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The latest (and final) film intermittently manages to recapture some of the magic of the original. I would call that a win
Published June 29, 2023 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • read for 4 minutes
Hats off to Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Photo by Lucasfilm
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It’s not the years. It’s not even the mileage. It’s the math. With Harrison Ford turning 80 last summer, the days of “one last crusade” for intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones were clearly numbered. It was now or never.
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And despite some grumbling from critics after its Cannes Film Festival premiere, it’s a good thing that Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny made it to the now column and not the never. (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? That’s a “never”. Temple of Doom too, I think, though I haven’t watched it in over 30 years.)
But through a mystical combination of CGI trickery, more than the usual number of stunt doubles, and Ford’s own priceless mix of gruff and charm, the latest film manages to recapture some of the original’s magic every now and then. I would call that a win.
It begins with Indy doing what he’s always done best: fighting Nazis. An extended prologue set in the closing days of World War II finds a digitally-aged Dr. Jones on the trail of the Lance of Longinus, the spear that is said to have pierced Jesus Christ’s side during the crucifixion. (Alliterative artifacts are the best of the bunch; consider it a certainty!)
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With him is Toby Jones as Basil Shaw, a name that makes the actor about 3.14 times more bookish and British than he already seems. Against him are the remnants of the Third Reich led by Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), that most dangerous beast, a Nazi with ambition. “You didn’t win the war,” he likes to say to the Americans decades later. “Hitler lost it.” He clearly thinks he could have done better.
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The lance they’re fighting over turns out to be a fake – I think it belongs in a museum, in Niagara Falls? – but during the battle, they stumble upon an even greater treasure, the Antikythera Mechanism. This is actually a genuine historical artifact, crafted by Greek scientists around 100 BC – around the time of Archimedes – and discovered over 120 years ago in an ancient shipwreck off the coast of the island that gives it its name.
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It’s a fascinating device, not much bigger than a laptop, but with an intricate array of gears and hands that can predict eclipses and other astronomical events. An early analog computer, its technological counterpart has not appeared in the historical records for over a thousand years. It belongs in a – oh, wait, it’s already in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. All good then.
But in this film, the so-called Dial of Destiny is suspected of having even greater powers. Back to 1969 New York, where Indiana, who has just retired, is visited by Basil’s daughter (and Indy’s goddaughter) Helena, played by Phoebe-Waller Bridge.
Following in her father’s footsteps, she is eager to track down the MacGuffin and unravel its secrets. Of course, Voller — who for some reason is modeled on the remorseful Nazi turned NASA rocket scientist Wernher von Braun — is also trying to get his hands on the thing.
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Mads Mikkelsen (left) plays an aspiring Nazi in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Photo by Lucasfilm
And so the chase continues, through a mind-boggling array of locations including the New York subway, the dusty streets of Tangiers and a wedding in Sicily, each scene involving the theft of a vehicle and a subsequent stunt-laden escapade that goes on and on. a little longer than necessary.
Oh, and speaking of unnecessary elements, there’s a street kid played by Ethann Isidore, who does a fine job as far as he goes, but can’t hold a candle to Ke Huy Kwan’s turn as Short Round in The Temple of Doom.
Besides, all the necessary witty back-and-forth banter is covered by Ford and Waller-Bridge, neither character quite sure how much trust to place in the other. (Which I wouldn’t give if one of the movie’s many callbacks had her trying out his line from Raiders: “Trust me.”)
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John Rhys-Davies returns as Indy’s Egyptian (!) buddy Sallah, his opening lines – “Sorry I’m late, Indy. Bridge traffic.” – somehow giving off the same energy as “Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.” from all those years ago. And Antonio Banderas appears as Renaldo, a ship captain who seems to have such a history with the archaeologist that I had to check that his character hadn’t popped up in an earlier film. (He hadn’t.)
Together, Jones and his comrades work to outwit (or at least outrun) the Nazis, who are also aging and slowing down a bit. All moving towards a conclusion that can wreak havoc on credulity, until you remember that past chapters involved a 900-year-old Grail-guarding knight from the First Crusade and aliens.
It could be argued that the Indiana Jones films were perhaps best left as a trilogy, with Indy and his father riding off into the sunset at the end of The Last Crusade. But given the mess that Indy 4 was, it’s nice to see the series take off on a more savory note. I’m glad to see Ford’s fabulous, I-just-found-what-I-want grin one last time before he hangs up the hat and bullwhip for good. And to see him beat up a few more Nazis.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in theaters June 30.
3.5 stars out of 5
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