The final adventure of Indiana Jones has finally come to theaters and I’m here to let you know if it’s worth checking out.
Having been stung by the lackluster mess that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was understandably not excited when it was announced that a fifth Indiana Jones film was in the works. Given Harrison Ford’s age and how badly the last film had gone, I was convinced that it was past time to let this story go and stop tampering with it.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Directed By: James Mangold
Written By: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp, James Mangold
Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones
Release Date: June 30, 2023
Then the trailers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny came out and I suddenly found myself daring to hope that maybe this would be a good conclusion to the story after all. Once it was announced that John Williams would be scoring the film, that settled it for me. For better or worse, I had to see this film.
Having now seen the film in theaters, I now take back every bad thing I ever said or thought about this film. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny exceeded every last expectation I had. To put it another way: everything Kingdom of the Crystal Skull got wrong, The Dial of Destiny got oh so right.
The story is set in the late summer of 1969 (12 years in-universe after Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), and Indiana Jones is a shell of his former self. The world appears to have left men like him far behind and there are no more adventures to be had….that’s what he thinks anyway, until his goddaughter Helena comes flying back into his life and drags the aging explorer on one last adventure.
I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. Even the prologue, that features a digitally de-aged Harrison Ford, feels like it jumped right out of the original Indiana Jones films that I grew up with. Somehow, Indiana Jones stories have always worked best when the archaeologist is going up against Nazis and that trend continues in this film. Mads Mikkelsen fits right into the story as a not-so-ex-Nazi who is obsessed with seizing the titular Dial for his own nefarious ends.
It needs to be said that this is a somewhat sadder story than past Indiana Jones films. Harrison Ford was in his late 70s at the time of filming and the film doesn’t shy away from that. In fact it could even be argued that the film embraces it in a number of places. The Dial of Destiny makes it abundantly clear that no matter how this story ends, this is the last go-round for Jones. And really, that’s as it should be. If it were anyone else other than Harrison Ford in this role, I’m not sure they could’ve pulled it off the way he did.
Just because the story is sadder though doesn’t mean it lacks for adventure. Quite the opposite: this film is full of chases, scares, and shocking moments like you’ve come to expect from an Indiana Jones story. Yes, there is quite a bit of CGI utilized, but I don’t feel it detracts from the overall story.
The one point that might turn audiences off though is the climax of the story. For me personally, I loved it. Whether or not other viewers love it will depend on how invested you are in the lore of Indiana Jones. If you keep in mind that this is a man who has already encountered the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, then that big moment really shouldn’t surprise you. All I can say is, try your best to suspend your disbelief. This is the world of Indiana Jones where wild things can and do happen. Just let it happen and enjoy the ride.
Last, but certainly not least, I have to sing the praises of the film’s score, created one last time by John Williams, who’s been with the franchise since the beginning. I never dreamed we’d get a new Indiana Jones film in 2023 with Williams composing the score, but I can tell you it was a joy to listen to. Williams still has that gift of breathing life into a film in a way that’s almost impossible to describe but I can tell you the music helps to make this film simply incredible.
While I doubted at first, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny proved to be a more than worthy conclusion to the saga of the legendary archaeologist. This is the ending the franchise needed and I think most viewers will feel content as they watch Indiana Jones ride off into the sunset.
