Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) — Screenplay by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp, and James Mangold.

When it was first announced that Steven Spielberg was not going to direct this fifth and supposedly final Indiana Jones big-screen adventure, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was filled with a feeling of trepidation. After all, even though Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — the fourth Indiana Jones film and the final of the bunch that was directed by Spielberg — was met with harsh criticism from vocal online parts of the fandom, it still occasionally has that infectious Spielbergian magic and bravura (and it isn’t as bad as its online reputation suggests). Lucasfilm instead lined up Logan and Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold to take over as director of a film that also wouldn’t have co-creator George Lucas as a credited screenwriter. So, these were definitely uncharted waters for Indiana Jones fans. It did feel wrong to see it go on without Spielberg and Lucas, but, based on his talent as a filmmaker and his excellent recent filmography, I honestly trusted James Mangold to be the steady hand this endeavor needed. Having now seen the film, I can say that while you definitely feel Spielberg’s absence, Mangold has managed to make a genuinely affecting action-adventure film. I really enjoyed it.

Set primarily in 1969, James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny sees Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. (still played by Harrison Ford) on the verge of retirement from his time as a college professor. On the day of a local parade celebrating the Apollo 11 astronauts, Indiana Jones is approached by Helena Shaw (played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge). Helena is the daughter of an old colleague of Indy’s, and she also happens to be his goddaughter. Helena is trying to convince a world-weary and depressed Indiana Jones to help her find the missing piece to Archimedes’ Antikythera dial — a really cool MacGuffin — which some theorize can ‘locate fissures in time.’ But she isn’t the only person who is interested in assembling the dial. Shaw and Jones are soon interrupted by henchmen sent by Nazi-astrophysicist-turned-NASA-scientist Jürgen Voller (played by Mads Mikkelsen), who, unlike Indy, believes it’s more than just an ancient mechanism.

Every Indiana Jones film opens with a gripping and extensive opening sequence and this film is no different. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, we have the classic scene in which Indy runs from a giant boulder. In Temple of Doom, we have the James Bond-inspired crime boss opening that leads to a fun chase scene outside of Club Obi Wan. In Last Crusade, we see young Indiana Jones try to keep an ancient crucifix from getting into the wrong hands. And, of course, in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we have the sequence which eventually leads to Indy hiding inside a refrigerator in an attempt to survive a nuclear blast. Well, what we have here in Dial of Destiny is arguably the most engaging action-adventure sequence of the entire film.

It opens with the ticking of a clock, which speaks directly to some of the film’s central themes. In a flashback sequence that sends us back to 1944, we catch up with Indiana Jones as he — along with Toby Jones’ Basil Shaw (Helena’s father) — tries to prevent Nazi Germany from sending the lance that allegedly pierced Jesus Christ’s skin back to Adolf Hitler. The sequence features Toby Jones, who is really fun to watch here as Indy’s not-so-combat-ready archae0logist companion, and Thomas Kretschmann playing an assertive Nazi colonel, whose interactions with a younger version of Mads Mikkelsen’s character help to establish Jürgen Voller as an expert deeply frustrated by how no one will listen to him. Other than featuring strong set-up for the antagonist played by Mikkelsen, it also has some classic Indiana Jones moments where he tries to blend in, where he fights during a chase scene, and where he runs on top of a moving train. It is an excellent sequence that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those other openings. The one thing holding it back somewhat is modern effects work.

Now, like with Crystal Skull (but to a much less unpleasant extent), this film uses modern effects that don’t appear as convincing, tactile, or practical as the original trilogy’s films’ effects did. There is a digital look to most of the action and, on top of this, the faces of the most pivotal characters in the sequence — those played by Ford and Mikkelsen — have been de-aged through modern effects. I suspect that they went about Mikkelsen’s de-aging in a different way because it is by no means as distracting as it sometimes is with Indiana Jones. I should say that I am a big fan of The Irishman, so some people might suggest that I am not as easily thrown off by long scenes featuring obvious deepfake effects to make someone appear younger. With de-aged Indiana Jones circa 1944, there are moments when it looks bang-on (especially when he is very still), but once he starts moving and talking a lot it is more hit-and-miss. I’m sure some people will be less forgiving than I am, but, while it can be distracting here and there, it didn’t really bother me all that much. Although I am not against the argument that they maybe should’ve instead considered using Alden Ehrenreich — also known as young Han Solo from Disney and Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story — for these scenes.

On the other side of the perhaps slightly overlong but genuinely thrilling opening sequence, we’re reintroduced to Indiana Jones in 1969. Like with Crystal Skull, I thought the era-specificity of Dial of Destiny really works in the film’s, and its themes’, favor. Other than the aforementioned NASA parade (and some obvious but nonetheless enjoyable early needledrops), we also get an anti-war demonstration that Indy briefly takes part in. The excellent era-specificity is more than merely fun and relevant details or strong era-appropriate production design. I think the era-specificity speaks to Indiana’s arc here really well. This is a film about ‘time’ in more ways than one. With the Moon-landing a major recent event, Indy now finds himself in a world that is more concerned with looking up at a wasteland in space rather than looking downward to research our common history and archaeological sites. Indiana Jones gets a clock as a retirement gift which is appropriate because here he feels like a man out of time. He is someone who would rather wallow in his feelings of despair, loneliness, depression, weariness, and guilt than lift his head, get out of his funk, and get on with his life. Life and loss have left him feeling chewed up, spat out, and left by the side of the road asking: “Why am I still here?” The film finds him thinking that he is out of time. But is the opening of the film’s ticking of a clock a countdown or just a normal clock passing the time for us all to continue onward with our lives alongside it? Does he still have enough time to make things right?

The screenplay, which is authored by four scribes including the director but also one of the co-writers of Crystal Skull (i.e. David Koepp), provides Harrison Ford with an opportunity to take themes with genuine weight and hit on vulnerable character beats capable of inspiring genuine emotion. I’m happy to say that Harrison Ford doesn’t miss a beat. The 1969 action scenes with Harrison Ford very rarely have that exaggerated weightlessness of Crystal Skull, rather the action is mindful of his age and so are the scenes in between. That is a feature and not a bug. The film’s best scenes feature a note-perfect and genuinely affecting Harrison Ford opening up a valve of pure vulnerability that speaks to life’s great big regrets or the rekindling of genuine excitement. I think Ford has some of the most emotional scenes of the entire film series in this one, and he brought me on the verge of tears on more than one occasion. Of course, Harrison Ford still has it.

There is also some really strong supporting work here with Mads Mikkelsen being one of the film’s biggest highlights to me. It should surprise no one that Mikkelsen makes for a brilliant antagonist here, as he has played an antagonist in everything from James Bond and Marvel to Harry Potter and Hannibal. The Dane has a sizable part in the film, and he ends up being much more than merely a bland caricature, which Cate Blanchett was saddled with in the previous film. Mikkelsen and Ford have a couple of really fun exchanges, and there are also a couple of scenes in which Mikkelsen imbues his character with a visible contempt and arrogance that pops off the screen. In Dial of Destiny, there is even a moment where Mads Mikkelsen, an iconic Bond villain, says his character’s name in that classic James Bond way of introducing yourself (“My name is Voller. Jürgen Voller.”). Even if it wasn’t done on purpose, I enjoyed that little wink at the camera given that these films were once inspired by Spielberg’s Bond interest. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Indy’s chief companion in this film, and I really dug how energetic and goal-oriented her character is. I definitely got the sense that she was meant to be a blend of early ‘fortune and glory’ obsessed Indy and someone like Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark. I do think her arc feels poorly paced, but Waller-Bridge is fun to watch. I would have liked more from minor characters like John Rhys-Davies’ Sallah, Antonio Banderas’ Renaldo, or Boyd Holbrook’s Klaber, but since the film is a little bit bloated as is (I feel like some of the action set-pieces could’ve been trimmed somewhat) it is tough to justify more screen time.

James Mangold clearly wanted this to feel, at least to a large extent, like just another Spielbergian Indiana Jones adventure, and while the character beats are excellent, John Williams’ awe-inspiring and nostalgic music sends chills down your spine, and the performances are largely strong, the action set-pieces lack the ingenuity, execution, and skill that is usually in a Spielberg action set-piece. I should make it clear that Mangold’s action sequences are never bad, but they do sometimes feel overlong, overly digital, and occasionally confusing. There are a lot of decent chases here, but only one or two set-pieces that truly take you to the edge of your seat, which is disappointing given how over-budgeted the film is at a reported $295 million. I really liked the idea of the underwater exploration sequence around the second act of the film, but, at least on first watch, I thought it was difficult to fully understand everything that transpired there. It felt a little bit like a missed opportunity. There is also a story thread involving law enforcement that doesn’t have a proper conclusion, in the same way that the FBI story thread in Crystal Skull didn’t go anywhere either.

Legacy sequels often merely play the hits and remix elements. But while Mangold’s film certainly does play the hits and make nostalgic callbacks, as well as include a supporting character that feels like another version of a fan-favorite character, Dial of Destiny does take one very big swing. While I will admit that during one of the action set-pieces it did cross my mind that parts of the film felt somewhat ‘safe,’ Mangold’s film goes to great lengths in the third act to establish that he is not afraid to take big risks. I can’t talk about this decision in detail without going into spoilers, so I won’t be doing that. But what I will say is that while the sequence will undoubtedly be divisive for how it takes the film series in a different direction some may think is preposterous, I thought it was so exciting and so much fun. I thought this decision — this big swing — was very much in the spirit of the original aim of the B-movie homage film series. It, along with the opening, is the most exciting and daring thing about the film, and it led to one of the aforementioned moments of touching vulnerability in Ford’s performance.

If you go in with reasonable expectations, I think you’ll have a good time with James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It doesn’t reach the highest highs of the franchise but it also never plummets to its lowest lows. It isn’t timeless. It isn’t life-changing. But it is a good time. This is a good Indiana Jones movie, but it falls just short of greatness due to some of its set-pieces, which are unfortunately merely middle-of-the-road. However, the set-pieces that bookend the film are genuinely memorable, and I’m excited to rewatch those in the future. It may not be Spielberg or Lucas’s film. But it definitely is still an enjoyable Indiana Jones adventure with a strong Harrison Ford performance, a great villain in Mikkelsen, and delightful music from John Williams. That alone is worth the price of admission, but where Mangold ultimately takes this film is something you simply have to see to believe. I’m impressed by the big swing that Mangold takes here, and I am genuinely moved by the moments in which the film almost feels like a meditation on regret, aging, your place in history, and time.

7.5 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.