Indiana Jones Is Back in Grand But Bumpy Globe-Trotting Finale

Indiana Jones Is Back in Grand But Bumpy Globe-Trotting Finale

By Lynn Venhaus

The man, the myths, and the legend are back, and there’s both a rueful twinge and wave of nostalgia at the sight of the brown fedora and 80-year-old Harrison Ford trying so hard to be swashbuckling in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

Ford, whose laconic delivery and devil-may-care charm secured his place in cinematic history long ago, has played his share of men of action, giving us two cultural icons in Han Solo of the “Star Wars” franchise and archeological adventurer Dr. Henry Jones in the Raiders/Indiana Jones series.

In this fifth installment, the famous archeologist races against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history.

As Indy, Ford puts the whip in whip-smart, and it’s a treat to see him return to heroic form. And how sentimental is seeing a reunion with Karen Allen as Marion, his one true love?

However, she’s but a blip in this new universe. What is generally regarded as the final installment in the venerable 42-year-old series is an overstuffed globe-trotting adventure involving Archimedes, the Antikythera, Apollo 11, the U.S.- Soviet Union space race, World War II, Nazis, and the Vietnam War. And changing times and technology. And time travel. Whew.

It’s both overwhelming and underwhelming – a whole lot of whelm, or lack thereof, in 2 hours, 34 minutes, as they continent-hop in planes, trains, and automobiles — and there’s even a horse to ride in New York City.

The production’s artisans are masters at establishing an atmosphere, from academia’s dusty bookshelves to scary ancient caves where peril’s an instant away. Oscar-winning production designer Adam Stockhausen, for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” in 2015, and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, Oscar nominee for “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Nebraska,” smoothly move between years, wars, conflicts and high-speed chases.

(Clockwise from right): Colonel Weber (Thomas Kretschmann) and Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) in Lucasfilm’s IJ5. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Indy’s now being pulled in a direction he thought he was done with, but he finds himself battling against not-dormant foes – very present Nazis, tying Third Reich masterminds to 1960s NASA scientists.

And by default, linking his life’s work studying the Siege of Syracuse in Sicily (213-212 B.C.) with the evil he’s facing at present, and coming face to face with Archimedes. Yes, Archimedes – the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor. His dial becomes a hot potato, an artifact that propels this chapter. You may want to brush up beforehand on antiquity.

As Indy, Ford retreats into a loner role, hiding from the world, grieving the loss of his son and marriage, retiring as a professor, and trying to adapt to a different time..

Nevertheless, his past as a heroic Allied Forces intelligence officer, comes rip-roaring back into focus when Voller shows up, a character partly inspired by German engineer Wernher von Braun. Mads Mikkelsen, always a formidable screen presence, excels as a power-hungry villain (the best kind), ready to lead a new world order when authoritarians are in charge.

You may recall the original film featured Nazis as the villains, set in 1936. So, cut to 33 years later and Indy is a little ambivalent about his enemy helping in the space mission.

The sprawling cast represents a bridge to the past, with John Rhys-Davies returning as Sallah, Toby Jones as fellow archeologist Basil Shaw, and Antonio Banderas briefly as Indy’s old friend, sailor and diver Renaldo. Phoebe Waller-Bridge brings a modern edge as Basil’s sassy, smart daughter Helena, Indy’s goddaughter.

Noteworthy supporting roles include Boyd Holbrook as Voller’s nihilistic trigger-happy henchman Klabor, and young Ethann Isidore as Helena’s handy street-smart helper.

James Mangold knows how to direct crowd-pleasing fare – he’s helmed “Ford v. Ferrari,” “Logan,” “Walk the Line” and “3:10 to Yuma,” to name a few. He starts off strong, capturing thrilling derring-do in wartime espionage action as a flashback, with a de-aged Harrison Ford for 24 minutes, followed by a zippy chaotic chase scene through crowded Manhattan streets during the ticker-tape parade honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts, all the while establishing Indy’s resourcefulness then and now.

However, the movie gets bogged down by its exposition. The dense screenplay, written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koeppe (Crystal Skull), all veterans behind major movies, focuses on the precious dial mechanism, but must throw in obstacles that stretch the story beyond believability.

