“It’s not the years honey, it’s the mileage.” ~ Indiana Jones
That might be my all-time favorite quote from any film let alone Indiana Jones. It’s poetic when you look back at the journey that began forty-two years ago with Raiders of the Lost Ark and concluded Friday night with Indy’s latest adventure, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
The Story and Cast
The film opens in 1944, during the Allied liberation of Europe. The Nazis capture Indy (and yes that really is Harrison Ford de-aged for the films opening sequence. But more of that in a bit) He and fellow archaeologist Basil Shaw (played by Toby Jones) attempt to retrieve the Lance of Longimus commonly known as the holy lance that pierced the body of Christ during the crucifixion.
The lance turned out to be a fake but what Indy does uncover is half of the Archimedes’ Dial. This device invented nearly 2000 years earlier by mathematician Archimedes is said to have the ability to locate fissures in time. Astrophysicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) is the keeper of the half and will stop at nothing to keep and harness its power. Indy and Shaw escape with the dial and Voller is believed to have died during the Allied bombardment.
Fast forward to 1969 New York and we find a much different Indy. Not only is he retiring from teaching but he and Marion have separated due to personal loss. Basil’s daughter and Indy’s godchild Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) an archeology student/treasure hunter arrives at the college and seeks his help regarding the dial. When Indy gives her his half, a very much alive Voller and his henchmen also arrive to retrieve it.
The rest of the film is literally a race against time as Indy and Helena try and track down the other half of the dial before Voller does. If Voller gets it, he wants to use it to go back in time and kill Hitler in order to take over the Third Reich for himself.
Cast
Harrison Ford is the obvious headliner but strong performances by both Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen more than hold their own as the heroine and villain respectively. Adding to this trio is Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas and franchise veterans John Rhys-Davis and of course Karen Allen made for a powerful lineup. Regardless of how brief it may have been, seeing Sallah and Marion is always a delight.
Overall Thoughts
My immediate feelings shortly after the ending credits and when I woke up the next morning, remained the same. It’s a fitting end that brought the franchise full circle. Director James Mangold stayed true to who Indiana Jones is and didn’t waiver. There was legitimate concern with Spielberg stepping aside for Mangold. Those concerns I assure you became unwarranted.
The character of Indiana Jones means a lot to me personally. I was just under nine years old when my mom took me to see Raiders. My love of history, my curiosity of the past and appreciation of the antiquities began with Indy.
The de-aging of Ford was better than I expected. If I had a wish, I would have liked the voice to match its youthful appearance. A young Indy with 80 year old Ford voice seemed off but honestly, pretty minor overall. Dial of Destiny isn’t perfect. It didn’t need to be for me. What it needed to be was both fun and adventurous as well as nostalgic and poignant. Destiny checked all those boxes and the nine year old in me was grateful.
Thank you Mr. Ford for all the years and mileage in search of fortune and glory.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Movie Review Verdict:
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
