Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
“Archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history.” Director: James MangoldWriters: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Philip Kaufman, George Lucas, James […]
“Archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history.”
Director: James Mangold
Writers: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Philip Kaufman, George Lucas, James Mangold
Staring: Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Boyd Holbrook, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, John Rhys-Davies
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: June 30, 2023
IMDB
Just for some personal context, Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) is the first PG-13 movie I ever watched. I remember I first saw it in Cape Cod with my family. I remember my mom telling us children to turn away at the scary parts, and I remember disobeying her orders and watching the Nazis burn when the ark was opened. Raiders Of The Lost Ark is a foundation for me, and it is one of the few movies that my family bonds over and appreciates every time someone brings it up.
Now we have Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023), the sendoff to this character that I love. It is a sendoff to one of my mom’s favorite actors. There was a lot of trepidation heading into the movie because, to be fair, the trailers were not great. Thankfully the previews were exactly that, and the full adventure is stitched in a way to appreciate the world’s greatest archaeologist.
The Dial Of Destiny begins with a flashback to young Indiana Jones and his fellow history enthusiast friend Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). A high speed chase on a train sees Indy swimming among a sea of Nazis, one of whom is Dr. Voller Mads Mikkelsen). The good Dr. is trying to tell his superior officers about an important piece he has collected in honor of the Fuhrer, but his message is interrupted rudely by our favorite cowboy American.
The device that Mr. Voller is obsessed with the Antikythera, a tool invented by Greek mathematician Archimedes that uses science and math to target fissures in time. Shaw gets his hand on this Dial of Destiny and it becomes his obsession.
Flash forward in time and everyone is older. Much older. Indiana Jones is a history professor and his opinion on society is not very high. Dr. Voller is around as well with some government access due to his scientific and mathematical ability. Voller has a bit of a posse with him, the leader of whom is Klaber (Boyd Holbrook). This crew of evilness has an agenda of their own, and that path of wickedness crosses Indiana’s life when Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) enters the picture.
Helena is the daughter of Shaw and goddaughter of Indy. Turns out she has a bit of a rebel inside of her, or maybe a lot of it. She begins asking Indiana about the Antikythera, and it turns out that is what Voller is after as well.
Let the cat and mouse game begin!
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny becomes an intercontinental treasure hunt and brings with it plenty of entertaining homages action set pieces. In the end it becomes exactly what the audience wants: Indiana Jones needs to save the world from the evil of Nazis. And never tell Harrison Ford the odds.
The best part of the movie is Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Hands down, bare nothing. The character Helena Shaw brings a dastardly charm that has not been felt since Marion in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The three-time Emmy nominee earns herself accolades for acting as confidently as she does staring up the gullet of the franchise’s lead Harrison Ford. There are moments in this movie where Waller-Bridge dances circles around Ford and everyone else on screen.
It is a bit of a shocker that she is among the credits as a writer because her Fleabag patented quick-wit comedy is lasered into many of the back-and-forths between Helena and her foes. Wombat (as she is affectionately called) can deal with Nazis, jealous lovers, and angry grandpa figures with the best of them. Perhaps the best compliment Waller-Bridge can be paid is that she had great chemistry with Ethann Isidore, the young actor who plays Teddy. We have seen the young child not necessarily work within the Indiana Jones franchise before (maybe that’s a hot take), and Waller-Bridge is a reason it works here in The Dial Of Destiny.
There are two things that are indisputable facts. Harrison Ford will be the only Indiana Jones, and Indiana Jones taking down Nazis is the franchise’s best recipe for success. Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and The Dial Of Destiny all embrace the formula. Who doesn’t love hating the Third Reich?
Also this is a time to pay proper homage to Mads Mikkelsen and Boyd Holbrook. Both actors play their respective antagonistic parts well, but if the upper hand has to go to one…let’s raise the hand of Mr. Holbrook. The part of Klaber is eerily reminiscent of his part as Donald Pierce in Logan (2017). He is a man part of an evil organization with a reckless sense of behavior while chasing something or someone he covets. In Dial Of Destiny, Holbrook gets to act unhinged, and his frantic blond hairstyle is a wonderful bit of flair.
With every Indiana Jones movie there is a massive need for suspension of disbelief. Put all reality to the side. Despite 90% of the movie being grounded in some sort of reality, we need that 10% of ridiculousness. In The Dial Of Destiny, the crux of the macguffin is not based on religion, rather science and mathematics.
The final leap into the unbelievable for the Indiana Jones franchise is a beautiful summation for the swashbuckler. Indiana Jones finds himself in a place he adores and among a community he admires. It is a symbolic sendoff because fans watching The Dial Of Destiny have that same sense of wonderment. The same sense of being lost in something that captures you and takes you away from it all.
This sense of being lost in something you love is the emotion that James Mangold was going for in making this movie. The Dial Of Destiny starts with a classic action sequence ripped right from the tropes of the original trilogy, and as long as you can get by the 80 year old voice of Harrison Ford in a de-aged face, you are swept right back into 1980s action/adventure fervor. Mangold puts all the pieces of The Dial Of Destiny together in a way that will make you smile and appreciate the old times. It is a delicate task because the characters and memories are fragile, yet the movie is framed eloquently like a fine piece of media in a movie antique shop.
Ending this late reaction blog on a personal note, the movie theater experience I had during Dial Of Destiny was a weird one. I was the second youngest in the theater with the only one younger being a grandchild of a grandfather who was more excited about the movie. With that in mind, none of the audience seemed to get any of the nods or homages to the original films. Mangold splatters them throughout the movie, but no one reacts. Then at the end of the movie when Indy and Marion are reenacting their adorable “hurts” pre-love making foreplay, the audience was still. Nobody. Nothing. A woman next to me asked her partner, “what was that all about?” I was FLOORED.
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny is a definitive end to the Indiana Jones story as we know it. It sends the character off on a lovely note, cleverly blending nostalgia with fresh blood and talent. Phoebe Waller-Bridge steals the show and Harrison Ford goes out in a blaze of glory. James Mangold proves he can direct action with the best of them, and the tried and true bible of a John Williams score and evil Nazis still works wonders. Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny redefines Indy’s farwell and sends the audience on one final adventure with a smile.
STANKO RATING: B+
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