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- "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega

This summer, I jokingly told my friend Tom that my favorite character from Star Wars was Jar Jar Binks. He then proceeded to try and suffocate me…

Point being, a lot of people are very passionate about Star Wars, and are still very bitter about the last trilogy. The franchise has never been at the top of my list of obsessions, but I was as excited for this as most people. I'm hear to tell you to wash away the pain of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars is back in true form.

Now to avoid giving anything away, I'll give you the barest of a bare bone summary of the film. Okay here goes…taking place thirty years after Return of The Jedi, a new threat has emerged in the galaxy known as The First Order, with the menacing Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) as one of its key figures. Old heroes are joined by new faces, including scavenger Rey (Ridley), rogue storm trooper Finn (Boyega) and pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac), as the battle begins and a new chapter unfolds.

First off, the film uses the nostalgia of the original film heavily to its advantage, to the point where The Force Awakens is almost a retelling of A New Hope. Some would say the film plays it safe by doing this, but it's actually a winning formula that gives the film enough legs to stand on its own.

A lot of this is credit to the writers allowing the new characters to shine, and for the most part carry the film. Daisy Ridley is a charming and compelling lead as Rey. John Boyega plays the part of a reluctant hero perfectly with Finn. Oscar Isaac is sharp and charismatic as Poe Dameron, but isn't given as much to do as Ridley or Boyega. Driver is nearly perfect as our new villain Kylo Ren, and our new droid character, little BB-8, is a real scene stealer.

Then there are our old friends. Harrison Ford is our glue to the original trilogy, and is at his best once again as Han Solo. Carrie Fischer settles back into the role of Princess-now-General Leia Organa, playing her with just the right amount of attitude and wisdom. Old friends like R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca are as good as ever. What's that? Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker? Yeah I can't talk about that.

I don't often discuss sets or locations in my reviews, but the ones in The Force Awakens are beautiful. The filmmakers definitely took time and effort crafting the look of every scene on every world, so this would look and feel like a Star Wars film is supposed to. 

It's hard to review, let alone talk about the film when so much of its plot has been kept deep under wraps since day one. To tell you what happens in the first three minutes is practically a spoiler. Trust me when I say though, this is a really good, really fun film. Die-hard fan or not, you're going to enjoy it. I'll tell you when I was in my seat at the film's start, I felt as though I was transported back in time, and watching one of the original films back in the seventies. I had a huge smile on my face, and that's coming from a guy who never saw Episode II, only the important parts of Episode III, and had only just come to own his own copies of the original trilogy last month.

The force is strong with The Force Awakens. It's breaking all the box office records, it's probably going to be on hundreds of "Best Films of 2015" lists, and it just might walk away with a few awards by Oscar Season's End. This is a must see in my opinion, wether your a fan of Star Wars or just cinema in general. The force, it's calling to you dear viewers. Just let it in.