Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: Film Review
I am a huge fan of the Indiana Jones franchise so I was initially hyped about the Dial of Destiny, but the mixed reviews made me lower my expectations. And I’m sorry to say that the movie is simply fine.
The film begins in 1944 during World War II, when Indiana (Harrison Ford) and his pal Basil (Toby Jones) steal the Archimedes dial from the Nazis, specifically astrophysicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). Jump forward 25 years to 1969, Basil’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Indiana go on her late father’s mission to find the other half of the dial and see if he was right about its capabilities. Naturally, Voller and his cronies are on their tails.
This movie is the fifth instalment in the franchise and the first to be directed by somebody other than Steven Spielberg. I usually like James Mangold‘s work (Logan, Le Mans ’66) but the sense of adventure is missing from this film when it’s usually front and centre. I can’t help but wonder if this is due to the director switch.
There are many action setpieces but some of them are oddly flat. I kept wondering why I didn’t feel excited and I still can’t precisely put my finger on it. I felt like I was watching the movie at a distance instead of being truly immersed in it. However, I did enjoy the cave sequence and the tuk-tuk chase, possibly because they feel very loyal to the originals, and I appreciated the balance between nostalgia and fresh ideas.
I struggled to care about the quest and any of the characters except Indy, the writing was hit and miss, it wasn’t funny enough, and it was far too long at 2 hours and 20 minutes. There has been a lot of criticism about the CGI but I didn’t think it looked that bad, although some of the de-ageing technology on Ford didn’t look quite right around the mouth. The effects in the old movies still hold up pretty well and I’m not sure the same will be said for this outing.
It was great to see Ford back as the character and the film wisely acknowledges his age and that he isn’t as physically capable as he used to be. He still throws himself into the part and has a couple of poignant moments. Waller-Bridge plays the exact character you would expect – I found her annoying at first but she ultimately worked well for the tone of the piece. Mikkelsen didn’t get enough to sink his teeth into as the villain (but he still does well with what he’s given) and Antonio Banderas is totally wasted as an old friend of Indiana’s.
I wish I could declare that this is worth the 15-year wait but that wouldn’t be true. What a shame!
In cinemas from Wednesday 28th June