Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – It’s Certainly a Finale

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – It’s… fine.

Fans, audience members, and critics can be a fickle bunch, especially in regards to franchises.  From Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and many, many more; all of these groups love and hate various different aspects of them.  However, one franchise which seems to have people in unanimous agreement is Indiana Jones.  This agreement comes down to one simple fact, these films ended perfectly with The Last Crusade.  An iconic hero rode off into the sunset.  Then, years later, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released.  While not a terrible film, this movie is loathed by many, and most everyone, including those more sympathetic to the fourth outing, agree that Last Crusade should’ve been the last one.

Now, with Dial of Destiny, once again these sentiments are being expressed, almost more now than ever before.  This isn’t to say Dial of Destiny has no redeeming qualities.  In many ways, it is an improvement over the fourth outing, with improved effects, a stellar opening, and a happy enough ending.  In others, however, it’s utterly safe, predictable, a begs the question, did this really need to exist?

Elements of Promise

It should be stated that the first twenty minutes of the film are easily the best part.  The de-aging of Harrison Ford is very impressive.  Set towards the end of World War 2, recovering artifacts from Nazis, and the action is fast and frantic.  Simply put, it feels as though one is watching a lost Indiana Jones film from a different timeline.

This isn’t to say that the rest of the film doesn’t have highlights.  The action set in the ‘present time’ is surprisingly well done.  Harrison Ford puts his all into this older Jones, and in many ways he gives his most emotional, reflective performance.  This Jones has seen it all, been through tragedy, and is a hero out of time.  In many ways, it’s hard to see such an iconic hero in such a weary state.  However, it’s for this premise that the film ends on a surprisingly tender note, calling back to the first film in a rather resonant way.  Mads Mikkelsen, of course, gives his all as villain Jurgen Voller.  And while Indiana Jones and CGI have a mixed history, the years of progress since Crystal Skull do help this film look visually beautiful.

Safe, Sound, and Sigh-worthy

As previously stated, Dial of Destiny still has various aspects which hold it back.  Newcomer character Helena Shaw(Phoebe Waller-Bridge), in many respects acts in the same way that Mutt did in Crystal Skull; a youthful character to pick up for the aging Jones, and potentially carry the franchise forward. Unfortunately, Helena is just as successful as Mutt, which is to say not very.

While Mutt struggled due in part to Shia LaBeouf’s performance, Helena is written in such a way which makes her unbearably annoying and at times a sociopath.  Almost constantly belittling Indy, getting people killed with few regrets, and putting many people actively in danger, it made many in the theater dislike her more than the villain at times.  While there is some attempt to give her an arc of learning from Indy and improving as a person, this change comes so far late into the film, that it becomes too little, too late.

At least, however, it got an emotional response.  Most of this film is strangely safe, and at times, boring.  A lot of the action and scenes have been done not just in this series, but in other films.  Comparatively, while the action scenes are well made, there is a slow, meandering pace to them.  Part of it may be due to Indy’s(and by extension Ford’s) old age, but there is a slowness to the action which makes it hard to get invested in.  Say what you will about Crystal Skull, but that movie had so many unique ideas for the franchise.  In that regard, it makes Crystal Skull easier to remember.  Walking out of Dial of Destiny, outside of the beginning, ending, and a few small instances, I struggled to remember much about this film.

A Fine Finale

Walking out of Dial of Destiny, everyone in the theater said the same thing.  This movie exists.  It is overall a mixed bag, with some strong points, some weak points, but is overall just average.  Yet as the final film in a beloved franchise, and in an era of franchises providing increasingly safe and predictable franchise films, average isn’t enough any more.  Still, this film does nail the most important part, the ending.  It’s a happy enough ending, and I was happy to see it for that alone.  Hopefully, Lucasfilm sticks to its word, and let’s have Indiana Jones end here.

FINAL RATING – 6/10

Check out Indiana Jones on Disney +.  Get your tickets for Dial of Destiny here.