Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiers 42 years after the original film and is the fifth and final installment for Harrison Ford. Is it a fitting end? Spoilers may follow.
Taking place in 1969, we see an aging Indiana Jones who is finished with archeology in the field and is retiring from teaching too. For an initially undisclosed reason, him and Marion are separated after marrying at the end of the fourth film.
The de-aging technology used on Harrison Ford in the opening sequence is exceptional. It's shocking how well it looks. Compare it to Rogue One with Carrie Fisher, and you'll see it's grown leaps and bounds. The sequence itself may be the best part of the movie with the classic Indiana Jones feel and great action sequences. We're introduced to Mads Mikkelson who becomes our main antagonist which is where the actor tends to thrive. Think of the James Bond movie Casino Royale.
New character, Phoebe Walker-Bridge as Indy's Goddaughter Helena, is an interesting one. Would I watch another movie with her as the lead protagonist? No, but she wasn't bad either. She isn't the most likeable, so it was a little difficult to get accustomed. Plenty of movies have characters with questionable pasts, but you still like them. It takes a third of the movie to feel comfortable with her.
Ke Huy Quan would have been my choice for the younger action character. He played Short Round from the second movie, and he just won an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once. However, because of that movie, he wouldn't have been able to film Indiana Jones anyways due to scheduling conflicts, but producers didn't even ask. The eldest Drake Brother, Austin, said the story could've been Short Round grew up and became an archeologist in Shanghai.
I want to brag that I predicted Ke would make a comeback as an actor. I just had a feeling. Michael Biehn from The Terminator and Aliens will be next! P.S. He was born in Anniston, Alabama for those of you in the area.
Steven Spielberg did not direct this movie unlike the others. It was James Mangold (Logan, Walk the Line). After the premiere, Spielberg tells Mangold that he didn't know someone else could direct an Indiana Jones movie. While I'm sure he enjoyed the compliment and I like Mangold as a director, it didn't feel exactly like an Indiana Jones movie. The pacing, lighting, and cinematic choices were a bit different. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have that classic timeless feel that Spielberg brought.
What Indy feels in this movie is felt by everyone who keeps getting older. He starts to feel like he's less useful... like he's done all he can do. This is why he agrees and pursues the dial with Helena as one last ride. If we're lucky enough to reach that age, you might feel something similar.
Something I'll remember is the ending. It's a happy ending. Indy didn't need to die. Indy didn't need to stay in the past when they were at the sacking of Rome. He needed to come home.
He asks Helena why she brought him back. He says, "What do I have to live for?" It was Marion. The death of their son, Shia LaBeouf's character from the fourth movie, split them up, but she comes back. It's a bittersweet reunion, and it's a wholesome moral. Indy's life was about the pursuit of unearthing history, but it's not the most important thing. Being with Mary is more important. Family is more important. I think that's very applicable. More people should believe this statement.
While it's my least favorite Indiana Jones movie, I still enjoyed the experience. It's a solid happy ending to one of cinema's best characters ever. People will still know Indy 100 years from now, and I think they should. My film rating is a B-.
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