Let’s get it out of the way right out of the gate. Is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny a great film? No, it is not. There is a lot it could have been, falling short of expectations in many ways―but many of those expectations are rooted in memories of the original. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a seminal film in cinematic history. For me, it is THE master course in how to create a superb action film. The movie never gets old for me. Yes, many of the special effects date themselves, particularly the matte paintings and blue screen effects. But the practical effects and live stunts still have the power to thrill. For the most part, Raiders played it straight. Elements of comedy gradually become more prominent with further entries. As well as what some consider absurd asks from the filmmakers for suspensions of disbelief that strained what some imaginations might allow. And I get this. But the series has always been rooted in elements of the supernatural, the mysterious, the unexplained. So, it shouldn’t be a lot to ask from an audience for some wide latitudes to be taken in the storytelling. Surviving a nuclear blast in a lead-lined refrigerator may be beyond the realm of belief; jumping from a crashing airplane and using an inflatable raft as a poor man’s parachute can surely appear ridiculous. But they were fun―playful even. And if the adventures of Indiana Jones were meant to be anything, it was fun.
What Dial of Destiny lacks in characterization, pacing, and sheer spectacle, it makes up for with its humanity. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (of Fleabag fame and the creator of Killing Eve) plays the titular character’s goddaughter, Helena Shaw. She and her Short-Round-like sidekick carry much of the action, as even though Harrison Ford does pretty well these days at keeping himself in shape, it’s a lot to ask of an eighty-year-old man to try to match his earlier physical versatility. One of the fatal flaws of Crystal Skull was that Indiana Jones really did nothing in the later third act. He was as much a spectator as the rest of the cast of characters. In Dial of Destiny, Dr. Jones, while not quite jumping and leaping like he might have done 40 years ago, is present and contributes to the forward momentum of the film.
Throughout the series, we do see a subtle change in Indy’s character. Acting as a prequel, the Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom was driven, at least in part, by “fortune and glory.” He had always been about the preservation of history and artifacts belonging in museums. But Temple of Doom was where we saw the darker, greedier side of Indiana Jones. It is also the only film in which he plays a true hero in rescuing the children taken captive by the Thuggee cult and returning them to their homes. Moving forward, his character largely concerned himself with rescuing artifacts from individuals who were often driven as much, if not more, by the same “fortune and glory” that spurred him on in his quests before Raiders of the Lost Ark. All of this is to say that Dial of Destiny has an altogether different approach for the character of Indiana Jones. And it works. Harrison Ford has received only one Academy Award nomination in a more than half-century career. That recognition was for his portrayal of John Book in Peter Weir’s 1985 film, Witness. There have been several other films in which he could have received similar recognition, yet it has not happened. Perhaps, this is his year―due to just two scenes in the present film that capture the very essence of what Dial of Destiny is meant to be for the character of Indiana Jones. It is a film that gives us the central character experiencing deep regret and a loss of self, of identity. The chief purpose of the film is to reveal to the audience those struggles―ones that we are all likely to face in different forms at one time or another in our lives. When asked what he would do if he could go back in time, Jones admits he would try to keep his son (a thankfully absent Mutt, played in Crystal Skull by Shia LaBeouf) from enlisting in the Vietnam War. Ford gives this scene the right amount of pathos in that however much we may have disliked LaBeouf’s character in the previous film, the reason for his absence in Dial of Destiny is revealed in a way to be no less than gut-wrenching. Later, when Indiana Jones has returned home and Helena tells him he is back, his pained response is, “For who?” Dial of Destiny presents us, as mentioned earlier, with an Indiana Jones languishing during the greatest depths of loss―loss of family and of purpose. Throughout the course of this imperfect movie, we see Indy struggle but there are moments where the spark appears to be on the verge of rekindling. Thankfully, the end finally returns to us a very much older, yet also the spirit of the memorably familiar, Indiana Jones who first shared his quests with us more than forty years ago. And I’m not sure I could have truly been happier with this final sendoff.
Rest Area 