I never thought that I would refer to an Indiana Jones movie a steaming Mickey Mouse turd, yet here we are. Disney's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and (hopefully) last Indiana Jones movie, is a rotten insult to the beloved character and the films that came before it. I grew up on these movies, and I can tell you the exact theaters where I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). I love those two films, and I also enjoyed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and, yes, I even like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). If you hated Crystal Skull, trust me, you will reevaluate it once you see the travesty that is The Dial of Destiny.
It's 1969 and Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford), the once two-fisted archeologist/adventurer, is now a broken old man living alone, and on the cusp of retirement. He is visited by his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who is seeking Archimedes' Dial, a device that can literally change history. Jones has part of the Dial in his possession, and Helena wants it to sell on the black market. Also interested in the Dial for nefarious purposes, is Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi now working for NASA.
Oh yeah, so Indy's son, Mutt, was killed in Vietnam, and Indy and Marion (Karen Allen) are separated. The Indiana Jones films are derived from the action-packed movie serials of the 1930s, so like the previous four Indy films, this should be a fun, spirited adventure and not the dour and depressing drama that it is.
Mikkelsen is wasted as a one-note villain, and Waller-Bridge's character is obnoxious and narcissistic. As for Ford, he just looks tired.
The Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold, making it the first Indiana Jones movie not directed by Steven Spielberg. Mangold is a good director (Cop Land, Walk the Line, Logan), but I think there were just too many cooks in the kitchen here. Not only is there four writers credited with the screenplay, but this entire mess smacks of studio interference. A very abrupt edit in the finale gives the impression that the original ending was lopped off and a "happy" ending was tacked on.
Another big problem is that Ford is 80-years-old and he obviously can't do the physical action required to make it all believable, so when it's not stunt men standing in for Ford (either digitally or wearing a Ford mask), the Indy character cowers in a corner while the Shaw character saves the day. Speaking of the action scenes, they are completely uninspired, and the editing of these scenes is really sloppy. Where is Michael Kahn when you need him?
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny should have never been made. Ford is just too old, no one behind the scenes seems to understand what made the previous Indy films so much fun, and it just feels like a cash grab. This movie is a disgrace to the legacy of Indiana Jones.
