movie review for indiana jones and the dial of destiny

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is somehow both never boring and never really entertaining. It walks a line of modest interest in what's going to happen next thanks to equal parts innovative story beats and the foundation of nostalgia that everyone brings to the theater. It's an alternating series of frustrating choices, promising beats, and general goodwill for a legendary actor donning one of the most famous hats in movie history yet again. It should be better. It could have been worse. Both can be true. In an era of extreme online critical opinion, "The Dial of Destiny" is a hard movie to truly hate, which is nice. It's also an Indiana Jones movie that's difficult to truly love, which makes this massive fan of the original trilogy a little sad.

The unsettling mix of good and bad starts in the first sequence, a flashback to the final days of World War II that features Indy ( Harrison Ford ) and a colleague named Basil Shaw ( Toby Jones ) trying to reclaim some of the historical artifacts being stolen by the fleeing Nazis. Jones looks normal, of course, but Ford here is an uncanny valley occupant, a figure of de-aged CGI that never looks quite human. He doesn't move or even sound quite right. It's the first but not the last time in "The Dial of Destiny" in which it feels like you can't really get your hands on what you're watching. It sets up a standard of over-used effects that are the film's greatest flaw. We're watching Indiana Jones at the end of World War II, but the effects are distracting instead of enhancing.

It's a shame, too, because the structure of the prologue is solid. Indy escapes capture from a Nazi played by Thomas Kretschmann , but the important introduction here is that of a Nazi astrophysicist named Jurgen Voller (a de-aged Mads Mikkelsen ), who discovers that, while looking for something called the Lance of Longinus, the Nazis have stumbled upon half of the Antikythera, or Archimedes' Dial. Based on a real Ancient Greek item that could reportedly predict astronomical positions for decades, the dial is given the magical Indy franchise treatment in ways that I won't spoil other than to say it's not as explicitly religious as items like the Ark of the Covenant of The Holy Grail other than, as Voller says, it almost makes its owner God.

After a cleverly staged sequence involving anti-aircraft fire and dozens of dead Nazis, "The Dial of Destiny" jumps to 1969. An elderly Indiana Jones is retiring from Hunter College, unsure of what comes next in part because he's separated from Marion after the death of their son Mutt in the Vietnam War. The best thing about "The Dial of Destiny" starts here in the emotional undercurrents in Harrison Ford's performance. He could have lazily walked through playing Indy again, but he very clearly asked where this man would be emotionally at this point in his life. Ford's dramatic choices, especially in the film's back half, can be remarkable, reminding one how good he can be with the right material. His work here made me truly hope that he gets a brilliant drama again in his career, the kind he made more often in the ‘80s.

But back to the action/adventure stuff. Before he can put his retirement gift away, Indy is whisked off on an adventure with Helena Shaw ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ), the daughter of Basil and goddaughter of Indy. It turns out that Basil became obsessed with the dial after their encounter with it a quarter-century ago, and Indy told him he would destroy the half of the dial they found. Of course, Indiana Jones doesn't destroy historical artifacts. As they're getting the dial from the storeroom, they're attacked by Voller and his goons, leading to a horse chase through the subway during a parade. It's a cluttered, awkward action sequence with power that's purely nostalgic—an iconic hero riding a horse through a parade being thrown for someone else.

Before you know it, everyone is in Tangier, where Helena wants to sell her half of the dial, and the film injects its final major character into the action with a sidekick named Teddy ( Ethann Isidore ). From here, "The Dial of Destiny" becomes a traditional Indy chase movie with Jones and his team trying to stay ahead of the bad guys while leading them to what they're trying to uncover.

James Mangold has delivered on "old-man hero action" before with the excellent " Logan ," but he gets lost on the journey here, unable to stage action sequences in a way that's anywhere near as engaging as how Steven Spielberg does the same. Yes, we're in a different era. CGI is more prevalent. But that doesn't excuse clunky, awkward, incoherent action choreography. Look at films like " John Wick: Chapter 4 " or a little sequel that's coming out in a few weeks that I'm not really supposed to talk about—even with the CGI enhancements, you know where the characters are at almost all times, what they're trying to accomplish, and what stands in their way. 

That basic action structure often falls apart in "The Dial of Destiny." There's a car chase scene through Tangier that's incredibly frustrating, a blur of activity that should work on paper but has no weight and no real stakes. A later scene in a shipwreck that should be claustrophobic is similarly clunky in terms of basic composition. I know not everyone can be Spielberg, but the simple framing of action sequences in " Raiders of the Lost Ark " and even " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade " is gone here, replaced by sequences that cost so much that they somehow elevated the budget to $300 million. I wished early and often to see this movie's $100 million version.

"The Dial of Destiny" works much better when it's less worried about spending that massive budget. When Indy and Helena get to actual treasure-hunting, and John Williams ' all-timer theme kicks in again, the movie clicks. And, without spoiling, it ends with a series of events and ideas that I wish had been foregrounded more in the 130 minutes that preceded it. Ultimately, "The Dial of Destiny" is about a man who wants to control history being thwarted by a man who wants to appreciate it but has arguably allowed himself to get stuck in it through regret or inaction. There's a powerful emotional center here, but it comes too late to have the impact it could have with a stronger script. One senses that this script was sanded down so many times by producers and rewrites that it lost some of the rough edges it needed to work.

Spielberg reportedly gave Mangold some advice when he passed the whip to the director, telling him , "It's a movie that's a trailer from beginning to end—always be moving." Sure. Trailers are rarely boring. But they're never as entertaining as a great movie.

In theaters now.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

• Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
• Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw
• Antonio Banderas as Renaldo
• John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
• Toby Jones as Basil Shaw
• Boyd Holbrook as Klaber
• Ethann Isidore as Teddy Kumar
• Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Jürgen Voller
• Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
• Thomas Kretschmann as Colonel Weber
• Andrew Buckland
• Dirk Westervelt
• Michael McCusker
• David Koepp
• James Mangold
• Jez Butterworth
• John-Henry Butterworth

Writer (based on characters created by)

• George Lucas
• Philip Kaufman
• John Williams

Cinematographer

• Phedon Papamichael

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‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Review: Turning Back the Clock

The gruff appeal of Harrison Ford, both de-aged and properly weathered, is the main draw in this generally silly entry in the long-running franchise.

