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Star Rating:
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. It stars Harrison Ford as an older Indiana Jones and Phoebe Waller-Bridge as his goddaughter, Helena, as they attempt to find Archimedes dial before scientist Jurgen Voller uses it to travel back in time and change the outcome of World War II.
Honestly, I didn’t think we needed another Indiana Jones film, and I still don’t think we do. However, I think this film turned out better than some people claimed. I’m aware of many rumors concerning this film and its claimed plotlines. Whether they were initially planned and changed, or all of the rumors were false, I can say that they don’t happen.
Overall, I thought this was a decent film. Even after all these years, Harrison Ford did a fantastic job capturing the essence of Indiana Jones, and his speech and action choices felt exactly right. Yes, a few things have changed due to his age, but they are done tastefully and make sense within the context of the story.
The opening scene depicts Indiana Jones as he appeared in the first three films (with deaging technology, of course). While I think the beginning sequences were a bit too long and could have been shortened, I think the overall atmosphere is spot on with the original films.
However, one of my main criticisms of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was the character Helena. She was extremely unlikable. I couldn’t stand her for most of the movie. Her personality, attitude, and dialogue were all insufferable. She had far too many terrible character traits, and the film never seemed to acknowledge that they were wrong.
While she improved slightly towards the end because she wanted to help Indiana Jones rather than leave him to deal with problems on his own, she remained dislikable. And, frankly, she did not deserve the importance she received throughout the film’s climax and ending. I can’t really go into too much detail about this because it would spoil parts of the movie.
The writing was okay. They did a good job explaining why Shia Lebouf’s character wasn’t there, and it matched well with the overall plot. But I believe the writers could have done a better job with Helena’s character. And, again, she plays a significant role in the film’s ending, which I do not believe she deserved, so I believe the writing suffered there as well.
I enjoyed seeing John Rhys-Davies and Marion Ravenwood again, but I wish I had seen more of them. Still, the moment with Marion was a beautiful reference to the original film. I also feel they underutilized Antonio Banderas. I’m not sure whether he wants to play more minor roles right now, but I feel like many of the films I’ve seen him in recently wasted his talent by not giving him enough screen time.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was a decent film. I think Harrison Ford and Mads Mikkelsen did an excellent job with their characters. It was fun and adventurous, as Indiana Jones should be. However, I believe the film suffers because of Helena’s poor personality and dialogue. If she had been better written, I think it could have been a great Indiana Jones movie.
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