Film Review - "Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny"

Before we move forward...My current understanding is that reviewing movies does not count as crossing the picket line in ongoing the SAG-AFTRA/WGA Strike. That said films including but not limited to those I write reviews for, as well as television series, are not written and performed by corporations and executives. Passionate and driven writers and actors do, and they deserve to earn livable wages. This not about celebrities looking for more money. For every Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep, there are hundreds of creatives struggling to keep a roof over their head. They deserve to be able to afford the cost of living the same as any other profession does. That said, on with the regularly scheduled review.

Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny

Directed by James Mangold

Starring Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Mads Mikkelsen

Long ago, before Chris Evans took on the mantle of The Star Spangled Man with A Plan, there was another onscreen hero that I called my favorite, and that was Indiana Jones. The Indiana Jones film series was the first franchise I became fully invested in. When I started making my own money, one of the first DVDs I bought was the box set of the original trilogy, I filmed a couple short-film parodies, and I even dressed up as Indy for Halloween one year in high school.

Here's a fun fact for you. Did you know Chip and Dale's outfits in Rescue Rangers are based on Indiana Jones and Tom Magnum, PI? Now you do.

I'm not going to pretend like Kingdom of The Crystal Skull doesn't exist, but I was very excited for a new Indiana Jones film to be released in my lifetime. Over the Fourth of July weekend I carved out some time to see The Dial of Destiny, and I left the theater with the biggest smile on my face.

The film opens with an extended sequence in 1944, where Indy (Ford) and fellow archaeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) obtain one half of Archimedes' Dial during an escape from a Nazi-occupied castle in the French Alps. Twenty-five years later, an elderly Indy now lives in New York City and is on the cusp of retiring from teaching. Basil's daughter and Indy's goddaughter Helena (Waller-Bridge) arrives in the city looking for his help in researching the Dial. 

However, Helena's plans for the dial are a little more cynical than that of Indy's or her father's. Meanwhile, former Nazi astrophysicist turned NASA scientist Jürgen Voller (Mikkelsen), who Indy took the Dial from during the war, is hunting them down to retrieve it and use it to "correct Hitler's mistakes."

Dial of Destiny pulls the franchise back down to Earth, straying away from the aliens and fridge-nuking of Crystal Skull. It's "back to basics" with Nazi-punching, crazy chases, and an archeological mystery to solve. I'm not trying to knock Crystal Skull I'm just saying this film does a fine job of capturing that classic feel of the original trilogy (for the most part). Things take a pretty outrageous turn in the third act, but it's effective and fits properly into the grander narrative. The film doesn't reinvent the wheel, or necessarily breathe new life into the franchise, but that's not the point of it. It's a fitting conclusion to the franchise, and reminds us of all the fun we've had with this character for the past forty-two years.

Speaking of this character, Harrison Ford doesn't miss a beat returning to this iconic role. He is giving it his all. I think many of us expected to just get the typical, grumpy Harrison Ford personality fans have come to expect from the man, but just dressed as Indiana Jones. That is not the case here. Ford has been very passionate about this character from the very beginning. Once again as Indiana he's daring, comical, rough on the edges, but true blue all the way through.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a nice foil to Ford in this film, and they have excellent chemistry. She is very much the co-lead of this film, and proves herself worthy to share the screen with him. She's charming and comical, but to be honest I do think her character arc could have been better serviced. That unfortunately could be said for a lot of the supporting cast like Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, and Shaunette Renee Wilson who are all wonderful in their roles, but just aren't given enough development. Mads Mikkelsen, as always, is deliciously evil as Dr. Voller. 

Toby Jones is fun as Basil Shaw, giving a performance that is very reminiscent of the late Denholm Elliot's Dr. Marcus Brody. Someday I'm sure the internet (regrettably) will be in a feud over which child sidekick is better or worse, Ke Huy Quan's Short Round in Temple of Doom, or Ethan Isidore's Teddy in Dial of Destiny. That isn't to say Isidore's performance treads the line of being culturally offensive like Short Round, but like Short Round, he does take time to grow on you as a character. It's a cute performance regardless. Last note on the cast is it was such a joy to see John Rhys-Davies return as Salad, but again, like the rest of the supporting players, I wish they had more to do. At the end of the day though, this is Harrison Ford's time to shine.

One thing that will never be wrong with an Indiana Jones film is the music by John Williams. It is such a joy to hear that iconic theme playing on the big screen again. His music is such a big part of these films and help immerse the viewer into the world of Indiana Jones. 

Many have seen from the marketing glimpses of the CGI used to de-age Harrison Ford in the opening sequence. I'll say this, for the most part it looks awesome, but there is an adjustment period for sure. It's not terribly distracting or verging into The Uncanny Valley, but at times it's clear you're looking at special effects. I understand to an extent of why they did it, but on a whole I think the industry just needs to stop doing this type of thing. It could've been a lot worse, I mean did you hear what they did in The Flash?

Most Indiana Jones films clock in at two hours and change, where as Dial of Destiny is over two-and-a-half hours. The film doesn't drag on necessarily, but some action set-pieces maybe go on a little too long, and makes you wonder if it could've been time better spent on character development (I feel like I'm nitpicking on the development of the supporting characters and I don't know why) or if it was just the editing and style of the action sequences. This is the first time an Indiana Jones film is not directed by Stephen Spielberg, but that said Mangold certainly does a fine job of recapturing that Spielberg magic.