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By Manohla Dargis

What makes Indy run? For years, the obvious answer was Steven Spielberg, who, starting in 1981 with “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” guided Harrison Ford’s hunky archaeologist, Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr., in and out of gnarly escapades and ripped shirts in four box-office behemoths. By the time Spielberg directed Ford in their last outing, “ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ” (2008), Indy was in his late 50s and fans were speculating that the character was immortal, even if the franchise itself had begun running on fumes.

As a longtime big Hollywood star and hitmaker, Ford had already achieved an immortality of a kind. Indy-ologists, though, were more focused on the eternal life that Indy might have been granted by the Holy Grail when he takes a healthy swig from it in his third outing, “The Last Crusade” (1989). It’s pretty clear from his newest venture, the overstuffed if not entirely charmless “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” that while Indy may not in fact be immortal, the brain trust overseeing this installment wishes he were. They haven’t simply brought the character back for another go, they have also given him a digital face-lift.

The face-lift is as weird and distracting as this kind of digital plastic surgery tends to be, though your mileage will vary as will your philosophical objections to the idea that Ford needed to be de-aged to draw an audience, even for a 42-year-old franchise that’s now older than most North American moviegoers. The results don’t have the spooky emptiness of uncanny-valley faces. That said, the altered Indy is cognitively dissonant; I kept wondering what they’d done to — or perhaps with — Ford. It turns out that when he wasn’t getting body doubled, he was on set hitting his marks before his face was sent out to be digitally refreshed.

The guy you’re familiar with eventually appears — with wrinkles and gray hair, though without a shirt or pants, huzzah — but first you need to get past the prolonged opener, which plays like a franchise highlight reel. These nods to the past are unsurprising for a series steeped in nostalgia. “Raiders” was created by Spielberg’s pal, George Lucas, who saw it as a homage to the serials that he’d loved as a kid. Lucas envisioned a hero along the lines of Humphrey Bogart in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” but with morals (more or less), while Spielberg was interested in making a Bond-style film without the hardware and gimmicks.

As soon as the younger Indy appears in “Dial of Destiny,” it’s clear that the nostalgic love for old Hollywood that defined and shaped the original film has been supplanted by an equally powerful nostalgia for the series itself. That helps explain why this movie finds Indy once again battling Nazis, who make conveniently disposable villains for a movie banking on international sales. After directing “Schindler’s List” (1993), Spielberg expressed reluctance to make Nazis “Saturday-matinee villains,” as he once put it . The team here, by contrast, knows no such hesitation, even if evoking Spielberg’s films inevitably raises comparisons that do no one any favors, particularly the franchise’s new director, James Mangold.

The movie opens in 1944 with Indy — wearing an enemy uniform as he did in “Raiders” — being held captive, a sack coyly obscuring his head while Nazi hordes scurry about. Once the sack comes off — ta-da! — the plot thickens with a mysterious antique (à la “Raiders”), nods to the Führer, the introduction of an Indy colleague (Toby Jones) and dastardly doings from a fanatic (Mads Mikkelsen, whose face has been similarly ironed out). There’s an explosion, a sprint to freedom, a zipping car, a zooming motorcycle (as in “The Last Crusade”) and a dash atop a moving train (ditto), a busy pileup that Mangold finesses with spatial coherency.

Things improve once the story cuts to 1969 and Ford and his beautiful, lived-in, expressively alive face make their entrance, with Indy staggering awake wearing just boxer shorts, an intro that elicits chuckles, admiration and bittersweet feelings because Ford’s years are etched into every crease. After some more preliminaries, Indy finds his usual fast-paced groove with familiar friends, foes, narrative beats and action-flick clichés, including a gal pal, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, from “Fleabag”), who’s an ethically challenged wisenheimer. The script — by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and Mangold — keeps playing the greatest hits, at times nearly blow-for-blow, kiss-for-kiss.

The story turns on the treasure, a prize that dates back several thousand years and, like time, just keeps slipping away. Pressed to retrieve it, Indy suits up — fedora, bullwhip, leather jacket, check, check and check — and he and Helena race around the globe chasing it while trading banter and, by turns, evading and fighting villains. For some reason, a grizzled Antonio Banderas pops in as a boat captain. At another point, Indy et al. land in Tangier, a setting that evokes “Raiders” and, uncomfortably, the scene in which Indy shoots a sword-wielding Arab, a death that Spielberg played for laughs and that distills that film’s breezy colonialist mind-set.

“Dial of Destiny” avoids such missteps simply by taking aim at Nazis. Indy and company still embark on breakneck chases in putatively exotic locations — including on tippy three-wheelers that careen through Tangier — but with less obvious collateral damage to the locals, if not their food stalls. Like all the action sequences here, this one drags on long enough to kill the fun. Mangold can do action. He’s best known for “ Logan ,” that rare comic-book movie that achieves a just-so balance between genre familiarity and novelty; he should be better known for “ Ford v Ferrari ,” a smart, nimble car story that underscores he can do one of the hardest things in film, which is to turn two people just talking to each other into cinema.

The Indiana Jones series was customized for mass appeal, which doesn’t leave room for Mangold to do much, though at times he slows things down enough for Ford to shift rhythm. It’s hard to believe this or any other installment would have worked half as well without Ford, whose gruffly appealing, unthreatening (to women, importantly) masculine persona has always felt natural and unforced. No matter how outrageous Indy’s trouble, Ford’s persona and outwardly effortless charm — and his ability to drop that rakish smile for something darker, meaner, even threatening — have kept the character tethered to the real world of feelings and consequences. Lucas and Spielberg sketched a cartoon; Ford created a character.

