James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is innocuous summer entertainment full of cliffhangers and hairbreadth escapes—but for all of its expensive spectacle, the film is just decent. The final entry in the wildly popular movie franchise starring Harrison Ford (and the only one Steven Spielberg didn’t direct) recaps many familiar notes from Indy’s earlier adventures, but it’s overlong and lacks the skill and boyish enthusiasm that Spielberg brought to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In the action-packed World War II-era opening, we find Dr. Jones (a CG de-aged Ford) and his colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) stealing half of a priceless artifact, Archimedes’ Antikythera, from Nazi scientist Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). The story then picks up in 1969, where aging Professor Jones is retiring, facing divorce, and coping with his son’s death in Vietnam. Shaw’s daughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), turns up seeking the Antikythera, with Voller and his henchmen close behind. Outwardly, Voller is a Wernher von Braun-like contributor to America’s space program, but secretly he is a committed Nazi with despicable plans involving the Antikythera. Helena, meanwhile, is illicitly dealing artifacts and wants to hock the device for fast cash.
What follows is essentially everything audiences expect from an Indiana Jones adventure. We get countless reworked versions of major scenes, characters, and tropes from throughout the series: a feisty, two-fisted heroine; a wisecracking hustler kid sidekick; relentless chase scenes; the Wilhelm Scream; crawly bugs swarming over the heroes; ad infinitum. Despite its derivative nature, it’s still superior to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and is mercifully devoid of Shia LaBeouf, monkeys, and the general ridiculousness that undercut that film.
The Indiana Jones stories were always meant to be fun pulp a la the Republic movie serials, and Dial of Destiny generally adheres to that tone. It frequently shines in the comic beats where Indy finds himself—as usual—in over his head, further exacerbated by his advanced age. He’s still “making it up as he goes along,” as he once said, and his scrapes get truly funny. But at certain key points, the film’s plot, which already knowingly strains audiences’ credulity, pushes it too far and becomes downright ludicrous.
Fortunately, glaring examples of this don’t spoil the fun and there are several genuinely inventive scenes, which include spoilers. Meanwhile, John Williams’ instantly recognizable music properly sets the rousing tone, and the costumes and production design are well done. The CG effects, including the de-aging, are mostly convincing.
The cast is capable, including Ford, Waller-Bridge, Jones, and Antonio Banderas in a brief part. Always reliable, Mikkelsen gives his all with his clichéd Nazi villain. John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen both make very welcome appearances, reprising their roles as Sallah and Marion Ravenwood, respectively. But did they have to demote Sallah to working as a New York cabbie?
In general, Dial of Destiny offers enjoyable escapism, with a bittersweet, nostalgic undercurrent that reminds us how endearing Indy is. Even if Ford has aged, watching him wipe out Nazis by the dozen is agelessly entertaining, however it’s time to hang up the fedora and whip. Though this final Indiana Jones movie is no masterpiece, at least Ford is going out on a pretty respectable note.
