The 10 or so days leading up to this film felt like quite the journey.
In preparation for the 5th, hopefully final, and utterly needless new instalment of the Indiana Jones series, I thought there was no better time for another rewatch of the four that came before it. This time, joining me on this was my sister aged 10, whose attention span is at the point now she can sit and watch 2 hour movies like this fairly easily. Her only exposure to Indiana Jones was playing the Lego games with me years before and Around that time, we also watched Raiders which she had forgotten about. Her final conclusion was this, Temple of Doom is the best one (10/10), Raiders a close 2nd (9/10), Last Crusade, my personal favourite was in at 3rd (8.5/10) and Crystal Skull was way down in 4th (5/10). She found Crystal Skull insufferable and boring, and I think the same.
Back in the summer 2021, the New York chase scenes for Dial of Destiny were filmed in the city centre of my hometown, Glasgow in Scotland. I had taken my sister to go see Space Jam 2 that day and after we left the cinema we took a walk down to the closed off streets to get a glimpse of what we might see in the Dial of Destiny. From then, the two of us agreed that we HAD to see this when it was released.
And so last Wednesday, with 4 Indy movies down and one to go we took our place in the cinema ready to watch the new Indiana Jones movie, the prospect of that itself is enough to raise the excitement levels. I confess, however, I heard about the Cannes reviews and the negativity surrounding DoD going in which played at the back of my mind.
For my sister, I made a point of not telling her any of this. That way, even if negative reviews somehow skewed my own opinion, I would be able to get a more accurate opinion from someone shielded from all the noise and the nonsense.
I am delighted to be able to say we both left with a spring in our steps and smiles on our faces.
The premise of the story feels perfect, an aging Indy gets the chance of one final quest to find the time-altering Dial of Archmedies before the Nazis.
Dial of Destiny may not exactly have the look of an Indiana Jones movie, but it has the feel and, above all else, the heart of one. Indiana Jones is at the front and centre, flaws and all with an added vulnerability that has come with age. His Goddaughter, Helena (Pheobe Waller-Bridge), rather fittingly is perhaps a by-product of his past mistakes, and together, this creates what I think is a hallmark of these movies.
Extraordinary, extraterrestrial scenarios faced by real, flawed people.
Wether it’s Indy, Henry, Helena, Marian or Willy its the strong, distinct personalities of the characters that populate this world that play a large part in its magic and to me, this felt just as strong in Dial of Destiny.
In the 3rd act, I will give nothing away. It’s ridiculous its obscene, and it’s a direction I simply did not expect, and it’s something you will either love or hate. I loved it and personally thought they didn’t go far enough with it. But the set up beforehand, which builds an incredible sense of mystery of what is actually about to happen next, is a feeling that elevates this movie for me.
Yes, it’s not by any means perfect. There are severe issues with the story, in both its structure and its plotholes that have left a feeling of confusion about the story I can’t quite shake. There are numerous half-baked ideas that are not resolved and make it all feel somewhat incomplete.
Things don’t quite add up in a way that makes complete narrative sense. This very much feels the case for Mads Mikkelson’s scene chewing Nazi Scientist who could have been a great antagonist and at most feels like an OK but very underutilised one instead. The film’s conclusion to the mind-bending reveal in the 3rd act also feels like they simply did not know how to resolve the situation they had concocted and opted for a jarringly aprupt course correction instead. This all adds up and definitely takes it toll.
For me, all its flaws add to its charm in a weird way. It could have been a great film, but it didn’t have to be. All it had to be was a great time, watching one last globe-trotting Indy adventure with new, interesting characters, some great moments with some old characters and overall a conclusion that may still not be as good as the ending of Last Crusade but none the less feels like a really nice point to end it all. My sister gave it a 9, that’s as high a praise that Dial of Destiny could ask for.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: 7/10
Above The Line 