Went into the new Indy film with excitement and trepidation. Excitement because I loved these movies growing up in the 80s, and trepidation because old Indy is now, well, old, with Harrison Ford turning 81 next week. Unlike many, I didn’t hate 2008’s The Crystal Skull; it was no Raiders or Last Crusade, but it was alright. Unfortunately that’s all I can say for The Dial of Destiny too.
The film begins with a (rather long) introduction in 1944, when Indiana Jones is battling his longtime nemesis, those pesky nazis. A German scientist named Voller (the always great Mads Mikkelsen) has found half of famous Greek Archimedes’ mythical Dial, but Indiana and his friend Shaw are able to wrest it away and make their escape. In present day (which is 1969 in the film), Voller has changed his identity and has recently helped the USA put a man on the moon, but he has not given up hope of finding the dial again. His ultimate goal is to use its power, supposedly to go through time, and go back and change the outcome of World War II.
Indiana is now a crotchety old man, struggling to make his students or archaeology excited about the past, when all they care about is the future. He is visited by Shaw’s daughter Helena, who wants to get her hands on the dial too, but only to sell it. She has not followed in her deceased father’s footsteps, and is basically a trumped up thief. She knows her father gave the dial to Indy before he died, so she wants it, and shows up just as Voller and his fellow nazi sympathizers zone in on Indiana Jones too. What follows is an adventure across the world, taking Indy and Helena to Tangier, Greece, and Sicily, combing through caves, ruins, and even to the bottom of the sea.
The film is ok, and by that, I mean just ok. For a film series that features the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, this movie makes you check your credibility at the door. There are far too many wild chances that come to take place, too many scenes are a little too perfect, even for Hollywood. And Helena, God bless her, is not only one-sided, but annoying too. They try to paint her as a powerful woman who doesn’t need to be rescued like the women in past Indiana Jones movies, but it doesn’t work. The best scenes in the movie are when Indiana is putting together clues while on his hunt, which is still just as good as it’s ever been, but otherwise the movie feels long and, what’s worse, even boring at times. I think it is finally time to let this version of Indiana Jones rest. If they want to reboot it in the future with fresh ideas and a new young character (may be sacrilege to even think that, but maybe in a TV series?), that may yield better results. ★★½
Jons Movie Takes 