On the eve of the end of World War II, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his research partner Basil (Toby Jones) find themselves captured on a German train full of artifacts on their way to Hitler to pad his personal collection. While trying to escape, the pair discover the Antikythera, an ancient device designed by Archimedes to detect events in the stars, sun, and moon, but a rising theory also believes it could be used to chart disturbances in the fabric of time itself.  Broken in two by its inventor fearing its power, Jones and Basil recover what is left of the dial and make their daring escape.  Years later, Jones, recently retired, finds himself visited by his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), and she reignited his interest and intrigue about the Dial, but he is not the only one after the device and soon Indy finds ensnared in a CIA plot and desperately needs to clear his name. 

After steering Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine through a critically acclaimed final installment with Logan (2017), James Mangold was again tapped to help retire an iconic film hero with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.  Taking the directorial reigns away from Steven Spielberg for the first time in the five-film franchise – though both Spielberg and George Lucas remained involved as executive producers – Mangold helps bridge the gap between the classic nostalgia surrounding the character and the expectations of modern audiences coming out to the cinema.  Spanning multiple continents and multiple decades, Dial of Destiny is a thrilling send-off to one of Hollywood’s most enduring characters and does its best to justify its 154-minute runtime. 

With Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) already in the books, it is hard to lump Dial of Destiny in with the glut of any number of legacy sequels recently released, and by retaining its cast, it is not a strict reboot, either, but it shares a lot in common with these types of projects often cited as simple cash grabs. What sets it apart, however, is Mangold’s reverence for the character is very clearly present but he is operating in a way that he does not feel exceptionally beholden to the will and demands of the fans.  He is trying something a little different here which is both shocking and notable given the about-face which Disney took after the crybaby revolt surrounding Rian Johnson‘s Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), but the result is something that is both thrilling and exciting; two words that could never be used to describe JJ Abrams’ bookending installments of the “Rey Trilogy.”  There are plenty of callbacks to the previous films in the script penned by the massive team of Mangold, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp, and while the team does regrettably make too big of a point at really highlighting and drawing attention to these moments so that they do not go unnoticed by even the most casual of fans, the film does not feel like it has been engineered specifically around these Easter eggs and instead gets to tell its own story.  A little more trust in the audience would have gone a long way, but given the landscape of current franchise features, Dial of Destiny is still surprisingly independent of its predecessors. 

The prelude on the Nazi train is a bold opening in that it features one of the most divisive uses of CGI technology: de-aging. Taking place at night and with Phedon Papamichael’s camera moving quickly, the effect works surprisingly well and gets audiences back in the right headspace for the film even if it also conjures up some poignant memories about the original heir apparent to the bullwhip, River Pheonix.  Cynics will still be able to sit and stew as they point out the seams of this less-than-perfect – and less-than-ethical? – technology, but it works in the spirit of the moment and that is ultimately what matters the most. The recollection of River passes quickly as Indy and Basil, separated and moments from their own doom, scramble across the train, not in search of the Lance of Longinus which speared Christ’s side on the cross, but for the Dial and their own escape. As if the Nazis were not bad enough, there is one among them who is exceptionally ruthless and also has an eye for antiquities, Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). Mikkelsen is not stretching his ability in this role by any means, but he is also nothing less than deliciously evil in the role, either.  What feels at first may just have been an extended cameo, brought to the studio lot for a few days to borrow his suave demeanor, is excitedly dispelled layer in the film when it is revealed that Voller has survived the war and is also in New York City, now working for the USA and NASA.  His henchmen, Klabar (Boyd Holbrook) and Hauke (Olivier Richters), have the unfortunate and impossible task of not being macerated by Mikkelsen’s scenery chewing, and they receive little help from the script to stand out and make their mark on the film, but their presence is often felt and the pair are not afraid to get down and dirty while their more prim and proper boss watches on safely and menacingly from a distance.  Mikkelsen then caps off the performance in the third act with a quintessential villain speech explaining his motivations and his reasoning, admittedly wild in its reaches but by that point, we are buckled in and ready to go off to whatever far corner Mangold is leading us. 

Great villain? Check. Great artifact? Check. Left to fill are great sidekicks, here found in Helena and her own sidekick, Teddy (Ethann Isidore), a young street urchin with an affinity for airplanes.  With Helena not being just a damsel in distress, she fills an almost secondary Indy role, filling in for Ford on some of the more demanding stunts, and making Teddy her Short Round.  It works surprisingly well, and the chemistry shared between the three adventurers is dynamic.  What really helps it along is that the three of them all have their own motivations for the adventure so they have to constantly renegotiate with each other to make sure that as a unit they can survive whatever traps have been laid in their path.  With the ever-noble Indy looking to secure the Antikythera for a museum, Helena looking to sell it on the black market for a hefty payday, and Teddy with his allegiance placed solely in Helena, there is always a tug of war for power over the situation that lends a lot of narrative excitement to the scenes.  Further, given the age difference and relationship already established between Indy and Helena, Dial of Destiny does not get bogged down with a messy romantic plot that does little more than install faux stakes in a will they/won’t they moment that punctuates a thrilling set piece. The drama is staunchly survival focused, but as with the other films, it is not purely chaste given a few thirsty comments played for laughs by Waller-Bridge who is really putting in the work to earn the fedora after the second in line for the role, Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt, has also been struck from the lineage. 

