Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Review

"I've come to believe it's not so much what you believe, it's how hard you believe it” – A review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 

I must admit, I didn’t have high hopes for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. I adored the original trilogy, but Crystal Skull was disappointing to say the least. When I originally heard that this film had been released, I didn’t even go to see it, expecting a similar disappointment. Recently, I decided to finally rip the plaster off and see what it was like for myself.

You know what? It was actually pretty good.

The film follows a retiring Indy as he is thrust against his will into one last adventure to recover Archimedes’ Dial, an artifact of great power, from the original villains of the franchise, nazis. Alongside his morally grey goddaughter Helana, Indy needs to race to discover the artifact and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands and changing the world forever.

I’m not going to argue that this is a perfect film, or that it is as good as the original trilogy. Helena was a character I struggled to warm too; being sharp tongued can be entertaining, but I found her to be cold and difficult to cheer for. However, that’s not to say she’s dull, as her changing loyalties and mysterious motivations do provide some entertaining scenes. Teddy, on the other hand, I found to be very entertaining and a character I came to really enjoy, a smart, resourceful young boy who captured the hearts of both Indy and Helena, as well as myself.

Whilst we do see a digitally de-aged Indy for the opening of the film, it’s great to see him later in life, still donning his iconic hat and providing both the world weariness and youthful sarcasm we’ve come to expect from him. Quick witted and resourceful as ever, it’s a joy to see him on screen.

This film heavily leans into the iconic chase scenes from the earlier films and sees Indy and his companions across continents in the late 1960’s. From high-speed chases on horseback to high stake diving missions, the action is undeniably entertaining, and the locations really add to the adventurous spirit of the original films.

I will note that whilst the action is fun, the pacing isn’t completely consistent throughout. The film does rely on nostalgia, calling back to previous films and even occasionally using old footage to do so, and whilst I enjoy nostalgia, at times it did feel a little heavy handed. It’s also a relatively long film at nearly two hours, so at times it felt a little slow.

It’s also worth mentioning that much like Crystal Skull, Dial of Destiny leans into science fiction (although mercifully there are no aliens this time.) The Dial itself is said to contain certain powers, but the main science fiction aspect is the idea of time travel. However, unlike Crystal Skull, I do think Dial of Destiny achieved a good balance here. Science fiction isn’t relied upon, it’s used to elevate the story, so I genuinely didn’t mind it and actually quite enjoyed the added tension this element added to the narrative.

Occasionally, I found that the film seemed to rely on explanations through dialogue a little too much. “Show don’t tell” is important in writing, yet often characters would explain motivations and history, which did sometimes have a negative effect on otherwise tense scenes. I did also find that whilst there are parts that I found really funny, the humour wasn’t quite as natural as it had been in the original trilogy, feeling less quick witted and more engineered instead.

Overall, this isn’t a bad film by any stretch. Whilst I wasn’t blown away, I also wasn’t disappointed, and the final scenes I found to be a lovely, fitting ending for our archaeological hero. Fun, action packed and full of a beautifully nostalgic score, I would recommend watching this if you, like me, put it off until now. If nothing else, it will certainly remind fans of the magic at the heart of the franchise.

“I don't believe in magic, Wombat, but a few times in my life, I've seen things. Things I can't explain. And I've come to believe it's not so much what you believe, it's how hard you believe it”

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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