That character, or rather Ford, or really the two of them together are the main arguments for seeing “Dial of Destiny,” which is as silly as you expect and not altogether as successful as you may hope. Among other things, it takes a while to settle down. Everything seems overly strained, at least at first, including the pacing, the story and Waller-Bridge’s performance. It all improves as it continues, or maybe I just surrendered, yielding to the movie’s disposable pleasures, its yearning to entertain you, Mangold’s old-school classicism and, of course, Ford, who, as befits a Hollywood veteran confident enough to make a grand entrance in only his boxers, can still run away with a movie — and run and run — without breaking a sweat.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Rated PG-13 for largely bloodless violence. Running time: 2 hours 34 minutes. In theaters.

Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic of The Times, which she joined in 2004. She has an M.A. in cinema studies from New York University, and her work has been anthologized in several books. More about Manohla Dargis

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‘indiana jones and the dial of destiny’ review: harrison ford cracks the whip one last time in a final chapter short on both thrills and fun.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen also star in James Mangold’s globe-hopping adventure about the quest for an ancient gadget able to locate fissures in time.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

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Andra day joins 'percy jackson and the olympians' season 2 as athena, anthony mackie takes on the red hulk in new 'captain america: brave new world' trailer, indiana jones and the dial of destiny.

What the new film — scripted by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and Mangold, with the feel of something written by committee — does have is a sweet blast of pure nostalgia in the closing scene, a welcome reappearance foreshadowed with a couple visual clues early on. That heartening return is also suggested by a moment when Harrison Ford ’s Dr. Jones, yanked out of retirement after 10 years teaching at New York’s Hunter College, stops to reflect on the personal mistakes of his past. Which is pretty much the first time the movie pauses for breath, and it happens an hour and 20 minutes into the bloated 2½ hour run time.

Part of what dims the enjoyment of this concluding chapter is just how glaringly fake so much of it looks. Ford is digitally — and convincingly — de-aged in an opening sequence that finds him back among the Nazis at the end of World War II. Hitler has already fled to his bunker and Gestapo gold-diggers are preparing for defeat by loading up a plunder train full of priceless antiquities and various stolen loot.

Scurrying to save himself and rescue his professorial Brit pal Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), Indy ends up in a death match with a Third Reich heavy on top of the train as it speeds through a long mountain pass. But any adrenaline rush that extended set-piece might have generated is killed by the ugly distraction of some truly terrible CG backgrounds. The foundations of this series are in Spielberg’s overgrown-kid playfulness with practical effects. The more the films have come to rely on a digital paintbrush, the less hair-raising their adventures have become.

The bulk of the action takes place in 1969, when Indiana feels the strain even getting up out of his recliner (and Ford commendably shrugs off vanity, making no effort to hide his age). The unexpected return into his life of the late Basil’s daughter Helena ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ), whom Indy hasn’t seen since her childhood, revives thoughts of Archimedes’ golden double-discus gizmo and whether its purported properties might actually work. Helena claims to have chosen the legendary doodad as the subject of her doctorate thesis.

The dial was split in half by its inventor to avoid it slipping into the wrong hands — or to help flesh out a laborious new installment requiring multiple destinations — so half of it sits in an archeological vault, courtesy of Dr. Jones, and the other half lies in parts unknown. But Helena isn’t the only one interested.

It also brings Nazi physicist Dr. Jürgen Voller ( Mads Mikkelsen ), who had a previous brush with Indy 25 years ago, out of hiding. He’s been living under an alias and working for the NASA space program, developing the technology that took the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Turns out he changed his name but not his political persuasion, so going back in time would allow him to “correct” history.

Mangold goes from one set-piece to another without much connective tissue. They include a chase on horseback and motorcycle through the streets of Manhattan that crashes through an anti-Vietnam protest and an Apollo 11 “Welcome Home” ticker-tape parade before continuing in the subway tunnels. There’s also a frantic flight in Moroccan tuk tuks and a dive to the bottom of the sea off the coast of Greece to find a coded guide to Archimedes’ tomb. By that time, you’ll likely have given up following the contorted plot mechanics and just be zoning in and out with each new location.

Or maybe you’ll spend time wondering what drew third-billed Antonio Banderas to such an insignificant role as Renaldo, Indy’s old fisherman buddy, whose diving expertise provides a crucial assist while getting Indy into a tangle with a bunch of outsize CG eels so sloppily rendered that Disney can relax about any Little Mermaid sniping. Renaldo has a crew stacked with male models who have bodies that didn’t exist in the late ‘60s, which seems an intriguing detail, though he’s not around long enough to shed light on it.

Mikkelsen can be a fabulously debonair villain (see: Casino Royale ), but any interesting idiosyncrasies the character might have exhibited are drowned in convoluted plot. This calls for a larger-than-life bad guy, and he’s somehow smaller. Filling the plucky young sidekick spot, Isidore’s Teddy is, well, let’s just say he’s no Short Round and leave it at that.

This is a big, bombastic movie that goes through the motions but never finds much joy in the process, despite John Williams’ hard-working score continuously pushing our nostalgia buttons and trying to convince us we’re on a wild ride. Indy ignores the inevitable jokes about his age and proves he can still handle himself in a tight spot. But Ford often seems disengaged, as if he’s weighing up whether this will restore the tarnished luster to his iconic action hero or reveal that he’s past his expiration date. Both the actor and the audience get a raw deal with this empty exercise in brand redemption.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny First Reviews: 'Safe,' 'Wacky,' 'Empty,' Critics Say

"harrison ford's performance carries the movie" and more opinions from cannes film festival critics about the latest indiana jones adventure, in which ford revisits his role as the titular hero one last time..

TAGGED AS: Film , Lucasfilm , movie , Walt Disney Pictures

Exactly 15 years after the Cannes premiere of the previous installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny   just made its debut at the same film festival, and the first reviews have made their way online. This fifth movie in the franchise sees Harrison Ford return as the titular adventuring archaeologist, with many of his scenes set in the past using de-aging special effects.

Also along for the ride are Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Indy’s goddaughter and Antonio Banderas as a new ally, while John Rhys-Davies returns as Sallah, last seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . James Mangold directs Dial of Destiny , taking over from Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first four Indiana Jones movies.

Here’s what critics are saying about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny .

(Photo by Lucasfilm)

Click image to open full poster in a new tab.

