlasting life to even as far as Aliens. But what is the plot and time setting for this time around, well let me give a full breakdown of the plot summary:

"Daredevil Archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his God Daughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against Jurgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA"

So we get the basic idea of the item they are looking for being a specialized Dial, we have at least a focal character joining Indy in the form of his God Daughter, a villain in a Nazi and a time setting with NASA being named putting us in the late 60s era. All of these points help to give an idea of where this film is set and basic plot around it of what they are looking for that will have the strange powers or affects with it. I would go deeper into it but I am not going to spoil it but I think some of the plot summaries give an idea of the concept involved and it helps to make it a little more of a better understandable plot instead of the last one that can be a little over the top with the amount of plot points and elements that happen in the film that either have minimal payoff, told to us or never given a complete reason where this one is more focused with the one adventure narrative with a little backstory with some of the characters. Its simple, its effective and I enjoy it for what its worth

Story: 7

The adventurers of a quest for an item

So like any good or just any adventure film, it is always good to note on the likes of the many people joining on the journey this time around and there is a small number of characters that I will focus on in this one as there is a select few I can give some focus too and then provide a bit of opinion on some other characters in a brief rundown

Dr Henry / Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)

Lets start with the main title character of Indiana Jones. Now to say he has been through a lot of strange adventures would be an understatement and you think he would've hung up the hat, jacket and whip a long time ago and settled down with his wife and son, but it seems like it was looking that way up until his God Daughter showed up and thrusted him onto another adventure to find an ancient treasure. Now while it is a case that you can tell that Harrison Ford is in his early 80s, he is showing that it is not slowing him down and is a bit more nuanced and better focused of action that fits someone his age and I enjoy this performance from him in his final swan song as the character and I enjoy it a fair bit more of feeling that element of the classic adventures from the 80s trilogy and I think in my own personal approach was a great send off overall for him from the entertaining opening of the De-Aged Indy with the Train chase and escape to the adventure in the present, it was an always enjoyable adventure with the Nazi punching archaeologist.

Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller Bridge)

Next on the casting list was with the inclusion of Indy's never mentioned Goddaughter in the form of Helena Shaw. She connect with another character that was with Indy when they learned about the Dial itself and has been continuing her Late father's research and finish what drove him mad. I enjoy her character in the film and while I can see her ideals can be a bit annoying and she nearly overtakes the film from Indy and make it her own, I feel they just pull it back enough to not overbear it with her. I like Phoebe Waller-Bridge and it was at a point that I was thinking that she was start performing like her character in Fleabag as there was elements of that in there, but I think for what its worth there she is a likeable character that has some flaws but I still liked her dynamic on her own and with Indy and just balance her out enough to not make her overly annoying.

Jurgen Voller (Madds Mikkelson)

Next on the characters is with our main primary villain and one of 2 actors that is often type casted as a villain in a lot of projects and that is Madds Mikkelson as our villain of Jurgen Voller. We meet the character back in the opening flashback that sees him learning of the ancient Dial after trying to obtain the Lance of Longinus and discovering it is a fake and then has a run in with Indy and takes a cooling tower to the face that somehow does not scar him or kill him. Where we find him in the present he has become a lead scientist for Nasa helping to get the Astronauts into space and on the moon but he has some other nefarious means as he continues to pursue the dial and get it back and find the remaining half of said piece and will use his charm and nefarious means to get to where he is for his ultimate plan. I feel it has the feeling of an evil antagonist that is not overly cartoonishly evil but more of someone that is one step ahead of knowing what the best plan of action is and I think he fits the tone and character well as Mikkelson is an excellent actor of really getting into a character (for the most part or where it can work) and for the most case I enjoy his villain role, sure it is a little underused but it happens.

Basil Shaw (Toby Jones)

As for a character I wished had a little bit more of a screen presence to I would say the likes of Toby Jones character of Helena's father Basil. Most we see with this character is in the very beginning of the film in the opening flashback as he finds himself captured and needing to be rescued from the train and in the process will learn of the dial and send him on a journey to discover the secrets that it holds and what power can come from it. Basil is a decent character that nearly drives himself to death for years trying to find the answer to the dials secrets and we never see more of him after the opening scenes and I wish we got a little bit more of him in the film but I feel they couldn't work it out (maybe he could have worked him in joining his daughter on the adventure) but I guess it just got lost in the writing.

