Director James Mangold has some enormous shoes to fill as he steps in to be the first director other than Steven Spielberg to helm an Indiana Jones movie. While it’s been 42 years since Raiders of the Lost Ark debuted, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a solid entry into the franchise. Harrison Ford is up to the task of bringing Indy back to the big screen, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a great new heroine. The film offers some decent set pieces, but it clearly missing something to give it that “wow” factor.
It’s 1969, and Indy (Ford) is approaching his retirement. He seems slightly unsure of where he fits into this modern world. He’s surprised to see a familiar – but now older – face of Helena Shaw (Waller-Bridge), asking about an old artifact. Of course, as the plot for these movies tends to go, a figure from Indy’s past is also looking for that same artifact. Indy dons the familiar hat and whip with the intent of keeping the artifact from falling into the wrong hands.
The opening of the film features a de-aged Ford in a compelling set-piece aboard a Nazi train. Of the various films that have featured this technology, this is one of the more effective ones. It only takes a few moments of this younger Harrison Ford to remind audiences why we keep coming back to this character. He’s endlessly charming and pulls you into the story.
It’s a lot to ask any other character to stand toe-to-toe with the screen presence of Ford, but Waller-Bridge proves to have what it takes. There are a few moments where it is easy to forget you’re watching an Indiana Jones film and not a Helena Shaw film. Not that she steals the scenes, but she often shines equally as bright as the familiar star. There are several other performances and some cool cameos that also work – but a few fall a little short of feeling essential.
The story and structure of this film, which follows what many of the other ones do as well, did start to feel a bit redundant. The main character has to find the Macguffin, and that usually leads to the need to find some other Macguffin until the film finally gets to the final Macguffin. While the formula is familiar, it really just matters that the journey to each Macguffin is compelling. There are several cool chases to enjoy in this film, then there are a few moments that feel a bit unnecessary, which ultimately slow the film down a bit. None of the moments are terrible, but none are truly exhilarating. There are even a few moments that don’t really make sense based on the story being told in the film, where it feels a bit too convenient for things to work out the way they do.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny definitely doesn’t deliver the gut punch of a final Indy movie that fans will be clamoring for. It is still an engaging movie that treats the character with love. The hopes were high after Mangold crafted one of the best swan songs a character could receive with Logan – but he’s not quite able to repeat that magic here. Nonetheless, there is a lot of content fans will enjoy.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in theaters everywhere on June 30.
Rating: Decent Watch
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