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny might not be the next great summer blockbuster, or even the best film in the Indiana Jones series, but it doesn't need to be. This is a classical return to the globe-trotting adventures of old, and a touching sendoff to one of cinema's greatest heroes. There's plenty of wonderful performances, exciting action, and intriguing mystery, all set to great John Williams music that will keep you entertained for two and-a-half hours. Hearing that iconic theme for the first time in my life on the big screen, and possibly the final time, I left the theater with the biggest smile on my face.  If you're an Indiana Jones fan, if you grew up with these films like I did, you will genuinely enjoy Dial of Destiny. 

Well we're more than halfway through 2023, it might be a good time to finally tackle my Top 10 Films of 2021 and 2022 lists before I fall another year behind. So you'll just have to wait for those Barbie and Oppenheimer reviews...

Film Review - "Elemental"

Elemental

Directed by Peter Sohn

Starring Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, and Ronnie del Carmen

Pixar has been going through a bit of a turbulent time the last few years (So has the rest of Hollywood but I digress). Onward opened at the start of the pandemic. Soul, Luca, and Turning Red were all unceremoniously dumped on Disney Plus. Lightyear was supposed to be Pixar's grand return to cinemas, and then it bombed. 

Many are saying Pixar have lost their touch for filmmaking, to which I say "Well if you actually took the time to watch any of these films you'll see that's not true." Three of these films were tossed into the sea of content on Disney Plus, and with everything on that streaming platform, it wouldn't be that surprising if they got lost in the shuffle, and faded from the public's memory. Hell, do you know how many Netflix Original Films have been collecting dust on my Watch-List for years because I'd rather watch Is It Cake or old episodes of Pokemon?

Lightyear is a separate issue, or rather two separate issues. First being the general public didn't seem to understand the "complex" concept (Let's say it again...it's about THE MAN, who INSPIRED the TOY...). Second is, regardless of the quality of the film, audiences have been trained to think "Well why pay theater prices when I know it's going to drop on Disney Plus in a few months?"

The pandemic has changed how we watch movies, for better or worse. This summer's box office is the most crowded it's been since 2019. It seems like every week the tabloids are reporting how films are opening below expectations, and are commercial failures, but that's just the market now. It's not the films. Which (finally) brings me to Pixar's latest endeavor, Elemental, which opened last month. 

Elemental had a pretty weak opening weekend (It released against The Flash, starring famous war-criminal Ezra Miller. And everyone saw that instead...I'm very disappointed in you.) but ever since then word-of-mouth has been spreading and it's been gaining momentum. I am here to do more of that "word-of-mouth" thing. Elemental is one of Pixar's greatest films in years and you should all be going to see it.

The film takes place in the fictional Element City, where personified citizens of earth, wind, fire, and water co-exist. Ember (Lewis) is the fire daughter of Bernie (del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi) who immigrated from their homeland to the city. Ember struggles to follow in her father's footsteps and take over their family store so he can retire. One day an accident in the store brings Wade (Athie), a water guy and city inspector into Ember's life. The store then becomes in danger of being shutdown by the city, but Wade decides to help Ember prevent that from happening. As the two work together to save the store, they grow closer, despite their obvious differences.

First of all, whoever was in charge of marketing this film should be fired. There is so much more here than "romantic comedy where opposites attract but it's cartoon fire and water". Yes, there is a romance at the center of it but there's also incredibly strong themes of xenophobia, immigration, generational trauma (Lot of that in animated films these days), and self-worth. The idea of sentient elements does come off as Pixar parodying itself, but the premise fits so well into these themes. It's not a gimmick.

Ember is one of Pixar's most compelling protagonists, and her journey is so relatable. The character work in the script is top-notch, from her own personal struggles, to her relationships with her father and Wade. Wade isn't really given as much development as Ember, but he is there to support her arc. The two of them are an adorable pairing. It's hard not to root for this couple. The way they both play off each other and work together is so endearing. I want these two to be plastered all over the Disney Valentine stuff alongside Wall-E and EVE, Rapunzel and Flynn, Aladdin and Jasmine, etc. and I want to see couples dress up as them for Halloween this year.

The animation in this film is gorgeous. The way the elements are portrayed you would swear you are watching actual water and fire onscreen. Each of the elements are characterized so uniquely, and the setting of the city is incredibly detailed and supports the story so well. It's built to service the likes of earth, water, and wind, but the fire citizens have to live on the outskirts of the city because it wasn't built with them in mind. Seeing Ember and other fire people navigate this environment is low-key harrowing. Honestly this film reminded me a lot of Zootopia, which is high praise. 

During a time where the cast of animated films are stacked with A-List celebrities, Elemental casts two relative unknowns as its leads, and that works to the film's advantage. Never once are you distracted by the voice work. Lewis and Athie are so good in these roles and have amazing chemistry. The emotion behind these performances give some live-action onscreen pairings a run for their money.  Again, this film is not a romantic comedy, but the love story in it is chef's kiss. Bring tissues.

Do not wait for this film to drop on Disney Plus. It's the summer. It's hot out. Go to theaters with your kids, your parents, and support this beautiful film. Elemental is a true return to form for Pixar, and arguably it's best since Coco. It's a heartwarming story that resonates on so many levels and deserves to be seen on the big screen. If the film continues to gain steam at the box office, this may be the start of a new renaissance for Pixar...or you know, you can just go see The Flash, and then we'll get Incredibles 3, Cars 4, and...Rata-TWO-ille?