Teddy Kumar (Ethann Isidore)

So on the likes of the characters that we will meet when on the adventure to find the dial, we meet the younger companion for Helena in the form of Teddy. Now Teddy is a form of a bit of a Swindler, someone who will have a method of making a bit of a quick buck and him and Helena have worked a deal over the years she has visited the country where he is from. It is also seen he is learning all the ways of learning to be a pilot with minimal experience and may come in handy down the line. Personally I can take or leave the character in this, not that he is a bad character or actor, he does well, I feel that they probably wanted a little bit of a Short Round character again but doesn't have the same emotional connection we would get with the original version but in all case he is fine, it is not the level of being in a lot of it and is overall tolerable.

Renaldo (Antonio Banderas)

The last of the cast I can give a little bit of a discussion is with the ship captain of Renaldo. We meet the character a little over an hour into the film and will the one that helps to get the trio out to the middle of the ocean to finding a clue to the whereabouts of the ancient treasure. I feel there is a sense with the character there was a lot more of a connection with the character and Indy that feels like there is a lot more to the character that could be shown as it is a case that he is not used heavily in the film but I enjoy the little presence that he has and when they are on the ship is when we see some nice little moments and while I think that he could've been in it more, I enjoyed the amount of time that they appeared in the film.

all the other players on the adventure

As on the basis of the other characters that appear in the film they are not much to really delve into with the other characters besides the main group as the most of them are really just the hired goons with the 2 main henchmen for Jurgen being expendable with the hot shot and then a giant hulking figure that could crush a skull with one hand and they are fine, not much I can really give on them. Indy's Wife Marion and Adult son Mutt are only really mentioned until the very end of the film and don't add too much substance to the story and just a kind of memberberry. The only other character that I can make mention on for an appearance that is more of an extended cameo is with Sallah who helps Indy get away from a rough situation and was willing to risk his life again to go with him to find this new treasure and I do like seeing him again after his absence from the previous film and enjoy the feeling of seeing him, it would've been nice to see more of him in the film but for what its worth its fine as it is.

Overall I find the mix of the characters in the film to be decent if some underused at best, I understand the likes of the cast is a good focus towards the main 2 of Indy and Helena that their is a fair amount of presence with them which is a good thing, the Villain could be in it a little more but work with as much as they have in mind for the character and the other character appearances feel either not needed as much or could appeal of a little extra bit of screentime presence but I think for what it is worth, the characters are watchable and entertaining and do help move the story along well enough from my own focus of things.

Characters: 6-7

Exploring the world for treasure

So given the case of this series being a continuous adventure it is expected that we will be seeing a lot of different vistas and locations of a worldwide explorations from temples and jungles, to cities and ancient pasts, it is always nice to see some of the vast locales and places that they will explore to see the ancient treasures that they come across and it is the same here with all of the worldbuilding and design of some of the deep ancient past and mystery seen in the temples and cities they explore in this film from the hustle and bustle of the Space Race fever of 1960s New York, to the small cart chase in Tanngier or even the Train escape in the French Alps, it has a lot of interesting approaches and looks to the world of adventurers out to obtain some treasures.

Also delving onto this is talking a little on one aspect that was a discussion point initially back when the film was coming out and that was the concept of the CGI De-Aging of Harrison Ford to make him look like he did back in the original trilogy for the opening scene and some were concerned of it being an uncanny valley type but I think to me personally it borders on it, on the one hand it does look like it is done well and is not a bad Visual aesthetic (and the case they do it at night to hide more of the visual hiccups), sure there is some moments where it looks a bit odd (mainly with some wide shots and the voice) but I think it is not too bad of a job that they did for it all and in most case I can say the likes of the visual adventure mixed with everything works out well in the end.