Does it live up to expectations?

“It’s fun; it’s wacky; it works.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“We all sat down to this movie hoping for a resurgence comparable to what JJ Abrams did with The Force Awakens, and if that didn’t exactly happen, it still gets up a storytelling gallop.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“James Mangold brings the character’s adventures to a satisfying close.” – James Mottram, South China Morning Post

“If this is the final Indiana Jones movie, as it most likely will be, it’s nice to see that they stuck the landing.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

“Unfortunately, it ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“A belabored reminder that some relics are better left where and when they belong.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“We have lived with worse.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

Where does it rank among the other Indiana Jones movies?

Ray Winstone, Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Photo by ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection)

“It’s an improvement on the execrable Crystal Skull .” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

“This one has quite a bit of zip and fun and narrative ingenuity with all its MacGuffiny silliness that the last one really didn’t.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“ Dial of Destiny feels like an old-school Indy romp, more so than 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , as it tries to capture the rollicking spirit of the originals.” – James Mottram, South China Morning Post

“ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may not be the finest film of the franchise, but it’s far from the worst.” – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

“Nobody with a brain in their heads will compare Dial of Destiny favorably to the first three films.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“Four were enough.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

What are some other comparable movies?

National Treasure (2004) stars Diane Kruger, Nicolas Cage, and Justin Bartha (Photo by Touchstone/courtesy Everett Collection)

“There are big National Treasure vibes…take from that what you will.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

“It could give late-vintage Fast & Furious a very, very speedy run for its money when it comes to spectacular (and spectacularly ludicrous) SFX stunts.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

How is Harrison Ford’s return as Indiana Jones?

“Ford is beyond triumphant…his performance shines in the sense that the audience can feel the deeply emotional send-off he personally is giving his character in every quip, every punch, and every heartfelt adage that comes off his lips.” – Lex Briscuso, Slashfilm

“At 80 years old, Ford himself really gives it his all, even though the role initially requires him to look like he’d rather be anywhere else.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“Now 80 years young, but carrying it off with humor and style and still nailing that reluctant crooked smile.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“He never loses either his scowl or his doggedness. He plays even the flimsiest scenes with conviction and dry humour. His performance carries the movie. Age cannot wither him in the slightest.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“Ford often seems disengaged, as if he’s weighing up whether this will restore the tarnished luster to his iconic action hero or reveal that he’s past his expiration date.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

What about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s new character?

“She is gratifyingly badass.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“Like Karen Allen’s Marion in the first film, a Howards Hawksian woman.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine

“Phoebe Waller-Bridge has a tremendous co-star turn as Indy’s roguish goddaughter.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“Waller-Bridge has clearly been given the instruction to ‘just do Fleabag ’ but she’s operating without Fleabag -level material here, and her frequent attempts to juice up the clumsy gags with her trademark winking delivery tend to fall flat.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“While Phoebe Waller-Bridge, of Fleabag fame, makes her saucy, spiky, and duplicitous in a cheeky way (she’s like the young Maggie Smith with a boatload of attitude), we never feel in our guts that Helena is a chip off the old Indy block.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

How are the movie’s villains?

Mads Mikkelsen (left) and Thomas Kretschmann (far right) in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“As Jürgen Voller, Mads Mikkelsen is enjoyably hissable.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine

“Mikkelsen, flanked by some heavies including Boyd Holbrook, is an excellent adversary.” – James Mottram, South China Morning Post

“He’s an infuriating villain, one that feels both menacing and overwhelming in his brutish intelligence — the kind of adversary it seems impossible to defeat, and thus the perfect final match for the one and only Indiana Jones.” – Lex Briscuso, Slashfilm

“Mikkelsen can be a fabulously debonair villain (see: Casino Royale ), but any interesting idiosyncrasies the character might have exhibited are drowned in convoluted plot. This calls for a larger-than-life bad guy, and he’s somehow smaller.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

“Mads Mikkelsen, with his lizard scowl and his shiny metallic hair, doesn’t play Voller as a realistic character. He’s a leering megalomaniac out of central casting.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Unfortunately, what we get is the pantomimic, hubristic, goose-stepping version of the Nazis.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

Are the action scenes worth the price of admission?

“The action is often very inventively staged. James Mangold, who has taken over directing duties from Steven Spielberg, sets a breakneck tempo.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“A bit involving a very heavy bomb is worthy of any movie this franchise has ever produced.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“There are plenty of jolly chases, including a tuk-tuk vs classic Jag event in the narrow streets of Tangier.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“The action is generic and clunkily staged – for all the local detail in every individual shot of the heavily advertised tuk-tuk chase, it might as well be taking place on an endless conveyor belt.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“Endless action sequences can become so flabbily overblown they lose any punch, but [Mangold] is never anything but brisk.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“Like virtually all action sequences these days, this one suffers from the fact that visual effects can do pretty much anything, which tends to strip away any sense of surprise, novelty or even high stakes, no matter how frantic and extravagant things get.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

“[They] utilize too much (far too much) of the era’s computer-generated imagery.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

Does it otherwise look good?

Boyd Holbrook in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“The recreations of the 1960s vistas are gorgeous.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“There’s no shot here, nor twist of choreography, that makes you marvel at the filmmaking mind that conceived it.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“The climax of the film…looks washed out and sallow.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

Is the script satisfying?

Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, and Toby Jones in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“The plot is hokum of the cheesiest hue, but the screenwriters know that hokum is the mulch in which this franchise germinates.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“The screenplay does provide a few big laughs.” – Jo-Ann Titmarsh, London Evening Standard

“The screenplay sometimes seems like a mish-mash of elements from the older movies thrown together in scattergun fashion.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“The globe-trotting can occasionally feel a bit MacGuffin-by-numbers: we must find the thing, which leads us to the map, which will help find the other thing.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine

“One can feel the four credited screenwriters grasping at inspiration and coming up short.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

“Considering that the screenplay is credited to four writers, couldn’t they at least have thought of something cool for Indy to do with his whip?” – Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

Does it lean too much on nostalgia?

