Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

 

In 1944, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and fellow archeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) retrieve half of Archimedes’ Dial, a device believed to reveal fissures in time, from Nazi scientist Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). In 1969, a newly retired Jones receives a visit from Shaw’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who is seeking the dial despite the fact that it drove her father mad. Voller is also in pursuit, and thanks to his contributions to the American space program, he has CIA protection. Soon, Indy finds himself thrust into adventures he thought were behind him.

 

The fifth and presumably final Indiana Jones film boasts new faces in the director’s chair (James Mangold, who also co-wrote the script – George Lucas and Steven Spielberg served as consultants) and among the cast but is otherwise as throwback as throwback gets. The Dial of Destiny walks a thin line between satisfying nostalgia and shameless call-back obsession, but despite its flaws, it’s an entertaining film more times than not.

 

From Nazi villains to an overmatched archeology colleague to a Short Roundesque kid sidekick to a hulking villainous henchman, The Dial of Destiny tries to cram as many of the series staples into one film as it can get away with. Even Helena – a much younger woman – is suspiciously similar (quick-thinking, adventurous, and morally questionable at times) to the Indy of earlier films (albeit with a welcome dose of British snark). Mercifully, in its thirst to ape the past, the film doesn’t neglect Ford’s age. He’s (convincingly) digitally de-aged for the opening World War II sequence, but for the bulk of the film, he’s old, grumpy, complaining about various maladies, and (rather poignantly) saddened by losses. He still dons the hat and cracks the whip, but when Voller (a cold, bitter antagonist role that Mikkelsen plays with ease) suggests that the world has passed men like them by, he isn’t exactly wrong.

 

The lack of novelty extends beyond characterization and plotting though when it comes to the film’s production and aesthetics, this is hardly a grievance. The globe-hopping settings (France to New York to the Mediterranean) are eye-catching, and Mangold’s polished, fluid direction helps the film feel shorter than its two-and-a-half-hour runtime. A nonagenarian John Williams provides the score, and he hasn’t lost his touch. On the other hand, the film’s chase sequences feel a bit rote and the one true bit of innovation – a climactic battle scene toward the end made possible via time travel shenanigans – is ridiculous even by this franchise’s standards.

 

If it truly is the last film in the series (Waller-Bridge’s Helena could easy take up the mantle), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny isn’t exactly a grand finale. It’s a step up from the much-maligned Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but lags squarely behind the first and third films. However, it gives Ford a chance to reprise an iconic role without looking silly doing so, and there is enough of a classic feel here to give series fans a satisfying note of closure.