By Gilberto Campa
In the pantheon of all-time great movie characters and franchises, there is no denying the place that Indiana Jones has in that conversation. With the franchise spanning 42 incredible years that was initially conceived as the brainchild of George Lucas, in part as a tribute to the Saturday morning cereals of his childhood, the adventures of Dr. Jones have thrilled audiences and filled children’s imaginations for years. The first three films are widely considered some of the most important and entertaining films ever made and have been widely influential to a generation of movie audiences, archaeologists, and fans worldwide. The films are also big stages in Steven Spielberg’s filmography as each installment represents a different stage in his career. Even after 2008’s “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” which to this day is still very split among the audiences with many appreciating it over time and critics on the other side expressing how flawed the movie is, which is almost looked at as a meme at this point.
Fortunately, this time around Lucasfilm and Disney wanted to make sure that the final installment of Indiana Jones would be handled with the utmost love and care. James Mangold has been one of the most underrated Directors and writers (in my opinion) of the last thirty years with many of his movies being cult classics (Copland, 3:10 to Yuma) and his more recent work (Logan, Ford V. Ferrari) being more commercially successful and critically praised. The choice of Mangold was what made me excited for Indy 5 and I was happy with what was presented as he really got to show why he is such a great director and a true master at his craft. The cast was selected well outside of Harrison Ford who delivers a classic but also more mature, nuanced and vulnerable Indy performance (but still manages to punch Nazi’s like no one else can!). Even though Harrison Ford isn’t getting any younger he still shows why he is one of the best actors to ever grace the screen, and this is also the third franchise (Star Wars, Blade Runner and now Indiana Jones) that he has come back to. The biggest standout for me in the movie for me was Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Indy’s goddaughter who moves the story along in many ways, her performance was witty, funny, charismatic, and just overall energetic. It really blended well with Harrison Ford and his natural Grumpiness as Indiana Jones.
Mads Mikkelsen delivers another villainous performance with lots of layers and subtlety and had great chemistry with Harrison Ford. He was the perfect foil for Indy and this story and wasn’t as deranged as most villains in this franchise could be. That was left to Boyd Holbrook (one of my favorite character actors working today) as he got to have so much fun as being Mads right hand man in the movie. Dial of Destiny has everything you want in an Indy story with wonderful set pieces, action that fits the story, and much of the classic humor that the Indy series is known for, but it still feels grounded in many ways which felt nice. There is also some very impressive de-aging throughout the movie, especially in the first twenty minutes as the opening prologue takes place about 30 years before the events of the main story, and younger Indiana Jones looked flawless but still looked a little bit strange in some parts. It wasn’t as flawless as River Phoenix in the beginning of The Last Crusade, but it was still amazing to see young Indy done so flawlessly.
The movie doesn’t try to do anything too different and sticks to what it knows (in a safe way), but in a way that is organic and respectful to the Indy lore. I thought it could have been shaved a little in terms of the runtime but since it’s the last installment then it’s understandable. It’s perfect for families, young and old, as there is something for everyone to enjoy and appreciate about it. June has been a very stacked month for movies with a lot of big franchise films being released and with July coming around the corner, it’s only going to get more packed with options. So check out Indiana Jones and his last big adventure.
