INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: James Mangold
Stars: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas, Ethann Isidore, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Karen Allen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Olivier Richters, Martin McDougall, Nasser Memarzia.
This is the fifth film in the franchise featuring Harrison Ford in his iconic role as the whip cracking archaeologist and it is a superb piece of popcorn entertainment.
The film opens with an extended prologue set in Berlin in 1945 during the last days of WWII. A younger Indiana (Harrison Ford, who through a remarkable de-ageing process looks remarkably more like his heyday in the early 80s) is in Berlin looking for the legendary Spear of Destiny, a historical artefact that has fallen into the hands of the Nazis. He is working alongside his colleague Basil Smith (Toby Jones). This sequence delivers many of the things we loved about the early Indiana Jones films – punching Nazis, chases, narrow escapes and lots of over-the-top action. Indiana has a run in with evil Nazi Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) before making off with an even rarer artefact, the Antikythera, a device supposedly created by ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes.
Then we jump ahead to 1969. Excitement is in the air as the three Apollo 11 astronauts are being feted with a tickertape parade through the streets of New York. Indiana is about to retire from his teaching position at a New York university and is delivering his final lecture to a classroom full of disinterested students. Then he meets his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the daughter of his old friend Basil. She enquires after that old device that Indiana brought back from the war and, instead of destroying it like Basil requested, he has buried it deep in the university’s archives.
But then the pair are attacked by thugs working with Voller to reclaim the Antikythera. Voller has played a role in helping NASA develop its space program and has enlisted the CIA’s help in recovering the device. Voller’s thugs are being assisted by CIA agent Mason (Shaunette Renee Wilson), who seems unaware of his true plans for the device. However, Helena makes off with the mechanism, leaving Indiana to escape from Voller’s clutches via a frantic chase through the crowded streets of the city.
Rather than any archaeological interest in the device Helena plans to sell it off to the highest bidder at a black-market auction. Donning his trademark fedora, Indiana heads off to Tangiers to prevent her selling the mechanism and then gets caught up in a frantic race to find the other half of the device before Voller and his goons can locate it. Voller plans to use the device to travel through a fissure in time and change the course of WWII, ensuring a victory for the Nazis. Indiana is both thwarted and assisted by Helena and her enthusiastic teenage sidekick Teddy (Ethann Isidore).
Some critics have complained about the excessive length (at 154 minutes this is longest film in the franchise) but I was not conscious of the time as I was caught up in the fast-paced action, the rollicking sense of adventure, the superbly staged set pieces, the chases, the deadly booby traps, and the faux history. It works thanks largely to the muscular direction of James Mangold (Logan, Ford V Ferrari, etc), who takes over the reins from long time franchise director Steven Spielberg, and he maintains a fast pace throughout. However, Spielberg is still attached to the project as one of the executive producers, and his fingerprints are all over the material. Mangold’s direction pays homage to the legacy of the character and his previous adventures and is a fitting way to send him off after 42 years.
The script has been written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Edge Of Tomorrow, etc) and Spielberg regular David Koepp (Jurassic Park, etc). The action spans several locations, ranging from New York to Tangiers to Greece, and they have all been superbly shot by Mangold’s regular cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford V Ferrari, etc), who makes great use of the various locations. There is some superb production design from Adam Stockhausen, who has collaborated with Wes Anderson on many of his movies. The action is also accompanied by another rousing score from Oscar winning veteran John Williams.
Ford was 79 at the time of shooting and he brings a grumpier curmudgeonly style to the character, and although he still has a gruff charm he does sometimes move a little slow. The CGI de-ageing process that creates a younger looking Ford for the first part of the film is actually quite good. One of the strengths of the Indiana Jones films has been a strong female protagonist (beginning with Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenswood in the first film), and here Waller-Bridge brings a feisty quality to her role, and she and Ford develop a prickly chemistry. Mikkelsen is quite menacing and malevolent as the evil Voller, while Jones is also good as the somewhat cowardly Basil. In his first feature film role, newcomer Isidore makes for an enthusiastic sidekick, while John Rhys Davies makes a welcome, if brief, return as Indiana’s loyal friend Sallah. And Antonio Banderas contributes a cameo as a diving boat captain.
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny is a great send-off for the iconic character who first burst onto the screen in the Saturday afternoon matinee styled Raiders Of The Lost Ark 42 years ago and has since cemented himself in popular culture. It more than makes up for the silly and disappointing Indians Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, which was released 15 years ago.
★★★☆