To keep us invested, we need to sort out why it’s sought after, what happens in the wrong hands, and what are the consequences either way. If you just want to see Indy save one world, never mind what happened in the past or is ahead in the future, settle in for a bumpy ride.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Indy’s goddaughter Helena.

Hence, herein lies the problem. While interesting in spurts, “Dial of Destiny” is a bridge too far — noble in thought but too tangled in execution.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are executive producers, but this is the first one Spielberg hasn’t directed. Lucas was the catalyst for the first story, conceived in the early 1970s and meant to be a homage to action-packed early 20th century serials. Philip Kaufman helped develop it, Spielberg came aboard, and ‘80s hotshot Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote “The Empire Strikes Back,” was brought in to write the script.

In the prequel ‘Temple of Doom,’ set in 1935, Indy is hired to find a gem and rescue a village’s children from a cult leader.

In ‘Last Crusade,’ a sequel to Raiders (set in ’36, this is ’38), Indy is searching for his kidnapped father, played by Sean Connery, and hoping to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis do.

Set in 1957, ‘Crystal Skull’ was meant to be a tribute to sci-fi B-movies of that era, with Soviet villains also searching in Peru for a telepathic crystal skull, and Indy reuniting with Marion, who introduces their son, Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf).

If ranking the series, the instant classic “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) would be at the top, followed by “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989). “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008) are my least favorite, putting this one in the middle.

That’s what we have to factor in to how we enjoy this fifth film – our response to the previous four. When you hear that magnificent theme written by John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original, you are swept away again.

We can base this new adventure on our appreciation for the rip-roaring escapism, Ford as one of our national treasures, and the visionary minds that brought this classic throwback into our lives.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” can’t stand on its own merit without the others, but will have to suffice as a pleasant waltz down memory lane. And Ford reminds us of his famous line in ‘81: “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.”

Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones 5.

“”Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is a 2023 action-adventure directed by James Mangold and starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Karen Allen, Antonio Banderas and Boyd Holbrook. It is Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking and runs 2 hours, 34 minutes. It opens in theaters June 30. Lynn’s Grade: B-.

Harrison Ford Delivers in Uneven ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Finale

Harrison Ford Delivers in Uneven ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Finale

By Alex McPherson

With Harrison Ford lending emotional grandeur to an otherwise middling adventure, director James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” provides an acceptable finale for the iconic character.

Indy’s latest outing begins in the mid-1940s, with the end of World War II in sight, as a heavily de-aged Indy (always looking “off”) and his trusty academic pal Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) attempt to recover stolen artifacts from Nazis. After Indy escapes capture due a conveniently deployed airplane bomb and KOs plenty of the monstrous chaps, he races onto a train (after a dimly lit, CGI-reliant car/motorcycle chase) containing the Lance of Longinus — a blade supposedly containing traces of the blood of Christ — and an also-captured Basil. 

Among the evildoers is Nazi physicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelson), a nefarious soul aboard the train who’s in possession of one half of the Antikythera — a dial created by Archimedes that supposedly allows for time travel should both halves be combined. Bloodlessly bombastic violence ensues, concluding with a battle atop the train that results in Voller thwacking his head on a pole and Indy and Basil jumping into a lake below, Antikythera in hand.

Flash forward to 1969, and our titular hero is in dire straits. Grumbling around his messy New York City apartment after having recently separated from his wife, Marion (Karen Allen), and with his son, Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) out of the picture, Jones is a shell of his former self, lacking purpose and direction as he prepares to retire from teaching archaeology at Hunter College. The Apollo 11 astronauts have just returned home, and society is looking to the future, rather than the past that Jones has devoted his life to. He’s become a curmudgeon, lacking the adventurous spirit he once had, both due to his age and regrets that torment his psyche.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, he soon runs into Basil’s daughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who’s after the Antikythera and wants to continue Basil’s life’s work of finding the missing half (or so she initially claims: she’s a hardcore capitalist eager to make a buck). After tricking Indy, she runs off with the artifact, while also being pursued by the returning Voller and his cronies, including Shaunette Renée Wilson as a crooked CIA agent and Boyd Holbrook as a take-no-prisoners killer. 