Harrison Ford de-aged in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

“It contains lots of satisfying fan service, from old friends popping up, to familiar situations unfolding in different ways.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

“Just hearing John Williams’ score, yet another variant on the heroics and theatrics of the original, makes anyone of a certain age feel that everything is momentarily right with the world.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“This is an exercise in affectionate nostalgia.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“At least this film’s easy nostalgia has some meta-textual purpose behind it.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“The film just about gets a passing grade for not going too heavy on the nostalgia-porn fan service.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

Is Steven Spielberg missed?

“The missing component is Steven Spielberg, for as talented as a director James Mangold is, he cannot measure up to the cinematic brilliance that Spielberg imbues into each of his projects.” – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

“James Mangold, tasked with living up to a fearsome legacy, is competent with an action set piece, but displays little of Spielberg’s nimble, inventive physics, or of Spielberg’s famous gift for conjuring awe.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

“It’s content to tick off everything you’ve seen in other Indiana Jones films already, but with little of Spielberg’s sparkle.” – Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

“The biggest (or at least most evident) difference between Spielberg and Mangold is that one of them would never have allowed himself to make anything this stale, and one of them probably wasn’t given any other choice.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

Are there any other major issues?

Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“As the film goes on, the focus on uninteresting puzzles becomes a bit tedious.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“Tonally, the film wavers. It pulls in too many different directions at once.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“One problem is the title relic, a curio of Ancient Greek lore rumored to give its possessor the power of time travel… Dial of Destiny ’s digression from holiness, though, is less than inspiring.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny reminds you how much Hollywood has changed

The new Indiana Jones movie hits different in the IP age.

by Alissa Wilkinson

In 1981’s Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark , the mercenary archaeologist René Belloq looks his friend-turned-foe Indiana Jones square in the eye and tells him the absolute truth. “Indiana,” he says, “we are simply passing through history.” They’re discussing the treasure they seek: the Ark of the Covenant, which might be just a valuable old artifact or might be the home of the Hebrew God, who knows. “This — this is history.”

Humans die. Civilizations pass away. Artifacts, however, remain. They tell us who we were, and who we still are.

History — the pursuit of it, the commodification of it, our universal fate to live inside of it — is Indiana Jones’s obsession, and that theme bleeds right off the screen and onto us. After all, Raiders was released 42 years ago, before I was born, and the fifth and final film (or so we’re told anyhow ), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, due to arrive in theaters this summer. Watch it at this moment in time, and you’re reminded that you, too, are passing through history. Those movie stars are looking a lot older.

This is a series preoccupied with time and its cousin, mortality, from the characters’ relentless pursuit of the ancient world’s secrets to the poignancy of Jones’s relationships. His adventures are frequently preceded by the revelation that someone or something in his life has died — a friend, a family member, a relationship. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , released in 1989, makes the fact of death especially moving, with its plot point turning on immortality and the Holy Grail. More humorously, cobweb-draped skeletons are strewn liberally throughout the series, reminding us that other explorers and other civilizations have attempted what Indiana is trying to do. He’s just another in a string of adventurers, one who happens to be really good at throwing a punch.

Dial of Destiny feels like an emphatic period at the end of a very long sentence, a sequel making its own case against some future further resurrection — not unlike last year’s Cannes blockbuster premiere, Top Gun: Maverick , or 2021’s fourth installment of The Matrix . That’s not just because Harrison Ford is turning 81 this summer. It’s in the text; Dial of Destiny argues, explicitly, that you have to leave the past in the past, that the only way to ensure the world continues is to put one foot down and then another, moving into the future.

Ironic, yes, for a movie built on giant piles of nostalgia and made by a company that proudly spends most of its money nibbling its own tail . In fact, the entire Indiana Jones concept was nostalgia-driven even before the fedora made its big-screen debut. Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking adventurer descends from swashbuckling heroes of pulp stories and matinee serials that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg loved as kids; like that other franchise Ford launched, the Indy series is both original and pastiche, both contemporary-feeling and set in another time, another place, a world that’s far, far away.

Dial of Destiny is loaded with related ironies, though they’re mostly extratextual. On the screen, it’s fairly straightforward: a sentimental vehicle, one that hits familiar beats and tells familiar jokes, comfort food to make you feel like a kid again for a little while. The Indiana Jones movies , even the bad ones, have always been pretty fun to watch in a cartoon-movie kind of way, while also being aggressively just fine as films — I mean that with fond enthusiasm — and Dial of Destiny fits the bill perfectly.

This installment turns on pieces of a dial created by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, which, like most of the relics that pop up in Indy’s universe, may or may not bestow godlike powers on its wielder. Naturally, the Nazis want it, especially Hitler. So the film opens in 1944, with Indy (a de-aged Ford, though unfortunately nobody thought to sufficiently de-age his voice) fighting Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) to nab it while getting out of one of his signature high-octane scrapes via a familiar combo of costume changes, well-aimed punches, acrobatics, and dumb luck. Then we jump forward to 1969, to discover a very much not de-aged Indy collapsed into his armchair in front of the TV, shirtless and in boxers, snoozing and clutching the dregs of a beer. This is a movie about getting old, after all.

You can deduce the rest — old friends and new, tricks and turns, mysteries, maybe some time travel, the question of whether the magic is real. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is in this movie as Helena Shaw, Jones’s archaeologist goddaughter, and injects it with some much-needed joie de vivre. There are some fun chase scenes, though director James Mangold’s visual sense (richly demonstrated in previous films like Logan and Ford v Ferrari ) falls a little flat next to the memory of Steven Spielberg’s direction. But for the most part, it’s all here again. I don’t want to spoil your fun.

Yet a thread that’s run through the whole four-decade series, with heightened irony every time it comes up, is the battle between Indy — who firmly believes that history’s relics ought to be in a museum for everyone to enjoy — and fortune-seeking mercenaries or power-seeking Nazis, who want to privately acquire those artifacts for their own reasons. (Leaving the artifact where it is, perhaps even among its people, still doesn’t really seem to be an option.) It’s a mirror for the very real theft of artifacts throughout history by invading or colonizing forces, the taking of someone else’s culture for your own use or to assert your own dominance. That battle crops up again in this installment, with both mercenaries and Nazis on offer. Shaw, voicing a darker archaeological aim, wryly insists that thieving is just capitalism, and that cash is the only thing worth believing in; Voller’s aims are much darker.

