Has it really been 42 years since the first "Indiana Jones" film?
It's hard to believe but, yes, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas unleashed "Raiders of the Lost Ark" way back in 1981. Since then, four sequels were made. "Temple of Doom" was OK. "The Last Crusade" with Sean Connery playing Indy's father was wonderful, and the disappointing "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is something I would just rather forget like a bad dream. That last film was released in 2008 and, although there was always talk that there would be another "Indiana Jones" film with Harrison Ford, it was constantly being pushed back, re-written or delayed. And all that time, the clock was ticking. Ford turned 80 in 2022. Would this even work? Well, now we have "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" and audiences can deliver their verdict.
This time out, Spielberg opted not to direct and handed over the reins to the talented James Mangold, whose credits include "Walk the Line" and "Knight and Day." Mangold co-wrote the script with David Koepp ("Jurassic Park," "Spiderman") and his previous collaborators, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth ("Ford v Ferrari").
The movie begins in 1944 Europe during World War II. The retreating Nazis are preparing to take a train full of priceless artifacts back to Germany, including one item that Hitler desperately wants. Naturally, Indiana Jones is trying to stop them but finds himself captured and tied up. We quickly get our first glance of Harrison Ford and the much-talked-about digital de-aging process that was designed to make him look 40 years younger. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much, but this technology looks flawless and is incredibly impressive. And it's not utilized for just a few shots: The opening sequence, which includes a big chase and fight on board a moving train, is 25 minutes long and it all works. These early scenes also introduce the movie's main villain – a German astrophysicist played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen ("Casino Royale").
The story then fast-forwards to 1969 New York, where the city is about to hold a parade for the returning Apollo 11 astronauts. Dr. Jones is still a professor but is now an old man who complains about noisy neighbors and is depressed about his failed marriage.
His life starts to get very interesting when he's paid a visit by his goddaughter, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge from the TV series "Fleabag." She's looking for an artifact that her late father (and a colleague of Dr. Jones) was obsessed with: the Archimedes Dial. Their quest takes them on a frantic search all over the globe and includes pursuing villains as well as encounters with some old friends (like a very slimmed-down John Rhys-Davies from the first and third films).
The two-hour-and-22-minute film features a fair amount of CGI effects but doesn't go as far overboard with them as "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" did. One of the impressive aspects of the first three films in the series was that many of the visual effects were practical, in that it really was a person performing a stunt and not a green screen effect. Mangold has found a happy medium between utilizing the two methods.
The casting here was excellent. Waller-Bridge successfully walks that fine line where you like her character but don't completely trust her. Mikkelsen has mastered playing menacing bad guys without going over the top, while young Ethan Isidore is engaging as a street kid whom Waller-Bridge's character has made a junior partner. Antonio Banderas also shows up as an old friend of Dr. Jones, but it's really not much more than an extended cameo.
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" contains callbacks to the previous films, features a few unexpected twists and big revelations, and delivers some very emotional moments.
I would call it the third-best film in the series after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Last Crusade."
Ford has made it clear that this will be his last time playing Indiana Jones and has ended that run with a wonderful performance. He has certainly earned the right to take a well-deserved bow for creating such an iconic and loved character.
Rated PG-13
4 stars out of 5
Now in theaters