Presentation: 7-8

Ancient text of the past

this next section I am going to keep it brief in of itself but I do not find the writing of this film that bad, it is decent, it is not going over the top with crazy analogies, it feels a little more nuanced in keeping the writing and script straight forward. The writer of this film of David Koepp who wrote the previous entry as well as other Spielberg based project of the original 2 Jurassic Parks and the upcoming 4th Jurassic World and he knows the likes of keep the flow focused on characters as well as expanding on the lore of ancient artifacts of the past as well as having some bit of light humor in there as well that works for the most part and I think overall it is fine enough of a dialogue in the film itself and in all case could've been a whole lot worse or dialogue that does not fit the timeframe

Writing: 7-7.5 

The Music of the ancients

Of course of the focus areas left to talk about we have to chat about the music because it is of course coming from the man, the legend, John Williams who has returned to score for the 5th film of the series like he has done for every film in the series (an Oscar nominated score may vary when there is other strong contender against it, and some that should've had the spot for it) and in all instance for what its worth, his score for these films are always great as someone who has been in the industry for many years and in all case I always enjoy listening to the classics as well as some of the new tracks that they have to offer. Sure it could be a little better with a bit more new tracks to it but there is a fine balance so I am not going to complain on that front.

Music: 8 

Swinging for the trees and getting tangled

Of course like all of my thoughts and reviews I would give as best I can of giving all of my issues and complaints as well as the praises and try and give a breakdown of all of them in here and I will do my best to summarise all of the issues I have with the film:

Story: This comes down to the likes of some of the scope feeling not overly grand compared to the others but it is a very minor aspect to the whole ordeal. I get from the age and all of the main lead can be a factor to the whole thing but it is not too bad in a sense, some elements make sense and some I feel they could've worked other elements into it but overall it is not a major issue of a slightly reduced scope and turnout entertaining in the end.

Characters: this comes down to the element of certain characters should have more screentime or maybe the case of including some others in some way to fit the narrative a bit more for feeling an ideal aspect to the project. If I do know from what I saw in the past and recently online it looked like a certain fan favourite from the original trilogy was supposed to make his return in this film and it would've been cool to see them all this time and find out what they have been up to since their last appearance and joining on the adventure but I get some issues with connecting to the other characters was a factor into it all so its understandable. Yeah but in most case it is with certain characters would benefit with a bit more screentime.

Presentation: This comes into the effect of the likes of some minor issues with the visual effects that it can be noticeable of looking a little off, which is not too much on the likes of the film anyway and mostly more in the opening action sequence. Some of the settings and locales feel a bit too samey in some areas but not much of a hassle and I feel one of the big issues is with the Runtime. The film clocks in at just under 2 and a half hours and in all case you could trim a small bit of the time off with certain elements that could fix a little pacing problems but I say there is some elements to make it flow better and not be a slow dull scenes in there.

Writing: some elements of the writing can feel a bit forced of trying some humor here and there and a bit of the context to the treasure and secret can feel a little convoluted and all over the place here and there but it is not to the level that it becomes ingraining on the whole ordeal.

Music: This is just a minor complaint with the likes of the music that It would be appealing to hear a few more new tracks with the classics as it is still great to hear the classic theme and other elements from the past but a few new tracks would benefit the Music for this.

Overall they are some small points that bring down the score in each section but it happens with every project or film that their is some issues that at point could be better or fixed.

Concluding thoughts: does it stand the test of time?

So overall the series of Indiana Jones started as a concept of adventure with a big star, went quiet for about 2 decades and came back with a mixed array to where we are now with a final entry that feels like a satisfactory concluding swansong to the treasure hunting Archaeologist of Dr Jones. Is this the best one of the series, no, I still think some of the original trilogy is better but I see it as a close follow up of being close to the series highs with some issues sprinkled in between (and even the case of previous low points I still enjoy now and again) but in general I think for the adventure that is in it for the most part, this feels like a satisfactory conclusion to a 40+ year old series that can ride off now into the sunset with a satisfying conclusion of adventure, mystery, treasure and punching Nazi's in the face and that the series in of itself should belong in a museum to be remembered for many years to come.

Final Score

Story: 7

Characters: 6-7

Presentation:7-8

Writing: 7-7.5

Music: 8

Total Score: 35 - 37.5/50 or 70-75%

Well I hope you enjoyed listening to what I have to say of my own opinions on the recent Indiana Jones Film. I know that my opinion will not be the same as everyone else's but you don't have to take my own word and you can have your own opinion to things too, this is just my own. But let me know down below of your own thoughts of this film down below, did you like it, did you hate it, indifferent about it? Let me know your reasons why down below and lets discuss them there. As always I hope you enjoyed and that of course you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day every day and now I am off to ride into the sunset and will see you in the next post :)

Take Care, Keep being You, Signing Off

Sam H :)