Director: James Mangold
Starring: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Mads Mikkelsen
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 154 mins

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the long-awaited fifth instalment of the swashbuckling series, despite many assuming the underrated Kingdom of the Crystal Skull represented Harrison Ford’s swansong. How wrong they were, as Ford is once again front and centre of the action at age 80. Dial of Destiny is the the first time Steven Spielberg isn’t in the director’s chair with James Mangold stepping up to the challenge. Mangold is more than up to the task as he is no stranger to concluding chapters – just take a look at the excellent Logan, a grim and fitting closing chapter that framed the X-Men frontman as a relic of the past. 

Dial of Destiny is set in 1969, 12 years after the events of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. An elderly Jones retires from his teaching role, only to be shortly visited by his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who also happens to be an archaeologist. She hopes to find the titular dial built by the ancient Syracusan mathematician Archimedes, which Jones happens to have half of. The pursuit of the dial drove Helena’s father Basil (Toby Jones) mad, who we meet in the film’s opening 25 minute prologue set in 1944 alongside a de-aged Indy where they first lay eyes on the dial. 

If both halves of the dial are combined, it can allow for possible time travel. However, astrophysicist (and former Nazi) Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) is also after the dial so he can time travel to 1939 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and lead Germany to World War II victory. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a disappointing finale on a number of levels. It’s overlong, the visual effects are unconvincing and it’s the first film in the series to lack a sense of fun in its action sequences. James Mangold clearly has a vision as his depiction of Jones immediately after the prologue shares parallels with Logan, a drunk and miserable shadow of his former self with his head stuck in the past. I suspect Disney didn’t want to take a risk and watered down Mangold’s treatment. 

It’s a film that clings onto nostalgia and visually, certainly intends to be in keeping with its predecessors. However, considering the film has a mammoth $300 million budget, the visual effects are surprisingly ropey. There’s an overreliance on CGI throughout and the de-aging of Harrison Ford in the prologue is largely unconvincing. While Ford looks younger, the way the character talks and moves is like an old man. The prologue’s action sequences feel formulaic, is dimly lit and lacks any spark in its action, content to just go through the motions. While Mangold-regular Phedon Papamichael’s cinematography is admirable in later set-pieces, they too lack the energy of previous installments.

The film could have really benefitted losing half an hour and it would have really tightened everything up. It’s a whole twenty five minutes than the previous longest entry Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and its story doesn’t warrant the extra length.

Harrison Ford turns in a committed performance but he expectedly lacks the physicality given his age. The way in which Jones constantly gets himself out of perilous situations feels too neat. To be honest, Ford’s performance in this, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Blade Runner 2049 are all pretty interchangeable. 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge joins the cast as Helena and while she’s tolerable, she just doesn’t share a palpable chemistry with Indy. Mads Mikkelsen makes for an excellent villain and receives a decent amount of development and if he were in a better film, he’d be a real highlight. 

However, much of the rest of the star-studded cast are squandered. The two biggest casualties are Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies. Banderas fails to make an impression as Reinaldo, a frogman with more of a glorified cameo and Davies is underused. Logan villain Boyd Holbrook plays Mikkelsen’s henchman but doesn’t receive much development. Shaunette Renee Wilson and Toby Jones are two of the film’s bright spots and give it their all with characters that don’t have much meat to the bone.

John Williams returns on scoring duties and it’s largely successful and he even introduces a couple of new themes, a piano-based riff in an early chase sequence makes a strong impression. 

Overall, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a disappointing finale to the series. It’s lacking in stakes, as well as the Spielberg magic that made his four entries complete blasts from start to finish. The film’s not a complete failure as I admired the hints of how Mangold wanted to explore the character in its early scenes and Mikkelsen stands out, despite his relatively straightforward villain. However, in all other respects, it’s the thorn in what was a four-strong series and is a big disappointment considering the talent involved. 

⭐⭐ (Poor)