Indiana Jones movies have always been nostalgic. When audiences were first introduced to the archeologist over 40 years ago, Steven Spielberg and his collaborators drew from matinee serials from the 1930s, a period where Nazis were still the object of fun, rather than genocidal maniacs. The sequels vary in quality, and yet the specific feelings it provokes – a romantic sense of globe-trotting adventure, where the hero gets the girl and the impossible is possible – remains untouched. The same can be said for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the final sequel for Harrison Ford and his cinematic alter ego. Director James Mangold has big shoes to fill, and his workmanlike approach matches the material, as Indy’s last great adventure nails the tone from the get-go. It also has more tricks up its sleeve than you might expect, a welcome suggestion that Mangold does not always rely on nostalgia for emotional heavy lifting.
The screenplay, co-credited to Mangold and four others, follows the same three-act structure as previous franchise entries. After a lengthy prologue, a kind of standalone action sequence for Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford), there is a lengthy chase across the globe for some valuable artifact, followed by an otherworldly conclusion where we understand the artifact’s true nature. In this particular case, Indy and the Nazi mathematician Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) pursue a mechanical device invented by the legendary Archimedes, a dial so precise it can predict the future. This storytelling skeleton gives Mangold an opportunity to embellish with stylish details, whether it’s a clever flourish of action or a chance to flesh out more details about the Indy legend.
You’ll know fairly quickly whether this all works for you. The opening act is set in 1944, with Indy posing a Nazi officer to steal back some relics from a German stronghold. Of course, Harrison Ford is 80 years old and Raiders of the Lost Ark was set in 1936, so this means that Mangold uses de-aging technology to make the actor look forty years younger. It is an impressive illusion, despite some awkward facial movements and Ford sounding like an octogenarian. The Nazis capture him before we even see the title card, so the opening involves a lengthy escape – first from the stronghold, and later on a speeding train. Mangold’s confidence with red-blooded thrills is immediately involving. Indy dangles from a noose, only to have the crossbeam come undone, and the tumbling rope puts him in one calamity after another. This film internalizes the comic nature of the Indiana Jones persona: he is less of a hero, and more of a hapless academic who is extremely lucky and knows how to fight.
Most of the action takes place in the late 1960s, shortly after the moon landing. Indy works as a professor in New York’s Hunter College, and his estranged goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up in pursuit of the dial. It is separated into halves, with one already found, so Indy – along with Helena, and Voller on their tail – rushes all around the Mediterranean in pursuit of the second half. This leads to Indy on horseback in Manhattan, car chases in Tangiers, dives in the Aegean Sea and a dangerous cave in Sicily. Mangold handles this with familiar craftmanship, a reminder that the director of Logan and Ford vs. Ferrari has a kinetic approach that ably balances chaos with visual coherence. An early highlight is the car chase through Tangiers: like Raiders, it owes a debt to Buster Keaton because it balances thrills with comic sight gags. For the most part, this all moves at a zippy pace, although Mangold lacks Spielberg’s ability to juxtapose action with expository dialogue.
Like his beloved character, Harrison Ford is the last of a dying breed because he brings credibility to a situation that calls for none. There is a weary quality to Indy’s arc in this film, punctuated by a surprisingly tender scene where he fills in gaps about what happened since Crystal Skull. Unlike The Force Awakens, this a film is a reminder that Ford can really act when the situation calls for it. Waller-Bridge proves a good foil, a fast-talking opportunist who convincingly veers from self-preservation toward bravery. Mikkelsen, along with henchmen led by Boyd Holbrook, are competent as Nazi zealots who maybe lack the menace of previous Indy villains. Then again, their one-dimensional quality is also what makes them such reliable villains. Watch Raiders and its sequels, and you may be surprised by how simplistic the antagonists can sometimes be.
Early reviews of Dial of Destiny have been mixed, and many of them take issue with the third act. It is silly and supernatural (this is true), but it is important to remember that all Indiana Jones movies are silly and supernatural. This is a guy who met aliens, who bore witness to Shiva’s wrath and who relied on literal divine intervention twice (both the New and Old Testament of God). By that metric, what happens to Indy and his friends is still extraordinary, and yet consistent with previous entries. Many sequels and franchises rely on our inherent goodwill to do the heavy lifting, and the best thing about Dial of Destiny is that Ford/Mangold never make it that easy for themselves. When John Williams’ ubiquitous theme blares on the soundtrack, the film creates a space where, again, you just might see yourself in an everyman who – through a little luck and a killer right cross – can punch enough Nazi punks to save our history.
Photo courtesy of Disney
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