It’s all very fitting in a movie about an archaeologist set in the midcentury. But you have to notice the weird Hollywood resonance. When Raiders first hit the big screen, it was always intended to be the first in a series, much like Lucas and Spielberg’s beloved childhood serials. (The pair in fact made their initial Indiana Jones deal with Paramount for five movies.) But while some bits (and chunks) of the 1980s films have aged pretty badly, they endure in part because they’re remixes that are alive with imagination and even whimsy, the product so clearly of some guys who wanted to play around with the kinds of stories they loved as children.

Now, in the IP era , remixing is a fraught endeavor. The gatekeepers, owners and fans alike, are often very cranky. The producers bank on more of the same, not the risk of a new idea. The artifacts belong to them , and they call the shots, and tell you when you can have access or not. (The evening Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opened at Cannes, Disney — already infamously known for locking its animation away in a vault and burying the work of companies it acquires — announced it would start removing dozens of its own series from its streamers.) Rather than move into the future and support some new sandboxes, the Hollywood of today mostly maniacally rehashes what it’s already done. It envisions a future where what’s on offer is mostly what we’ve already had before.

In this I hear echoes of thinkers like Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer — two men who fled the Nazis, incidentally — who proposed the culture industry was giving people the illusion of choice, but only the freedom to choose what they said was on offer. You can have infinite variations on the same thing.

It’s a sentiment strangely echoed in Dial of Destiny . One night, Shaw is doing a card trick for some sailors, who are astounded that when they call out the seven of clubs, that’s what they pull out of the deck. But she shows Indy how she does it — by forcing the card on them, without them realizing. “I offer the feeling of choice, but I ultimately make you pick the one I want,” she explains, with a wry grin.

After 40 years and change, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny releases into a world where there’s more stuff than ever to watch, but somehow it feels like we have less choice, less chance of discovery. It is our moment in history — an artifact of what it was to be alive right now. When the historians of the future look back, I have to wonder what they’ll see, and thus who, in the end, they’ll think we really were.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is playing in theaters worldwide.

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• Movie Review

The Dial of Destiny is a ruminative, remedial Indiana Jones history lesson

The newest indiana jones movie isn’t trying to reinvent the classic lucasfilm formula, but it is trying to make you think about what it really means to obsess about the past..

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

Share this story

The more reverence you have for Lucasfilm’s original Indiana Jones films and the younger, scrappier Harrison Ford who made them so mesmerizing to watch, the less fun you’re likely to have with director James Mangold’s The Dial of Destiny. But if you, like Ford , have spent some time really disabusing yourself of the idea that nostalgic warm and fuzzies are the only feelings moviegoers should be searching for in the cinema, The Dial of Destiny might just surprise you with how hard it’s working to say something poignant about who Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr. is.

Set largely in the late summer of 1969 right as he’s planning to retire, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny tells the story of how, after years of being out of the madcap adventuring and treasure-hunting games, Indiana Jones finds himself sucked into yet another unbelievable predicament stemming from — what else — his time fighting Nazis during World War II.

This post includes very light spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, so proceed with caution if you’ve not yet seen it.

Before The Dial of Destiny fully focuses on Indy’s present, the movie actually opens decades before in the mid-40s right as Jones and his fellow archaeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) were captured by Hitler’s goons while searching for a legendary (and biblical) artifact to steal from them.

As old-hat as Indiana Jones using his wits and charm to out-maneuver cartoonish European villains is for the franchise, The Dial of Destiny tries to breathe new life into that facet of these stories by working the deepest, darkest de-aging technological magicks on Ford’s 80-year-old face during flashbacks to transform him into a barely convincing likeness of his 45-year-old self. For the most part, it’s genuinely astounding and only but so unsettling to see Ford-as-Jones in his swarthy, sweaty prime punching Nazis and ogling the invaluable relics they’re attempting to spirit away to the führer as the Allied forces descend upon Germany.

Part of what makes the de-aging here work so well for Ford but less so for the younger version of Nazi researcher Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) is the way that flashback Indy is very clearly the product of VFX artists using AI tools trained on old Indiana Jones footage to subtly dial back the aging we’ve witnessed Ford go through. But as soon as Ford — who delivered a motion capture performance for the flashbacks assisted by stunt double Mike Massa — begins to talk and move around in his youthful guise, you immediately clock that there’s an octogenarian acting beneath all those visual effects and the illusion’s effectiveness wavers.

It feels a little too generous to call the uncanny dreaminess — a not altogether off-putting un-reality — that defines the de-aged Ford wholly intentional on The Dial of Destiny ’s part. The effect smacks of an unsettling desire on Disney’s part to keep the Indiana Jones IP machine running complete with Ford’s likeness long after he himself steps away from the franchise. But the way The Dial of Destiny juxtaposes the idealized frozen-in-time Indy of 1944 with the world-weary, worse-for-wear, and regretful Indiana of 1969 does a magnificent job of establishing one of the movie’s core ideas: that obsessively reveling in the past’s greatness rather than embracing the present is a surefire way to set one’s self up for misery.

There’s quite a bit of that idea present in The Dial of Destiny ’s depiction of Jones as an older, wiser man whose specialized passion for history feels at odds with the younger public’s fascination with the Apollo Moon landing and really the future in general. But you can also see it reflected in the way the movie catches up with Voller in the present, where he and a number of Nazi sympathizers are rather free to move through the world — so long as they’re with their government handler Mason (Shaunette Renée Wilson) — after having been hired by NASA to help put a man on the Moon. Pitting Indiana Jones against Nazis is nothing new for these movies.

What does feel surprisingly fresh and quite tapped into our own current real-world political moment , though, is the way The Dial of Destiny frames Voller’s past and his fixation on lost glory as evils that’ve become subsumed into society rather than stamped out — in part because of people’s refusal to fully engage with the past and see the man as the quiet, deranged Nazi that he actually is.

