Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

For me - and I suspect many others - the highpoint of Indiana Jones are Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The latter is my outright favorite by a hair but those two are the "gold standard". 

Temple of Doom is often looked at as the lesser of the original trilogy, which held up against classics is true, but it's still one hell of a ride in its own right. 

Recently, I revisited Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - a film I remember outright hating upon watching it at a midnight viewing many years ago. Outside of a near-perfect opener ("nuking the fridge" segment is actually entertaining as hell) the film is a ugly-AF middling adventure that doesn't have much fun and has about as bad of CGI as I've seen in some time. Comparatively, it's the weakest of the series by a large margin. 

So color me saddened when Dial of Destiny began getting even worse reviews than Crystal Skull. Could that be true? Was this a soulless cash-grab? I entered my showing - about half full on a Thursday night - feeling like I was potentially there more out of obligation than desire. It's a feeling I've tried to avoid in this hobby where my time is more limited (and is a perfect explanation for why I've skipped films like the newest Transformers this year). 

I feel like I must have watched a completely different film than the mainstream critics. I won't go into a tirade about them being snobs, but Dial of Destiny is a thoroughly entertaining time and a fantastic Indiana Jones adventure. It leaves Crystal Skull in the dust just by looking way better (not to mention many other factors) and while it doesn't reach the near-impossible "gold standard" from Raiders and Crusade, I genuinely think it sits alongside Temple of Doom in quality. I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it and just how much I disagree with the critic consensus on this one. 

For starters, this feels like an Indiana Jones film. Crystal Skull struggled to achieve that throughout and while this may not be directed by Spielberg, it's directed by James Mangold who does an excellent job both making it his own and mimicking some of the old Spielberg style we get in the original trilogy. Editing and cinematography are both solid and dear Lord, does this film actually look great. Not only is the CGI very good most of the time, there are moments where it's shockingly gorgeous. A chase through a moon-landing parade comes to mind, with red, white, and blue confetti flittering in the air. It looks and feels like classic Indiana Jones with superb special effects. 

"No, for the 100th time, I haven't seen Fleabag!"

This adventure is worthwhile too. I've always positioned that the success of any given Indiana Jones film depends on the artifact that is being chased and the pattern seems to be in favor of the odd-numbered films. In Dial of Destiny, I f**king loved this artifact and the history behind it. It leads to perhaps the most bonkers ending in any Indiana Jones and I was 100% here for it, though I could see how it may be divisive. The chase and hunt of the artifact is pretty standard overall, with lots of peril, bad guys, and cat-and-mouse in between. In that regard Dial of Destiny is a tad formulaic, but really, so are all the films in this series. 

There's also a lot to love with the character of Indiana Jones. It doesn't ever dive as deep as it wants to into Harrison Ford's aged, iconic hero, but there's enough to better understand Indy's psyche without his age just being a geriatric punchline. Things have happened in his life - which I'll avoid here for spoilers - and there's an air of depression we come to learn more about. I appreciated this analysis, even if it felt surface level, because it makes Jones feel like a genuine character. Once Phoebe Waller-Bridge enters his live as his goddaughter Helena, the film finds extra energy. Waller-Bridge is highly watchable, and her character can be a little naughty, adding to the fun. With Ford on screen too I wouldn't go as far to say she stole the show, but she more than held her own. Our gaggle of henchmen that chase these two are memorable in the sense you get that "he's the big one", "he's the mean one", etc. And Mads Mikkelsen does what he can with a bit of a one-note villain. 

Throughout the globe-trotting adventure, we're treated to some good/great action set pieces, mostly in the form of chases. In a year where I feel like I could collect insane action movies like Infinity Stones, Dial of Destiny would not be included, but that's okay. What's here is entertaining, looks great most of the time, and there are some genuinely thrilling, adventurous moments. That they're sprinkled with the grizzled humor of Ford and sharp wit of Waller-Bridge is icing on the cake. 

So yeah, color me quite confused as to what film critics watched. My trip with Dial of Destiny was the pleasant surprise I was hoping for and sits far closer in quality, entertainment value, and re-watchability to the original trilogy than it does with it's immediate predecessor. Let this be an example - and a friendly reminder to myself - that critics aren't always right. And in a lot of ways, that's why I started this whole thing.

CONS

• Too long. At nearly 2.5 hours, there was trimming that could have been done
• Formulaic model
• Forgettable villain, which is extra unfortunate when it's Mads Mikkelsen
• I could have done without the kid. Never outright bad, but felt like filler

PROS

• Despite being formulaic, this feels like a classic Indiana Jones adventure in execution and style. James Mangold did a great job as director
• The extra script elements to dig into Jones' aging and depression are welcome and not all about cracking "old-person" jokes
• John Williams' score is perfect
• Harrison Ford still owns this role and the screen, but Phoebe Waller-Bridge gives him a run for his money. They're a memorable dynamic duo in a series that has a lot of them
• Entertaining action that looks good. The parade chase was gorgeous
• Very cool artifact with a bonkers ending that I loved. Could be divisive
• Mostly spot-on humor in line with the original trilogy
• Highly entertaining throughout with a lot to enjoy if you're a fan of this character

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10