Well, we’ve made it to the end of our journey and, in spaces like Twitter and Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus seems like a mixed bag. I do want to preface this piece by saying that I wish I would have had the opportunity to watch this film again before giving my overall thoughts. Lately, movies that I went to the theater to see would leave me with a reaction of “meh.” But upon a second viewing at home, I would find that I enjoyed it much more. While some of that can easily be the fault of the movie, I’ve also had a beef with the theaters I have to attend. But that’s a tale for another day. In any case, I feel that one viewing is hardly enough to give a solid opinion. So, consider these my initial thoughts.
Kicking the movie off in Germany circa 1944 was kind of neat. I say “kinda” because while it was a return to something familiar, this is fan service at the highest level. It’s like saying, “You memba this?” Yeah, I do. I’ve seen the previous films. This whole sequence could have nothing more than a lost adventure that, in the wrong hands, could have had zero to do with the plot. Luckily, Mangold ensured it was integral to the plot.
Let’s talk about James Mangold for a second. The man has at least 15 films under his belt, and while I haven’t seen every single one of them, the ones I have seen are pretty solid flicks. Cop Land, Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Ford vs. Ferrari: all solid. Hell, even Kate & Leopold has a wonderful charm about it and is the first pairing of Mangold and Hugh Jackman. That led to the duo teaming up for the Wolverine and then Logan, with the latter no doubt being the reason Disney approached him for the Dial of Destiny.
Initially, it has been reported that Mangold said “no” when offered the project. It seems the script they handed him needed quite a bit of work, yet they wanted him to start filming immediately. I guess for one brief moment, a studio executive thought that taking time to do it right would be the smart move. If only they could think like that more often… but they won’t.
In this opening sequence, I expected there to be a bit of dodgy effects work when it came to de-aging Harrison Ford. Rarely has it looked flawless in a film. Although, I can’t remember a flawed image of Samuel L. Jackson’s face in Captain Marvel… or even Secret Invasion. But he’s not eighty years old and from what I’ve been told, “black don’t crack.” I wasn’t even all that bothered by his voice, even though you KNOW they could have easily de-aged that no problem. But there’s the occasional glimpse of something off that can take you out of the movie at times, and it’s a distraction I could do without. In any case, I suppose they did their best. But in my humble opinion, if you can’t nail it, don’t do it.
Speaking of Harrison Ford, you have to applaud the man’s commitment to this character. Of all the characters he’s portrayed over film and television, this is the one he loves the most. While “old man” Indy could have felt untrue to the character, Ford finds a way to ease back into the role and play him at a ripe old age, while adding some deep pathos to the character that the previous film missed the mark on. But we’ll get to that.
Toby Jones is always a welcome sight in films, here playing Basil Shaw, an old colleague of Dr. Jones. He plays the character to a tee with his quest for the Antikythera seeming innocent at first until it spirals out of control which creates an interesting dichotomy for the story. Mads Mikkelsen is another fantastic actor who does a great job in this film as Jürgen Voller, a character loosely based on Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi who DID work for NASA and resided in Alabama. Thank goodness that guy wasn’t plotting anything as nefarious as Voller.
When we reach the present (but the past to us), Old Man Henry is teaching at what looks to be a different college. I wondered about this transition and relayed it back to the previous film where he had been fired because of all that “communist sympathizer” crap he got saddled with because of the Agent Janitor. We never SAW him be cleared of anything, nor did we see him be reinstated. Therefore, we can only assume he could only find work as a teacher in a lesser public university like Hunter College. I find it adds some intriguing layers to the missing time between films.
Eventually, Indy is approached by Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the daughter of Basil Shaw, who is looking for the Antikythera. I’ve always heard massive praise thrown upon Phoebe Waller-Bridge for her show Fleabag, amongst other performances. However, I think this is the first film I’ve actually SEEN her in. I’ve seen movies she’s provided voices for but not acted in. So, seeing how this could be my first introduction to her as a physical actress, I think she’s pretty good. I feel like the role of Helena was written with her in mind, because she feels right for it.
It became apparent after the scene with Indy and Helena discussing her desire to find the Antikythera, that the story was reflecting parallels. The line Indy says about chasing her father’s obsession rang very true about Indy. The same with Helena’s treasure hunting goals of fortune and glory, not having reached Indy’s point of understanding the true value of these artifacts.
When the… I guess, Neo-Nazis… come looking for the Antikythera, this leads to one of MANY chase scenes in this film. While thrilling, the face swap effects were, at times, a bit wonky. And this didn’t make sense to me. Why go out of your way to shoot a scene where you HAVE to add a face swap effect versus blocking the scene differently and maybe editing around it? I know we have the technology to do it now, but that doesn’t mean you have to. So many action films of the past, you know like the first three entries of this series, found ways around showing the face of the stunt double and did it with great effect.
