Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is not Raiders of the Lost Ark or Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. But neither is it Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The action begins back in 1944 with Indy and his partner, Basil (Toby Jones), about to be killed by the Nazis. Director James Mangold uses de-aging technology to put a 45-year-old Indy on the screen…convincingly! The Nazis and Indy end up fighting over the Archimedes Antikythera, a device with awesome powers. Much of that fighting ends up on the top of a moving train.
The plot fast-forwards to 1969 where a 70 something Indy is teaching at a college in NYC. The students are bored and Indy is both bitter and detached. His wife, Marion (Karen Allen), has left Indy and after teaching that class, there’s a surprise retirement party. And, there’s also another surprise. Indy’s godchild, Basil’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), shows up to kick the plot into high gear. She, and a group of neo-Nazis led by Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), want the Archimedes Antikythera. But, for different reasons. Helena wants to sell it because she’s in debt. Voller wants to use it to bring the Nazis back to power.
Helena and the Nazis bring Indy back to life and the chase for the Archimedes Antikythera moves to Tangier where one of the best chase scenes in the Indy series takes place. Indy chases the Nazis in a rickshaw while local gangsters join the mix.
Indy and Helena finally stop fighting and start to work together to decipher the clues to the whereabouts of the Archimedes Antikythera with the Nazis close behind. The conclusion holds a surprise I did not see coming!
Sure, there’s a lot of nostalgia in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny but I think Harrison Ford has finally put his whip and hat down. GRADE: B
At least one (easy) joke runs INDIANA JONES AND THE VIAL OF BEN-GAY…glad you have a good time, if not a great one.
Todd, the two aspects of INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY that stunned me was the anti-aging CGI at the beginning of the movie, and the shocking conclusion.
I’ll probably pass on this one until it goes to Blu-ray. The ads with the CGI of Ford galloping a horse down Broadway look ludicrous. But I suppose any movie reminding the public that the Nazis were an abomination is a good thing. Ford is one of the few actors still working (and one less now, with Alan Arkin gone) whose career goes back to the days of THE MOD SQUAD, THE VIRGINIAN, and ZABRISKIE POINT.
Fred, I’m glad Harrison Ford/Indy is going out with INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY instead of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull .
But no BARBIE, alas. (Unless maybe they threw in Klaus Barbie.)
Jerry, no BARBIE or Klaus Barbie, but there are plenty of evil Nazis in this movie!
I will probably see it having a bit of the completest in me. But only at a theater. Funny there are movies I only watch at a theater and ones I only watch at home.
Patti, I agree with you. INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY should be seen on the Big Screen. Let me know what you think of the anti-aging technology they used to turn Harrison Ford into a 45-year old.
Yes, it’s a big screen movie, but we’re going to pass until it comes to cable/streaming.
So, no mention of Mr. LaBoeuf, then? At least there’s that.
Jeff, Mr. LaBoeuf seems to have ended up like Jar-Jar Binks!
I will probably see it this week. I’ll pass on Barbie but I am looking forward to Oppenheimer.
Steve, because they are being released at the same time, there are plenty of internet memes about BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER as a double feature!
Jerry, I’m going to make a bold prediction that BARBIE’s Box Office with be larger than OPPENHEIMER’s.
Steve, I’m looking forward to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I!
I won’t be seeing it, but got to give them credit for using the Antikythera Mechanism as the MacGuffin. Brilliant!
Art, the Antikythera Mechanism looks very cool…and has some awesome powers!