Rounding out, or rather centered upon, this adventure is none other than Indiana Jones.  Ford has been making a name for himself as of late as a curmudgeon of Hollywood, especially in regard to his upcoming franchise work with Marvel, but there still seemed to be a glimmer of reverence that he reserved towards Han Solo when he reprised the role for The Force Awakens (2015) and here a blinding light of adoration towards Indy.  Born in 1942, the octogenarian saddled up for what could possibly be his last ride – that final shot both fittingly playful but also frighteningly indicative of Hollywood’s inability to let things pass with their dignity still about them – his role in Dial of Destiny is unsurprisingly physical, and he does not shy away from the action. There is diving, climbing, jumping, and more punching than one can count, and Ford is present in every sequence making it known that he is not afraid of danger.  As time marches on, our heroes are aging, but Indy has still got it, and while the film has clear themes of an ending, Ford is determined to go out on a high note, not content to sit on the sidelines as the action passes him by.  Between his rigor as a performer and Mangold’s commitment to practical effects as much as possible, Dial of Destiny really scratches that itch and transports us back to the first time we heard the triumphant crack of the whip.  With full disclosure, though, Mangold’s style is very close so audiences can be forgiven for thinking this was all CGI as the backgrounds are often dark and blurry as they zip past the tightly framed characters and there are regrettably few moments where the camera breaks to let us enjoy the vistas. 

When it comes to the structure of the film, specifically in the ratio of action to plot, Mangold gets a little carried away with his chase sequences.  No less than four major set pieces occupy the ninety-minute quest before the final hour when the story begins to pay off, and while there are some individual moments that are thrilling or have some perfectly executed jokes, it really bogs the whole film down.  The greatest offender is a street race through Tangiers that lasts at least fifteen minutes and is dizzyingly disorienting yet serves very little narrative purpose. Cutting corners, crossing alleys, and crashing through market stalls quickly become repetitive and Mangold does not employ any kind of flair or bravado technique here to make it very exciting, nor does he advance the plot much at all other than the artifact has been stolen back by Voller and his goons.  Even in the opening flashback on the train, he does not seem to know when to trim down, but thankfully that opening sequence has the benefit of introduction exposition so it still feels purposeful. This too-precious approach results in the longest installment of the franchise by 27 minutes, but it makes up for it in a thrilling conclusion that heavily indulges in the more fantastical elements of the Indiana Jones saga. 

Basil, as it turns out, was correct in his fringe theory that the Antikythera can detect fissures in space that will allow travelers to go backward or forwards in time. Voller, it is revealed, has been in pursuit of the device for the noble purpose of killing Adolf Hitler and the not-so-noble purpose of capitalizing on and executing his own plan for the advancement of German power.  Having forgotten to take into account continental drift, Voller pilots his plane with Indy and Helena on board and Teddy right on their tail in a plane of his own, back to 212BC during the Siege of Syracuse; the age of Archimedes (Nasser Memarzia). What may be a bridge too far for many, especially after the alien encounters of Crystal Skull, this step back into history is played with utmost sincerity and reinspires Indy to his purpose in life, something he has all but given up after the death of his son in the war and his crumbling marriage which followed.  This third act, and the foundational scenes that were laid throughout the script, asks Ford to tap into an emotional register unknown to the franchise and one that far eclipses, but importantly does not undo, the cathartic final moments of The Last Crusade (1989).  

Mangold’s film, despite treading water in the second act, is a very engaging adventure that brings Indy back to his roots, searching for – mostly – real artifacts and indulging in the surrounding cultural lore and proves the director’s skill at not just working with, but also ending the myths of today.  It does not always look like an Indiana Jones story, especially during its stint in the city, but the script really captures the spirit of the franchise and delivers a mostly steady keel of humor, action, and plot though teetering ever so over-indulgently into action. It is setting the franchise up for growth while closing a chapter of cinematic history, but most importantly it is telling a story of its own. It does not feel like fodder. It does not feel like it is selling Disney+ subscriptions. Most impressively, it is still welcoming in a new generation of fans while not alienating the stalwarts who have been with Indy from the beginning.  As John Williams‘ score swells across the title card, those who have been to Cario, the Himalayas, or Peru feel emboldened to be back at it again one last time, and for those youngest of audiences whom this is their first escapade with this swashbuckling scholar, even they will know from those opening notes that they are in for an absolute delight.