Film: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

 

GENRE: Action Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence, language and smoking
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 34 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Bladerunner, Presumed Innocent)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag); Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale)
DIRECTOR: James Mangold (Logan, Ford v Ferrari, Knight and Day)
WRITERS: Mangold (Walk the Line), David Koepp (Indy 4, The Mummy),
Jez Butterworth (Spectre), John Henry Butterworth (Edge of Tomorrow)
PLOT: Indiana Jones and his goddaughter try to find an artifact that can change the course of history.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: I love Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.

STORY STUFF: There are a bunch of hits and misses when it comes to the story. The name of the artifact is lame but I did like the connection to Archimedes (very Alias-like). The pacing of the film is pretty good with some great action sequences throughout. I wish there was more problem-solving moments like in Crusade and even Crystal Skull. I liked the goddaughter stuff even though it might not be for everyone. Indiana Jones films always requires a high level of suspension of disbelief; this one packs a doozy. I was annoyed by some flagrant continuity issues. One of the day shift is practically Ed Wood worthy. There’s also something broken that is magically repaired. I like a good chase scene and there’s a good one in Tangiers but how these vehicles catch up to each other is downright ludicrous. But I’m still along for the adventure.    

ACTING STUFF: Harrison Ford is legendary and continues to shine as Indiana Jones. I enjoyed the snarkiness of Waller-Bridge. Mikkelsen always has a commanding presence as the bad guy. His henchmen are terrible though: one is just trigger-happy and the other is so cartoonishly big, he almost looks CGI. Fun to see John Rhys-Davies as Sallah again but he is looking mighty old. Enjoyed Toby Jones and Antonio Banderas lending a hand as well.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Mangold makes a mistake right off the bat. The Paramount logo needs to be incorporated into the first shot; it’s tradition. I was happy that the CGI wasn’t as noticeable in this film like Crystal Skull (still annoyed with that monkey scene). I’m very okay with de-aging Ford for a chunk as it’s necessary. The distance running on the train was a bit much but most of the effects looked rugged and practical. I wish Mikklesen’s character had a cool scar on his face or something (I thought they were setting that up in the beginning but then nothing.) The location stuff was great including an underwater sequence. The music by John Williams continues to inspire, so much so that the theatre lights wouldn’t turn on until the main theme was done as the end of the film.     

VERDICT: Three and a half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You like Indiana Jones and want some fun despite mistakes.
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One