When I speak on my experience with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, I may be out of the traditional pack. I enjoy the original trilogy, in fact it’s one of the finer trilogies with two bonus films out there, but I wouldn’t go on record saying Indiana Jones is my favorite film franchise. I honestly don’t have a massive issue with the fourth film, it's not like the other three films in the series but its heightened cartoon nature makes for a fairly enjoyable adventure with some truly bonkers set pieces and Dial of Destiny drops all that for a more grounded (to a degree) adventure. Harrison Ford’s swan song as the titular character isn’t special, in fact it’s quite a tame escapade and in comparison to the other four (yes, the other FOUR), Dial of Destiny is a surprising bore. 

 

Ford is back in all his glory, he’s wielding the whip, dawning the hat, and is accompanied by his incomparable smug charm. Ford beyond a reasonable doubt is tremendous, he is exactly what you want to see out of an older Jones and he is more Indy here than he was in the fourth. This Indiana Jones is the character I want to see within an “Indiana Jones” film, set back by the fact he is revolving around a script that needed some sprucing up. Mads Mikkelsen plays a terrific villain, as you should come to expect from the veteran actor, his mechanisms tell a lot of his story and while by film’s end his motivations are pretty basic, he gives his familiar character some flair. 

 

Now I don’t want to go on a rant about the unbearable plot holes, especially within the motivations of the goddaughter of Indiana Jones, Helena as played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. I certainly don’t want to spoil story beats for those who are planning to see the film no matter what is said here but here’s where the story goes wrong… Helena is motivated by the death of her father which we have no information on, we don’t know what makes her dive so far away from her father’s well-intentioned notions to becoming a money obsessed treasure hunter with an act to be sour and crude toward everyone in her path. Her jokes, including the ones aimed towards her young colleague, don't reflect what we’ve come to expect from the series. The humor doesn’t fit and her motivations for her actions / words are never clearly known, so when all comes to a close with a pivotal moment between Indiana and her, how is the audience supposed to care about her sudden change of heart. 

 

The action is swift and fun, James Mangold utilizes his environments just like Spielberg did with the originals and makes for a few fun chase sequences. The aesthetic is there, it looks and feels at least in its atmosphere like the classics, but is all for nothing as its weak storytelling, poor dialogue and abundance of sneaky plot-holes hinder the experience at every turn. 

 

Without a doubt, the two components of Dial of Destiny that will garner the most chatter will be the first and last twenty minutes. When it comes to the intro, I enjoyed the action, but had a distaste for the videogame-esque de-aging effects and this sequence drags considerably due to the noticeable issues with the CGI. The conclusion, on a personal level didn’t entirely hit the mark, launching the franchise another step in the direction of the supernatural. Is this finale better than the alien twist in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? It’s up for debate. 

 

In the end, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is nothing more than “fine” and provides a slightly stronger final act to the franchise in comparison to the close of the fourth. However, just because it’s better than the last doesn’t mean it’s necessary, as Indy’s last hoorah fizzles out with an unsatisfying whimper.