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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Movie Review

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a 2023 action adventure film directed by James Mangold and starring Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. It’s a surprisingly solid flick.

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“Give ’em hell, Indiana Jones!“

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Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA. This was the first movie in this franchise that wasn’t directed by Spielberg. Mangold of ‘Logan’ fame was chosen for the gig and he did a terrific job with it. Parallels with the aforementioned film can be drawn thematically as both films deal with the protagonist’s mortality.

Yes, this is one of the most serious films in this usually much more irreverent series. Indy has to grapple with his own mortality and the world’s indifference toward anything mysterious or exciting. That depiction of today’s inescapable cynicism was quite strong, though the movie could have done much more with this theme at the end of the day.

I loved the first and the third act. The first one is a gloriously executed train action sequence where the filmmakers fired on all cylinders and delivered one hell of a blockbuster spectacle. As for that ending, this is where Indy meets Archimedes and that time travel element was so intriguingly incorporated that it reinvigorated my feigning interest in the film after its somewhat lackluster and tiresome second act.

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Harrison Ford was very good in what is his most signature role. The character was significantly deepened here and how he had to find his energy and sense of adventure after all these years was quite touching to witness. The younger CGI version also mostly worked. Unfortunately, the new characters were mostly nothing to write home about.

Mads Mikkelsen was frustratingly typecast as the Nazi leader here. While I did appreciate the villains’ surprisingly unique plan to actually dispose of Hitler to secure the Nazis winning WWII, the character himself was tired, boring and not at all intimidating. All the other characters come and go with no serious impact with the exception of Helena Show played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She was obviously meant to replace Ford in the role and she did that to a degree. The two made for a solid action hero couple. Her bravado, humor and ingenuity were quite fun.

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Dial of Destiny was mostly well shot, solidly scored and particularly well executed in some strong action set pieces, but the action in the second half was mostly typical and forgettable. But the adventurous elements elevated the viewing experience for me, especially the thrilling diving section. The old-fashioned adventuring was so wonderful here and this is what made the movie better than most other Indiana Jones outings for me. I just wish that the script, dialogue and characterization were stronger.