Summary
Dr. Jones is back to raid one more lost treasure, as fortune and glory give way to the inevitabilities of mortality in this last rousing adventure.
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012, it was with the clear intention to commercially exploit existing properties. While it only took three year to bring us more Star Wars, and another five to strip mine it for all its worth, Indiana Jones had peacefully remained in retirement since 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Thanks to some rapid advancements in de-aging technology and deep fakery, we quite literally don’t notice the passing of time in the opening sequence of INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. James Mangold, the first person not named Steven Spielberg to helm a theatrical Indy film, immediately creates a traintop set-piece that feels both classic and fresh at the same time.
During that opening, set in the closing days of the Second World War, Indiana (Harrison Ford) and colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) are on a mission to save antiquities from the Nazis. They also discover that German scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) has half of the titular dial, said to contain immense power. In a daring escape, both Voller and the dial appear to be lost.
Cut to 1969: man is landing on the Moon, and a much older Dr. Jones is quite literally that guy asking you to turn down your music. Out of the blue, Shaw’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) turns up on a quest for the dial. Yet not all is as it appears – especially when a group of Nazis led by the very much alive Voller are also after the same McGuffin.
From Copland to the 3:10 to Yuma remake, Mangold is known for some darker visions on classic archetypes. Like his Logan, another swan song for a franchise character, this is a film that acknowledges ageing. He’s certainly not the first to do this: Star Trek based most of their film franchise around it, and Ford himself tipped a hat to it in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Hell, there’s scarcely an 80s blockbuster that hasn’t been dragged out, dusted off, and repackaged in the last few years. Yet here is an Indiana Jones who feels world weary, and is now contemplating his place in the world.
Which is why this was never going to quite be the physical ride that Raiders of the Lost Ark or even The Last Crusade were. Tension comes from stand-offs, puzzle solving, and an underwater set-piece where everyone is masked so it scarcely matters what anybody is doing. Some of this does serve to elongate the second act, and at worst it drags a little in the middle. At 154 minutes, this is the longest Indy film by a good half hour or so. Still, it also means we get to spend a little longer with these people, and that’s definitely a good thing.
This isn’t to say Ford ever looks bored either, as might have been the case in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He genuinely seems to be having a blast here. Playing wonderfully off Mikkelsen and Waller-Bridge — who gets the lion share of the amazing wardrobe budget — Ford embodies Indiana Jones in and out of the hat. It is a joy to see the actor, who turned 80 as the film was being released, having so much fun.
Mangold’s film can’t help but tip its fedora to past entries either. There are, of course, plenty of Easter eggs, cameos, and more overt references. Still, there are entire sequences that feel like they are there just to push a nostalgia button. At one point, Helena and Indy are in a tight corridor covered in bugs, and it’s hard not to think of Temple of Doom. Without spoiling the climactic finale – which some could argue tries to have its cake and eat it too – there’s certainly shades of The Last Crusade in there.
If this is the end of the road for Dr. Jones, it’s a bittersweet finale. Regardless of your feelings on the contentious Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, this fifth and allegedly final film certainly goes a long way to servicing the fans. Nevertheless, as someone who grew up on Indiana Jones, it’s always going to be hard seeing our heroes get old, mostly because we know that time hasn’t stood still for us either.
2023 | USA | DIRECTOR: James Mangold | WRITERS: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp, James Mangold | CAST: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, Mads Mikkelsen | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 154 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 28 June 2023 (US)
