INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023)

Genre: Adventure/Action
Director: James Mangold
Cast:  Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Olivier Richters, Ethann Isidore, Mads Mikkelsen
Runtime: 2 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website:

Opening Day: 29 June 2023

Synopsis: Harrison Ford returns to the role of the legendary hero archaeologist for this highly anticipated final installment of the iconic franchise- a big, globe-trotting, rip-roaring cinematic adventure.

Movie Review:

It takes plenty of gumption to follow after Steven Spielberg, but we had every confidence that James Mangold could pull it off. True enough, while ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ isn’t the best of the classic franchise (that honour, in our view, still belongs to ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’), this fifth and final chapter with Harrison Ford in the titular role is nonetheless a magnificent send-off for the iconic big-screen character, as well as a propitious passing-of-the-baton to a new adventurer with the same brashness, derring-do and an added dash of whimsy.

Opening with a strong dose of nostalgia, ‘Dial of Destiny’ begins with a digitally de-aged Ford searching for prized artifacts amidst the last vestiges of the Third Reich. Though he is initially on the hunt for the Lance of Longinus (the knife used to draw Christ’s blood), Indy and his fellow academic Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) stumble upon the Antikythera, a handheld device with gold-meshed gears that was created by the Greek mathematician Archimedes in the third century B.C. with the power to predict fissures in the fabric of time (and thereby enabling time travel).

You’d be forgiven thinking that Spielberg himself had directed that sequence, seeing how it recalls the best of what he had done back in the 80s. It is as if we had travelled through time to witness Indy free himself from a noose around his neck just before he is crushed to death, get into a car-versus-motorcycle chase in order to catch up with a speeding train, and then fight off Nazis within the confines of the train carriages as well as atop the roof of the train. It is absolutely rip-roaring, but simultaneously an opening act that the rest of the film unfortunately feels compelled to keep up with.

For the rest of its two-and-a-half hour duration, Mangold sling-shots from one action sequence to the next, whether is it a chaotic race through New York City during a ticker-tape parade celebrating the Apollo 11 astronauts, or an inventive vehicular chase through the streets of Tangiers, or a dangerous dive into the deep ocean waters off the coast of Spain, or even a daring trip back in time to when the Greeks were fighting the Romans at the siege of Syracuse. It is plenty busy all right, and if you ask us, a little exhausting, so much so you’d wish that the pacing could be less frenetic.

Still, there is much fun to be had. A good part of the race through New York sees Indy ride a police horse through its streets and even subways. The Tangiers sequence makes clever use of a variety of vehicles, in particular setting up a chase between a three-wheel taxi (tuk tuk) against a classic Jaguar along its narrow cobbled alleyways. Amidst the frenzy, there are welcome nods to its predecessors, including moments that evoke the Ark of the Covenant (such as the tomb filled with snakes), the Well of the Souls, and the creepy little tunnel in ‘Temple of Doom’ with all the gnarly bugs. While they lack Spielberg’s flair, the set-pieces are pure escapist fun.

To his credit, Mangold handles the dramatic bits with just as much attention and care as the action. There is genuine poignancy in the existential dilemma Indy finds himself in, living alone in a New York City apartment mourning the death of his son Mutt (who was played by Shia LaBeouf in the last chapter) and facing imminent divorce with Marion (Karen Allen) as well as retirement from Hunter College where he’s been a professor for over a decade. This is an Indy weathered by life, and struggling to define his relevance outside of a life spent chasing down ancient artifacts and fighting Nazis.

At 80, Ford once again demonstrates why he is pitch perfect for the role. It isn’t just his rugged good looks or his capacity for dry humour that makes him Indy; it is also the humanity he brings to the role, especially when he reminisces how different the world has become, the friends he’s lost over the years and the tragedy he’s had to carry with him. And in that regard, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who plays his god-daughter Helena Shaw, is a wonderful foil for Ford. Where Indy was predictable, Helena proves wily and even devious, especially her motivations for acquiring the Antikythera. Though this movie belongs undoubtedly to Ford, Waller-Bridge makes a strong proposition for her character to carry the torch after Indy hangs up his hat.

So even though ‘Dial of Destiny’ was never going to be its crowning achievement, it beautifully recaptures the exhilaration, thrill and wonder of the franchise, more so dare we say than the last ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ did. As always, Ford is Indy as much as Indy is Ford, and we dare say that Indy (not Hans Solo) is Ford’s most iconic big-screen role. Those worried that ‘Dial of Destiny’ might in fact be a Helena Shaw adventure can rest easy; this is still firmly an Indiana Jones escapade through and through, and as the last hurrah for Ford/ Indy, it offers fitting closure for a character whose legacy was destined to be immortalised in the golden age of cinematic swashbucklers.

Movie Rating:

(As magnificent a send-off as befits Indiana Jones, this fifth and final chapter of the iconic adventurer beautifully recaptures the exhilaration, thrill and wonder of the franchise)

Review by Gabriel Chong