Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
If there's one name you hear that evokes that call to action and feeling of globe trotting mystery and adventure, it is Indiana Jones. When you see that silhouette complete with the famous fedora, hear the crack of the whip, or hear the iconic theme, you know its about to be an exciting and surprisingly educational expedition. There really hasn't been any film franchise that has captured that magic in decades. The fourth film in the Indy franchise was a divisive and yet was the last shred of that magic. Now comes a sequel that continues the story of our favorite archeologist, but fails to really capture what made Indiana Jones so special. Yes, you get him going after an historical relic while racing against the Nazis. Yes, you get the adventure and action that we love, but the story that surrounds all of it sucks away the magic and joy. This time around it is more of a bleak and sad story that really is overly crowded with too many characters and so many good ideas that were unexplored. There were so many mistakes that were made from the recent Star Wars sequel trilogy that were copied and pasted here and that was so disheartening. I won't spoil all of it, but I will say that the joke / theory of Han Solo being a dream of Indy's life or vice versa, is pretty much true here. The since of practicality is all but lost in this film and I really didn't feel the sense of excitement or danger this time around. What I found hilarious and sad, is that the first 20 minutes of this film and Kingdom of the Crystal were the most Indiana Jones feeling moments of the franchise since the original trilogy.
Harrison Ford returns for his final outing as the titular hero and he was great once again. We get to see an even more grumpier and sad progression of the character. He hasn't skipped a beat in the action and I did love his snarky and comedic remarks toward the many villains of the film. I did like the theme of him becoming a relic of an age where people actually had the same passion about history. The rebuilding of the character was a fun exercise of mortality and exploration of the one last ride story arc. John Rhys-Davies returns as the jovial friend as Sallah and he filled my heart with joy. Their friendship hasn't skipped a beat, but I do wish that we went back to or met up with him in Cairo. Toby Jones is always great to see on screen and he was fun and interesting as his World War 2 ally Basil Shaw. His life's work was in line with Indiana's and I liked that it sort of drove him mad. Phoebe Waller-Bridge was good as the daughter of Basil and God-daughter of Indy, Helena Shaw. The character itself has a charm to her in the beginning, but quickly becomes one of the worst characters of the franchise. Not because of Phoebe's fantastic performance, but because she was truly a horrible human being. She claims to care about the Dial, but only for profit and she lacks a sense of remorse for the majority of the film. Even her sidekick Teddy Kumar played by Ethann Isidore, felt like an accessory than a companion. It's not until the last quarter of the film, you start see that shred of humanity left in her, but by then its too late. Shaunette Renée Wilson was awesome as US Agent Mason. I loved that she wasn't blind to the real conspiracy going on behind the search for the Dial. If she was Indy's companion and it became a joint effort to stop the villain of the film from obtaining the Dial, it would've been a perfect tie to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Alas, she was wasted. Speaking of wasted talent, Boyd Holbrook was good as the violent henchman Klaber. He is a fantastic actor, but here he is just relegated to shooting whatever moves and grunting his lines. Mads Mikkelsen was fantastic as the main antagonist Jürgen Voller and I loved his dedication to his cause. He was cold, calculating, smart and relentless. There was a great moment between him and Indiana Jones where they both come to grips with their age old fight and how it pertains to society in 1969. It's a wonderful line that was written that I won't spoil here.
It wouldn't be an Indiana Jones film without the man that musically brought the icon to life. John Williams returns as the maestro of the franchise and he delivers yet again another fun and engaging score. The use of the Indy theme is sprinkled wonderfully throughout the film. The opening action sequence was the best of the score and I loved the return of a number of notes from previous Indiana Jones films. The problems with this film come from the over crowded nature of the cast and over use of CGI. The Indy films have always used CGI in ways to enhance or assist the story and not envelope it completely. Everything felt tangible and like a place I could visit. This time around, the over abundance made for some of the sequences to be ridiculous and sometimes comical with some shots being cartoonish. Its a dying art that most don't appreciate anymore, which is coincidental with the theme of the film. There is a theme that begs the question of "What if you could change the past?" that's introduced, but goes no where and would've been a more powerful ending than the one we got. So was this a good adventure film? It was entertaining sure. Was this a good Indiana Jones film to end the franchise? No. I thought it was a decent return that had more flaws and better ideas that were introduced that would've made for a great finale. What we got was an entertaining mess. Honestly, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a better Indiana Jones film. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading.