Thus begins a globe-trotting romp from New York to Tangiers to Athens to Sicily, as Indy, Helena, and Helena’s youthful sidekick Teddy (Ethann Isidore) attempt to find the remaining half of the Antikythera before the Nazis get their hands on it and change the war’s outcome. Indy’s back for another go around, just like old times, with plenty of returning faces and fantastical shenanigans at play.

Indeed, “Dial of Destiny,” the franchise’s first installment without Steven Spielberg at the helm, leans hard into nostalgia at the expense of dramatic punch — although copious literal punches are thrown. Mangold’s film (at nearly 2.5 hours) is a strange beast: at once comforting in its embrace of old-fashioned thrills, but averse to taking any real risks with Indy himself. Ford’s soulful performance is still able to overcome the screenplay’s frustrating lack of focus, buoying what is otherwise a slightly-above-average experience featuring lackluster set-pieces and formulaic plotting.

A de-aged Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.

With his iconic whip, fedora, and witty remarks, Ford continues to excel in the role — conveying a wide range of emotions with lived-in gravitas. His portrayal deserves a stronger film to support it; we can see his sadness, guilt, and mournful reflection in pivotal scenes, along with his mischievous, daring old self bubbling back to the surface. Most everything between Indy’s scenes of introspection is fairly by-the-numbers — with little that stands out beyond a ludicrous conclusion, which, without spoiling anything, goes down a zany rabbit hole. It remains great to see Ford back in the saddle nevertheless.

While “Dial of Destiny” attempts to recapture the old-school thrill and “feel” of the series’ previous installments (complete with cameos, visual motifs, and eels taking the place of snakes), Mangold’s approach robs time from developing Indy as a character. Mangold’s reliance on nostalgia may well be the point, but reminding viewers (and Indy himself) of the series’ former glory shifts focus from the here-and-now: the antics in search of the dial (which could, theoretically, permit Indy to rectify wrongs in his own sad life) resort to familiar tropes and payoffs, neglecting to innovate on tradition to tell a consequential story about Indy’s place in the world today.

The film seemingly emphasizes the importance of not living in the past, but using remembrance as a means of personal growth. This might be meaningful to Indy, but the plot stemming from that idea is a workmanlike imitation on what’s come before — far from bad, but not making a lasting impact. 

Waller-Bridge, at least, shines as a brash, sarcastic, independent woman whose allegiances are often in question. She’s after the dial not only in the hopes of one day selling it for a boatload of cash, but also by a sense of wanting to continue her father’s lifelong work; the need to explore passed down from one generation to the next. By the end, her arc is a bit muddled, given her internal tug-of-war between cynicism and earnestness, but she’s still a worthy companion, and holds her own in the copious CGI-laden action sequences. Mikkelson’s Voller doesn’t stand out as particularly interesting, at no fault of the performance: he’s just a standard, franchise-typical baddie, accompanied by likewise generically sadistic goons.   

Speaking of action, the 80-year-old Ford obviously can’t do much stunt work nowadays, requiring computer wizardry to do the heavy lifting. It’s too bad the majority of sequences are so cartoonishly over-the-top and confusingly framed. Despite all the carnage on display (including during the intro, a horse chase through an NYC parade, and a frantic tuk-tuk pursuit through a Tangiers market), they’re often weightless, chaotic, and lacking the rhythm that Spielberg’s direction lent them, barring some amusing visual gags that remain a series staple. Yet again, “Dial of Destiny” tries to live in the past, altering reality to present scenarios that would likely have worked better in the animation medium altogether.

It’s a testament to Mangold’s competency and Indy’s sheer likability that “Dial of Destiny” is still an enjoyable watch regardless of issues. John Williams’ score delivers the goods (as always), and Mangold’s stylistic tributes to Spielberg give the film energy even when the story comes up short. Combined with Ford’s exceptional performance and fan service callbacks, “Dial of Destiny” is worth watching, if not something that significantly adds to the adventurer’s legacy.

“”Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is a 2023 action-adventure directed by James Mangold and starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelson, Karen Allen, Antonio Banderas and Boyd Holbrook. It is Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking and runs 2 hours, 34 minutes. It opens in theaters June 30. Alex’s Grade: B-.