In presenting Indiana Jones as a historian who remembers things (because he was there) rather than an old man who feels like he’s being left behind by the progress of time, The Dial of Destiny avoids some of the cringey narrative pitfalls that made 2008’s The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull such a rough ride. But this presentation also lends a kind of narrative neatness to the way that Basil Shaw’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) — a brainy student of history who takes after her godfather — comes crashing into back Indy’s life for the first time in more than a decade.

Because we’ve had so much time to spend with Ford’s Jones over the years, with him specifically, there’s a certain degree to which The Dial of Destiny ’s able to get away with merely mentioning and gesturing toward off-screen events that’ve turned him into the man he is here. Because Helena’s such a new presence, though, and the movie doesn’t spend all that much time really letting her just exist before the action picks up, it’s often hard not to see her and her pickpocket sidekick Teddy (Ethann Isidore) as Disney’s new, remixed spins on Marion (Karen Allen) Short Round, and Crystal Skull ’s Mutt. But as somewhat derivative as their characters feel, Waller-Bridge and Isidore are clearly having proper fun with the roles and know exactly what sort of energy classic Indiana Jones supporting characters call for.

But ultimately, that strength ends up cutting both ways like a double-edged sword because of how they highlight some of The Dial of Destiny ’s less-inspired instances of drawing on classic Indiana Jones beats. As good as it is to see The Dial of Jones pump the brakes on the exoticism that’s always plagued these films, there are many times where it feels as if, after making that solid judgment call, Mangold opted to recreate more than a few too many moments from older Indiana Jones , only with new characters delivering those same iconic lines.

This all has a handy way of making The Dial of Destiny play like a big, epic retrospective of Indy’s greatest hits, which might work for some viewers (the way it did for me). But for hardcore fans looking for something that feels innovative and new on all fronts, they might find the film lacking.

Thankfully, something the film isn’t lacking at all is a broad variety of action-packed (if occasionally overlong) set pieces that play to Mangold’s strengths as a director who knows how to use his camera to transform even the most haggard-seeming characters into revitalized, robust, heroic versions of themselves — a talent that works to Ford’s benefit. With Ford insisting that The Dial of Destiny is his final outing as Jones, it’s not entirely clear what the future holds for the franchise, let alone any of this movie’s new characters. But the way The Dial of Destiny comes to a close is one of the more fascinating and risky choices Lucasfilm and Disney have ever gone with for an Indiana Jones movie, and it very well could be a sign of even more interesting things to come.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny also stars Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, and Alaa Safi. The movie is in theaters now.

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Screen Rant

Indiana jones & the dial of destiny review: ford is brilliant in final indy adventure.

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Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny's Big Harrison Ford Risk Ended Up Being The Best Thing About The Movie

Beetlejuice beetlejuice means tim burton has finally recovered from $1bn disappointment that led to his worst-ever decade, "kate, it's me": kate winslet had surprise titanic reunion while filming 2024 war movie.

Perhaps one of the biggest question marks during this summer's movie season is James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny . It's the latest installment in a beloved franchise, though its predecessor, 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , is seen by many as a blemish on the series' reputation. Additionally, Dial of Destiny is the first in the franchise to not be directed by Steven Spielberg, and with those two factors combined, it's led to uncertainty over whether the newest movie can restore some glory to the property. With star Harrison Ford adamant that this is his last one as the iconic archeologist, the stakes are high. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny doesn't quite match the highs that came before it, but with Ford's assured performance at its center, it's still an entertaining and nostalgic ride.

Dial of Destiny begins in the past, as a prologue set in 1944 reveals Indiana Jones' (Ford) first brush with the franchise's latest MacGuffin, the Antikythera. He stumbles upon it while trying to recover another artifact stolen by the Nazis, and his discovery also leads him to clash with Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a scientist fascinated by the opportunities the Antikythera provides. Created by Archimedes, it's said this mysterious dial can manipulate time. Years later, in 1969, Indiana is approaching retirement and facing a world where everyone is looking ahead to the future instead of back at the past. His now-quiet — and admittedly lonely — life is turned upside down by the arrival of his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who wishes to recover the Antithykera once again, albeit not for the same reasons as Indy. As Voller, now working for NASA's space program, is still looking for it as well, Indy and Helena must race to stop him from getting it and enacting his devastating plans.

Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny's Plot Offers Mixed Results

In the past, the Indiana Jones franchise has often combined grounded adventure with the fantastical, perhaps exemplified best in the first movie, where the search for the Ark of the Covenant leads to many Nazis having their faces melted. However, the fantastical still felt grounded. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took things further by introducing aliens, a controversial move that still gets mocked. Dial of Destiny runs the risk of similar criticisms due to the eponymous artifact, which involves another sci-fi trope: Time travel. To say more would be to run the risk of spoilers, though it's safe to say that this adventure fits Indiana Jones better than aliens ever did. Dial of Destiny forces Indy to reckon with the notion that he himself is a relic from the past. Now alone in a world where space is the exciting new frontier, it is clear that Indy feels adrift.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is at its best when it is plumbing the depths of its titular hero, and that comes through especially well in his relationship with Helena. Screenwriters Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, along with co-writers David Koepp and Mangold, portray Indy's arc with sensitivity and respect. The character work is solid, but the Dial-specific plot occasionally runs the risk of getting convoluted as Indiana and Helena dash around trying to get ahead of Voller. For example, there's a brief excursion involving a boat captain played by Antonio Banderas that, while providing a fun opportunity to let Banderas join the Indiana Jones franchise, doesn't add much to Dial of Destiny 's overall story.

Harrison Ford's Performance Is A Standout Among An Impressive Cast

Perhaps one of the least surprising elements of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is Ford's performance, seeing as he's played this character to great success four times before. Nevertheless, there's something fresh and delightful about his portrayal here. He still nails Indy's wisecracks — and whip cracks — but he also seems to relish in the character's quieter, more reflective moments. This is an Indiana Jones who has lost quite a lot, and Ford is superb, especially in the final act, as he confronts it all. Don't worry, though, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny still provides plenty of the humorous moments the franchise is known for.