I loved seeing Sallah again, even if it was nothing more than a cameo. John Rhys-Davies is always a delight, and the few scenes we got of him added some interesting layers to his backstory as well which was nice.
When Indy gets to Tangier to confront Helena, he also encounters Voller whom he thought to be dead after what seemed to be a very definitive death. HOWEVER, two VFX supervisors for the film came forward to explain how in the actual hell Voller took a pole to the face, knocking him off a train and surviving. Well, it seems the object in question that Voller was smacked with was a lightweight water hose used for steam engines, therefore the impact would have enough to knock him off but do no damage… even though he fell off a moving train which could… I don’t know…break your legs or many other bones in your body… just saying. In any case, it’s meant to be a bit of a surprise.
It’s also in this scene we are introduced to Teddy, which is Helena’s Short Round, another character parallel. While the actor who played Teddy, Ethann Isidore, did a fine job, I didn’t feel like his character’s presence was absolutely necessary. While a few script tweaks, he could have been completely written out, and it wouldn’t have hurt the film at all. But again: parallels.
During the next fetch quest for the tablet that will lead them to the other piece of the dial, Indy meets up with his old friend Renaldo, played by Antonio Banderas. Here was a new character I would have loved to see more of just because of Banderas. His appearance is a glorified cameo that’s welcome but disappointing at the same time. Maybe he’s not that fascinating but come on… it’s Antonio Banderas.
This sequence also gives us what I would call one of the most emotionally gut-wrenching scenes in any of the Indiana Jones films. Early on, we learn that Indy and Marion are estranged but not given much context. When Indy is on the run, a newscast mentions his “late” son which I thought would be the end of mentioning the character of Mutt. Instead, they go a step further and explore the relationship Indy and Mutt had as father and son that led Mutt to serve in Vietnam, which led to his untimely death. That then leads to an emotional divide between Indy and Marion, and Indy wants nothing more than to fix that, believing the Antikythera might be the answer. It’s the most broken we’ve ever seen this man before.
Eels. Why did it have to be eels? I never thought about what this film’s creepy crawly would be. Eels were a fun choice. It’s practically an ocean snake. The tomb of Archimedes felt like classic Indy.
The third act of the film is where I’m struggling the most with the film. As I said in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, SHOWING the aliens, oh excuse me interdimensional beings, felt like a step too far. With the religious artifacts and even the Sankara stones, there was this level of ambiguity where you kind of understood the power behind it, but couldn’t quite explain it. With interdimensional beings, there was zero ambiguity. Here, I was thinking maybe something would have occurred that would have maybe sent someone back in time, but we never actually SEE it happen. That, in turn, would have explained the whirlybirds on the coffin, and the watch on the body.
Perhaps certain stories in extended Indy media have gone this extra step beyond being ambiguous, and therefore it doesn’t feel like a stretch for some. I know he fought Dracula or some shit in the Young Indy Chronicles. For me and my enjoyment, that’s always been the fun hook. Not quite knowing and always searching for the truth. That being said, I can see how Indy actually traveling back in time and meeting Archimedes could be like a full circle moment for the character himself. Over time, I may warm up to this idea.
Unlike Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I was genuinely surprised to see Marion at the end. I was hoping we would but didn’t expect to, which was nice. And I absolutely adored their interaction playing on the classic scene from Raiders. That felt like an appropriate capper for them mending fences.
John Williams returned to score Indy one final time, with these compositions feeling much more refreshed than last time. I was concerned early on in the film after hearing a reprise of “On the Tank” from the Last Crusade during the bike chase to the train. Luckily, it was just a nice callback. That being said, none of the compositions stood out to me as being something iconic. Something that will be remembered years down the line. The original three films have several of those compositions. Crystal Skull had zero. The closest this one has is maybe Helena’s theme but if you played me several tracks from the film blind, I don’t know if I would be able to identify it. In any case, it was nice to have him back for one more ride.
The first review I read for the Dial of Destiny gave the film a 4 out of 10. It concerned me going in, but I choose not to take reviews as gospel. They’re someone else’s opinion. Many of our contributors and listeners may love it or absolutely loathe it. And their opinions are equally valid. For me, James Mangold pulled off something that, in different hands, could have been much worse. While it’s not on the same level any entry in the original trilogy, I feel it’s a much more fitting epilogue for Indiana Jones than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I hope that I will warm up to it even further when it I watch it again in the comfort of my own home.
Pencil & Paper Productions 