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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny movie review: Relentless, Exciting and a Sheer Rush of Adrenaline!
What: Harrison Ford returns as the charismatic archaeologist and offers you a rip-roaring cinematic adventure while he embarks on a globe-trotting journey. However, the film mildly suffers from the curse of the second half.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny movie review
Indiana Jones startles you right at its beginning – a 25-minute extravaganza showcasing the legendary protagonist (Harrison Ford) in his youthful mid-30s in a mission to retrieve the Lance of Longinus from his enemies, comprising Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) during World War II, and he is joined by his colleague and best friend, Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). The technical wizardry which involves a face superimposition and recreation of the young Ford sweeps your mind.
Director James Mangold returns with this dazzling visual spectacle after twenty-eight years replete with relentless action and testosterone-charged chases and a sheer gush of adrenaline in the plot that hops to 1969 when Shaw’s daughter Helena, a treasure hunter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, of Fleabag fame) meets Indy and informs about the Dial that drove her father to near insanity. Indy and Helena are now chased by Voller, who masquerades as Dr Schmidt from Alabama University.
What follows is a long-drawn signature chase between the two parties with mayhem spilling on to the streets of Tangier – Ford is helped by his friend Sallah and Helena gets a sidekick boy, Teddy. The narrative shifts geographies from Tangier to Greece to Sicily and ensures that we have a wild ride with the flush of exciting action and comic banters. The music by John Williams presses all the nostalgia buttons.
As we enter the second hour, it feels a little disjointed when the adventure shifts to Casablanca and Tangier. The writing team, comprising 4 - Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and James Mangold seem to run short of ingenuity and crackling ideas and provide a memorable premise. The portions are flabby with the routine elements – the quest of the historical object, tingle of the supernatural, the fascist villains and the constant mention of Nazis and the treasure hunt, until the final aerial showdown.
But what redeems the slog are the crackling performances – Despite ticking at 80, Ford lends bravado and spirit to Indy. He might have got more wrinkles and freckles on his cheeks, but his kinetic sparks are eminent. Phoebe turns out as the catalyst in this action driven narrative. As Helena, she is slippery and charming and imparts oodles of verve to her character. I was a bit disappointed with the short cameo of Antonio Banderas. Mikkelson is good but not quite menacing as a nemesis should be.
I go with 3.5 stars out of 5 for Indiana Jones and Dial of the Destiny. The film is running in theatres from 29th June 2023.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee