Review of INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY: Quixotic Quantum Quest

June 25, 2023

In 1944, American archeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), along with his British colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), infiltrated a German Nazi camp to rescue an ancient artifact. However, Nazi scientist Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) revealed that there was actually a more powerful artifact on board called Archimedes's Antikythera, which supposedly can be used to travel through time. Voller already had one half, and still needed to find the other half. 

Fast forward to 1969, Jones had just been served divorce papers and was already being retired from his teaching job at the university. He was approached by Basil's daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). She convinced Jones to join her on the search for the missing half of the Antikythera.  Together with her young ward Teddy (Ethann Isidore), they embarked on a race against Voller and the Nazis who were also looking for it.

This most-anticipated film began with a flashback to World War 2, so Harrison Ford had to be de-aged by special effects. We would be looking at a younger Ford (and Mikkelsen) for an incredible 25 minutes, and this also included a complexly-choreographed fight sequence set on a train in motion. There would also be exhilarating chase scenes on the NYC subway on horseback, as well as a heart-stopping tuktuk chase in the alleys of Tangiers. 

There were several scenes which are reminiscent of the first film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981). Jones' aversion to snakes was recalled during the scene where a horde of eels attack him on a diving expedition. The classic scene of cutlass vs. gun is redone with whip vs. guns. Of course, Jones's adventure with and a young woman Helena and a younger boy Teddy recalled Jones' team in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984). 

The treasure hunt scenes inside the ruins of a ancient temple called Dionysus's Ear were the stuff of classic Indiana Jones fans have been waiting for. However after that, it went on to another airborne adventure that will bring them to another surprise dimension altogether. This already went beyond the usual Indiana Jones escapade of practical stunts, crossing over to the realm of fantasy where the laws of physics do not apply anymore. 

However, despite the valiant efforts of the snarky Ford and the vivacious Waller-Bridge to keep the energy levels up, there were moments in this 154 minute saga where the momentum inevitably sagged. The dialogue was not clear in many parts, with some characters eating their words or engaging in archeologic jargon, which will make you wish there were subtitles. The heightened hype prior to watching the film may also make you expect too much -- don't. 

Director James Mangold had given Wolverine a proper send-off with "Logan" (2017). "Dial of Destiny" may not have exactly recaptured the magic that was "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but the final scene certainly had sentimental nostalgia going for it. Plus, it made up for the fiasco thtat was "Crystal Skull" (2008). It feels proper to send the whole franchise off at that point. But with the de-aging tech there to keep Harrison Ford young, who knows? 8/10.