Outside of Ford, Mangold assembled a great cast for Dial of Destiny , with Waller-Bridge especially deserving credit for how skillfully she goes toe-to-toe with her formidable co-star. As Helena, she's a very different type of female lead for the franchise, and her initially self-serving demeanor sets up a great dynamic with Indy. Mikkelsen has already proven his talent for playing villains several times over, but he's especially chilly as the scarily determined Voller, even if his character is somewhat one-note. Dial of Destiny doesn't have Short Round , but it does introduce a new child sidekick in Ethann Isidore's Teddy. While his character isn't as endearing as Short Round and doesn't make as strong of an impression, he is a solid addition to Indy and Helena's partnership. Dial of Destiny also includes some familiar faces from past Indiana Jones movies, and it's impossible to ignore the fond feelings of nostalgia that creep up upon seeing them.

How Dial Of Destiny Compares To Other Indiana Jones Films

Dial of Destiny has some big shoes to fill, seeing as the original Indiana Jones trilogy is often considered one of the best ever made. In many ways, the new film plays the old hits from past movies, whether that be the inclusion of Nazis (giving Indy ample opportunity to punch them) or plenty of chill-inducing creepy-crawlies. This lends an air of nostalgia to the film and runs the risk of reminding us that we enjoyed the previous films better. Thankfully, Mangold proves more than up to the task of taking over from Spielberg, directing the action sequences with an energetic deftness and demonstrating his understanding of Indy's character through his arc. Plus, John Williams' score is as sweeping and epic as one would expect, eliciting chills from the first moment his iconic theme is heard.

But Dial of Destiny falls short of the highs of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, mostly because these movies have a charm that is difficult to replicate after so many years. However, it is certainly a step up from the much-maligned Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , which felt like the "jumping the shark" installment of the franchise. With Indy in what certainly feels like his last adventure, Mangold imbues the movie with a gravitas that its predecessor was lacking, and that lends some extra emotion even when the plot strains toward silliness. Where Dial of Destiny takes Indiana Jones might rankle plenty of viewers, but thanks to Ford's performance and Mangold's guidance, it pulls itself back from the brink of another shark-jumping adventure.

Is Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny Good?

Ultimately, while not reaching the same level of success as the original movies, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a fun adventure that brings Indy's story to a fitting close. It's the ideal kind of summer action movie, the kind that gets a bit silly and baffling, but still brings plenty of heart and humor. Those who have stuck with Indy since his very first outing should find things to love here; at the very least, Ford's final performance in the role is not to be missed. Whether Indiana Jones will live on beyond this installment remains to be seen, but Mangold has offered up a definitive conclusion worthy of the iconic hero.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny debuts in theaters Friday, June 30. It is 154 minutes long and rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language, and smoking.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Reviews

The film may focus on Indiana feeling out of place in the modern world, yet The Dial of Destiny avoids becoming a cynical finger-wagging at everything wrong with the world today.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 26, 2024

It may have seemed like a questionable decision to continue the franchise after so many years, but this loving coda is surprisingly poignant.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2024

People who love this series, and even those who don't, will find all two and a half hours to be enjoyable and often elegant.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 10, 2024

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is made with nostalgia at its core and embraces the pulpy silliness of the whole franchise. Its main strength is to remind people that Indiana Jones, for all that silliness, did love and respect what he was doing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 9, 2024

James Mangold struggles to stamp his mark on The Dial of Destiny, resulting in a bland, forgettable affair that is lacking both the adventure and cinematic magic so synonymous with many of Indy’s previous adventures.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 3, 2024

Dial of Destiny maintains an appreciative understanding of its protagonist and legacy while comfortably being its own thing in scale, stakes and excitement.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 19, 2024

For what was promised to be one last adventure, the stakes never reach full potential in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and emotions don’t run as high as needed to elevate the sentiment that this film is eagerly attempting to tap into.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 17, 2024

There’s a very distinct lack of Spielberg magic, but Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a decently entertaining “greatest hits” adventure.

Full Review | Original Score: 6.5/10 | Jul 12, 2024

Replete with exoticism, Orientalism, and a nonsense science fiction plotline, Dial of Destiny proves the case for why this entire franchise belongs in a museum.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 7, 2024

“Dial of Destiny” is just Indy being Indy and nobody does it better than Ford.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 7, 2024

ugly, prosaic and dull DIAL OF DESTINY..panders to an audience willing to be spoon-fed lines that they once recognised and moves as gracefully as its geriatric lead

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 4, 2024

From a thrilling opening act, where Indy takes on a Nazi loot train, to a wild and wacky chase through Tangiers, Dial of Destiny proves the old grave robber can still deliver the goods.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 3, 2024

Post-2016, Indy’s renown disgust over Nazis feels urgent and relevant, and the film does a subtle job of condemning the US for embracing and elevating Nazis over its now obsolete and forgotten heroes, WWII veterans and anyone who resisted the Nazis.

Full Review | May 25, 2024

Far too long, but a somewhat fun time at the movies

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Apr 24, 2024

But "better than Crystal Skull" is a miserably low bar to clear. Dial's plot is surprisingly dumb, considering it took four screenwriters (including David Koepp and director James Mangold) to write it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 25, 2024

I think you can find fun here. I think you can find good here. It's just not going to turn you around if you come in thinking it's a bad idea.

Full Review | Jan 12, 2024

Dial of Destiny is a fun ride, especially for moviegoers like me who just want to enjoy some nostalgia as we contemplate a retirement full of watching all those films we’ve collected over the years.

Full Review | Dec 30, 2023

There's a lot that's fun here... but the more you look at the CG, the more it looks like The Polar Express.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 27, 2023

There wasn't a world wherein this film would capture the greatness of the original trilogy but it's nice to see Indy and his compatriots sent off in fine, if unspectacular, fashion.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Dec 27, 2023

At the end of the day, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may not be the best installment of Indiana Jones, but it certainly fits perfectly within the saga, committing to its characters and its essence. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 26, 2023