By Christian Hooton
Some things are better left untouched. This was certainly the opinion of all movie goers after 2008’s ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’. The movie was a terrible ending to the Indiana Jones franchise, one of the best loved in film history.
Director James Mangold, who helped Wolverine shuffle off to glory in ‘Logan’, is tasked to right the wrongs and send Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) off in a blaze of glory. My verdict? A satisfying but lightweight closure to a heavyweight franchise.
As the titles roll and the iconic John Williams’ score bellows in, all of us old-timers feel that everything is right with the world.
The ‘Dial of Destiny’ is a paint-by-numbers ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. It’s fun, it’s wacky, there are plenty of chases, plenty of bullwhip cracks and everyone chasing a mysterious MacGuffin – all essentials in an Indiana Jones movie, with some old friends popping up for good measure. This easy nostalgia works but it really is not enough to get you excited.
The movie picks up in the late 1960s and Indy is a cranky old man about to head into retirement. Indiana Jones’ Indy is now a relic from a bygone era in this traumatic post-hippy era. He wants to live out his last few years at the bottom of a whiskey bottle but is forced back to being the adventuring archaeologist by his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge).
She is recruiting Indy to retrieve the ancient Greek relic Archimedes’ Antikythera mechanism, known simply as the ‘dial’.
They must find the dial before former Nazi Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who plans to use its mysterious powers to resurrect the Third Reich. Cue a lot of globetrotting, a lot of Nazi bashing, and a lot of spectacularly outrageous stunts.
Too much time in this movie is spent on action sequences. I wanted to see more of the treasure-hunting, problem solving and decoding of puzzles on ancient artifacts. There are just too many chase sequences that go on way too long.
It is a pity, as the action sequences are well executed and brilliantly shot. However, the sheer volume of them means that they lose any real punch. The movie can take the Oscar though for best of de-aging technology witnessed yet, as a youthful Indy and colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) battle a train full of Nazis in 1944.
This film clocks in at two hours and 24 minutes and is a perfect example of bad editing. If each act in the film had its action sequences trimmed and its dramatic sequences extended slightly, this would be a classic addition to the franchise that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the first three films.
Ford is magnificent as the ageing adventurer who is finally getting weighed down by the physical and emotional scars he bears. There is weight and emotion in every quip and every punch from his character. Hard to believe the man is in his 80s as he still credibly pulls off many action sequences.
Waller-Bridge does an admirable job as co-star and sets up her character as a wise-cracking chip off the old Indy block. Mads Mikkelsen plays the role of Nazi megalomaniac pretty well. He certainly looks the part with his shiny metallic hair.
This movie is solid, gratifying and has just enough nostalgia to keep Indy fanboys happy. Kids will enjoy it even if it is 30 minutes too long. A movie that is worth watching and is somehow both never boring and never really entertaining.
‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is currently playing at Camana Bay Cinema.
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