Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a great send-off to our aging and beloved archaeologist. Though Dial of Destiny has some minor flaws, the film is too much fun to dismiss.

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"There was room for one more story and that story was the one that dealt with age, time, and relationships in his family."
— Harrison Ford

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Dial of Destiny is an old-fashioned, rousing adventure that holds the spirit of past Indy films. Plus, Harrison Ford gives a franchise-best performance in the role he was born to play. Dial of Destiny will be the final appearance for our whip-slinging archaeologist, played by the legendary Harrison Ford. Ford has been Indy since 1981 when the first and best film (Raiders of the Lost Ark) came out. Forty-two years later and five feature films of grand ole adventures — four films directed by Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). James Mangold (Logan and Ford v Ferrari) took up the helm for this latest picture, and overall, Mangold did a pretty good job. Dial of Destiny lacks the "Spielberg magic" that was captured in the previous four films. However, Mangold's picture is still a satisfying and heartfelt watch. Plus, John Williams' score is perfection.

So, the year is 1969: Marion Ravenwood (the wonderful Karen Allen) has left Indy, NASA is getting ready to send a man to the moon, the Nazis are working to relocate the Dial, and Indy is getting ready to retire from teaching. Cue Indy's charismatic goddaughter (a fun Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who leaps in and gets Indy and Jürgen Voller (a sly Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi who works for NASA, tangled back up with the Archimedes' Dial (an Antikythera mechanism). A new adventure that sends our batch of heroes and foes through the streets of New York City to the city of Tangier to the caves of Sicily. Dial of Destiny also showcases a 20-minute opening sequence of a younger digitally de-aged Ford fighting Nazis in the French Alps of 1944. I enjoyed this opening sequence, but I completely understand people not liking it due to the overuse of de-aging. It's a little distracting, but I got used to it, and Ford's performance is welcoming. Ford packs in an emotional punch during the film's 154-minute runtime, while Mangold honors the legacy of this franchise.

"...knitting the whole thing together just a little bit more, and feeling a kind of roundness in all of the different stories we've told. I'm more comfortable leaving him at this place than he was at the end of Crystal Skull." — Ford

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Certain action sequences were messy — including the tuk-tuk chase sequence in Tangier. However, the film never loses that sense of fun or entertainment. Dial of Destiny might not rise to the level of art that Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Last Crusade did, nor does it have to. In the end, we get to see our favorite archaeologist one more time on the big screen with a worthy send-off that tips its hat to the audience. One thing I did appreciate about this movie was how it dealt with an aging hero. Ford is now 81 years old, and this film tackles the pains of getting older and how some nostalgia is not good. Our heroes and villains discover that some things are meant to be left in the past. Lastly, this film had no right having a budget of $300 million. Nothing can justify that bloat, and unfortunately, it hurt this movie at the box office.

Dial of Destiny opened domestically with $60.4 million, which would have been good for a 42-year franchise. Yet, you stack that opening to a $300 million budget, and you are in trouble. As of today, Dial of Destiny has grossed $159 million domestically and $176 internationally for a worldwide total of $335 million. Sadly, because the budget was so large, this deems Dial of Destiny as a box office bomb. Other summer films (Fast X, The Flash, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) are finding out the hard way with ginormous budgets and lackluster results at the box office. Studios need to learn that the sky is not the limit when it comes to a film's budget. Nevertheless, do not let that stop you from seeing Dial of Destiny in the theaters. There is still time to see our beloved Indiana Jones on the big screen one more time. 

"Thanks for putting up with me, I hope you've had a good time… I sure have." — Ford

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Want to hear more of my thoughts about Dial of Destiny? I spoke with my good friends Matt and Ashley (Mashley at the Movies) about Harrison Ford's final adventure. Click Here.

Here's my final Indiana Jones films ranking via Letterboxd. Click Here.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned) For Language | Action | Sequences of Violence | Smoking.

Directed by James Mangold

Starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen.