In 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones laments, “it’s not the years, it’s the mileage” as Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood patches up his wounds amidst his latest dangerous and exciting adventure. Over forty years after the iconic hero’s introduction, Ford returns to the franchise with director James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Release Date: June 30, 2023
Directed By: James Mangold
Written By: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and James Mangold
Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking
Runtime: 154 minutes
Premiering in theaters a few weeks shy of the actor’s 81st birthday, the years are exactly what Indy is grappling with this time around. And, despite the fifth installment opening with a de-aged Dr. Jones sprinting into action on top of a train, his final adventure beautifully embraces the beloved character as an old man wrestling with retirement – including the wear that comes with it.
Indiana Jones could have been left well enough alone in the ‘80s with Steven Spielberg’s near-perfect original trilogy, but “fortune and glory, kid, fortune and glory.” Fifteen years following Kingdom and the Crystal Skull stumbled a bit on Indy’s legacy for the masses, Dial of Destiny is a welcome final trip down memory lane for Harrison Ford. The movie most notably closes out the franchise with a sentimentality we’d otherwise never had seen enough of from such a larger-than-life movie figure like the star, and it’s a powerful thing to see such a timeless character like Indiana Jones confront mortality, because goodness knows, all the rest of us have to.
Harrison Ford gives a spectacular performance as a more seasoned Indiana Jones.
Let’s be honest here: one wouldn’t think you’d want to see this character as a senior citizen, but Harrison Ford absolutely takes over the task with pride, humanity and his usual whip-smart charisma. Dial Of Destiny follows Dr. Jones as he says goodbye to his long tenure as a college professor in 1969, the same year as the moon landing. Just as he’s downing a whiskey by his lonesome to celebrate the end of his working life, his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe-Waller Bridge) unexpectedly pays him a visit. Her aim is to entice him into one more mission to truly cap off his career in archeology. In great Indy movie fashion, he doesn’t exactly accept a mission or straightforward plan, he just suddenly becomes thrust into the middle of it.
The character study of Indiana Jones at this particular time in his life comes with riches of opportunities for Harrison Ford to build on his most famous character in ways that are satisfying and even thought-provoking. Throughout the adventure, Dial of Destiny explores the consequences of chasing the past and its great treasures to the cost of life’s great treasures.
James Mangold finds a sweet spot between grounding our hero and allowing the movie to be (almost) as thrilling as previous installments. While Harrison Ford is definitely not jumping onto numerous moving vehicles or getting into any big fist fights, there are certainly enough action-packed moments to go around. Throughout the movie, there’s tons of great, nostalgic hat-tips between the dialogue contextualizing Indiana Jones history and the story structure taking cues from the franchise itself. It can get all too redundant and referential, but there’s something particularly great about it somewhat keeping its ‘80s flair intact, and not going as dark and gruesome as Mangold went for Logan.
The addition of Phoebe Waller-Bridge brings a welcome and fresh perspective to the franchise.
There’s long been talk about whether the casting of Phoebe Waller-Bridge means she’ll be the “next Indiana Jones.” The answer to that question was perfectly echoed by Harrison Ford in a 2019 interview with Today, where he said “Nobody is going to be Indiana Jones, don’t you get it? When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy.” This movie very much underlines that sentiment, including with the addition of Waller-Bridge’s fantastic character, who brings an new dynamic to the franchise without stepping on Indy’s glowing spotlight. Without spoiling the lovely twists and turns that comes with meeting and knowing Helena, she’s now up there among the best righthand women to be with the hero on an adventure.
The same enthusiasm cannot be shared for all the supporting players in Dial of Destiny. Antonio Banderas plays a vastly underwhelming character, and the appearance of John Rhys-Davies’ Sallah feels like a device for nostalgia. Mads Mikkelsen’s Dr. Voller is an intriguing but not a particularly original villain for the franchise, which is forgivable given his plot fits right into Dial of Destiny’s own motives to cap off Indiana Jones’ big-screen tenure in a poetic and (a tad ironic way).
The Dial Of Destiny doesn’t live up to the original trilogy, but it doesn’t have to.
All and all, Dial of Destiny feels most like an ode to the franchise and sweet fanfare for the eponymous character after the upheaval reaction of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. No, it’s still not as great as the chapters in Steven Spielberg’s trilogy, and it’s less of a necessary conclusion or big swing for the franchise as it is a welcome additional chapter.
There’s elements in this installment that we could only get in 2023 at this point in time in Harrison Ford’s life as Indiana Jones, and it’s worthwhile to experience. We’ve seen the glory days, and this time we get to explore what happens once they’re over. And, you’ve likely never cried before in an Indiana Jones movie, but Dial of Destiny might very well be the one where you do.
