Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023 | USA | 154 minutes | James Mangold)
It’s been fifteen years since Harrison Ford donned his famous fedora atop Indiana Jones’s head. But! The iconic archaeologist is back for what is likely a final exploration.
The Dial of Destiny refers to the real-life Antikythera Mechanism, created by the Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. It doesn’t quite detect fissures in time, as this movie suggests, but that doesn’t mean it’s not quite cool. It is called the “oldest known computer.” Only a few people grasp what the Antikythera Mechanism is and can do, but one of them is a Nazi. Of course, Indy must keep the device out of Nazi hands.
The villain is Dr. Schmidt (née Voller), a Nazi scientist brought to the US after WWII to help with the space program. He’s based on Wernher von Braun, the real-life Nazi scientist brought to the US after WWII to help with the space program. Mads Mikkelsen played Dr. Voller as though he were Dr. Strangelove. I never thought it was possible to watch Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War masterpiece satire too many times, but I’ve been rethinking that since watching this movie. Even though he’s celebrated by American leaders, what Dr. Voller really wants is to travel back to 1939 so Germany would have another shot at winning the war.
One more person who understands the power of the Archimedes Dial is Helena, Indy’s goddaughter and the daughter of his friend and fellow archaeologist Basil (Toby Jones), played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. I found her disappointing because I didn’t think she brought along any of the humor or charm that made “Fleabag” a hit. She’s a brilliant scientist who is more than happy to sell it to the highest bidder to pay off some debts. Indy’s appalled but they need each other. If Indy had the worldview of a Colson Whitehead character, he might tell her something like, “He used to say that you were going to be a doctor, you were so smart, but that you were smart enough to know you make more money being crooked.”
This being an Indiana Jones movie, we can definitely count on the action scenes being all quite awesome. They are all, without exception, fast-paced and exciting. After the screening, though, I was talking to someone who was also at another press screening the night before for a (better) movie I think I’m still under embargo from discussing in print. We both noted that both movies had nearly identical fight scenes on top of trains and IJATDOD’s car chase through Tangier was extremely similar to the chase through Rome in [redacted] (and they’re both extremely similar to the chase scene through Rome in Fast X). There’s something about massive movie franchises that really bring out the groupthink.
It’s always a joy seeing Indiana Jones on screen and I appreciated that Harrison Ford was committed to showing where Indy would be at this point in his life. Except for the CGI-assisted first scenes, set in the 1940’s, we see him as accepting the aging process. Harrison Ford is 80 years old now. There’s no escaping that Indiana Jones is officially an old fart. I’d be more than a little surprised if there’s another movie in this franchise.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was everything you’d hope for from an Indiana Jones movie, or at least everything I’d hoped for from an Indiana Jones movie. The third act is so absurd I found it akin to Arthur Fonzarelli attaching his feet to cruise missiles rather than skis when he went water-skiing. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in theaters today, June 30, 2023.
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.