If Indiana Jones was a rock star instead of a movie character, the Dial of Destiny – the latest and last movie in the franchise – would be his farewell tour. The chops are still there, but the cracks are showing and the pace is a bit off. The ageing headliner is perhaps upstaged by the youthful support act. But if all you want is the greatest hits, then you’re in the right place.
No Spielberg this time around – James Mangold is in the Director’s chair. I’ve been a fan of Mangold’s work since his indie debut with Heavy (1995); but he’s really stepped up in the last couple of years directing big-budget films including Logan and Ford vs Ferrari. Here, he pays careful homage to Spielberg’s legacy, while still leaving at least some of his own thumbprints on the project.
Like any farewell show, it’s all about the hits – the ones everyone remembers and stir nostalgia in the audience. Classic Indi moments abound – the face punches (so many face punches), hokey history, exhilarating chases, dangerous escapades, snakes (sort of) – heck, even the Nazis are back. If you’ve seen any of the previous four instalments (even the widely panned Crystal Skull), you’ll know what to expect. The script from Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and frequent Spielberg collaborator Devid Koepp ticks a lot of boxes. It goes banana-pants crazy towards the end, though probably no more so than say Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Time has flown since the previous Indi film. It’s now 1969, just after the Moon landing. Dr Henry (Indiana) Jones (Harrison Ford) is still an archeology professor at a New York university. But it’s time for him to retire, which he does reluctantly. He lives alone, drinks too much and has recently been served with divorce papers by his wife Marion (Karen Allen). On his last day at the school, he’s approached by the bright-eyed Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). She’s Indi’s god-daughter, and the child of his old friend Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). Helena is studying archeology and wants to know the secrets of the Antikythera mechanism (the “Dial of Destiny” of the title), which was an obsession of her late father.
Indi happens to have access to half of the mechanism, which is kept in the university’s archive. (A lengthy prologue explains how it got there.) When they go to retreive it however, they’re attacked by henchmen of Dr Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi now working for NASA. Voller’s goons are assisted by CIA agents led by Mason (Shaunette Renée Wilson), though it seems they may not have the full story. Helena escapes with the (half) Dial, but it soon becomes clear her motives are financial rather than scientific. Indi travels to Tangier to intercept her. But another run-in with the neo-Nazis results in Voller taking possession of the artifact. Now the only hope is for Indi, Helena and her sidekick Teddy (Ethann Isidore) to travel to Greece to try to retrieve the other half of the Dial before it falls into Voller’s hands. If they fail, Voller will have enormous, history-altering power at his disposal.
Like a lot of these types of movies, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny clocks in at a hefty 2 and a half hours. But I have to say, I didn’t feel it dragging at all. Mangold keeps the plot zipping along with barely a pause. Maybe a couple of the chase sequences could have been pared back, but they’re incredibly exciting, so why would you? The plot is pretty easy to follow, though the history elements are pure baloney. Hopefully though, it might inspire people to seek out the real history.
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7) makes great use of the locations (much of the film was shot in Sicily). In conjunction with production designer Adam Stockhausen, they do an excellent job of re-creating multiple time periods. John Williams score, as ever, unmistakably evokes the character. The film does veer into the uncanny valley on occasions though, something I found distracting.
Harrison Ford is definitely showing his age – he was nearing 80 when the film was shot. He can certainly be forgiven for losing some of his edge, but he’s still got the old Indi charm; even if that charm now has a rougher edge. Mads Mikkelsen gives an understated performance as the bad guy Voller, but his subtlety actually serves to ramp up the character’s creepiness. Toby Jones makes the most of a limited role as Basil Shaw, while Antonio Banderas shows up as a diving boat captain. But Phoebe Waller-Bridge easily walks away with the movie as the savvy and audacious Helena. Her father-daughter chemistry with Ford is believable, and her action-movie chops are excellent. It wouldn’t surprise me if the producers might be eyeing her as a possible successor to the Indiana Jones throne.
Ford and others have made it clear Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is his last go-around as Indi. As such, this farewell film definitely plays to the true fans (exit via the merch tent, people). I suspect few will leave without immense goodwill towards both actor and character for their past contributions. While this will be his final stop on the tour, it’s a fitting celebration of the glittering career that’s gone before.
David Edwards
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David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television