Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a fun, fond farewell to a favorite action hero and a franchise that started over four decades ago.
The story is set in 1969, and Jones is retiring from teaching. The world has changed, and the archeologist/treasure hunter has too. But when his goddaughter, Helena, shows up in his final class, it isn’t to wish him well; it’s to get him to help her find an ancient artifact that has the power to change the world – and the past. How could he resist?
It’s a plot that feels familiar – hunting for something with mystical powers before the bad guys get to it – and that is part of what makes this an entertaining adventure; it’s more of what fans have always loved. The film is a blazing, non-stop adventure packed with chase scenes, exotic locales, and plenty of tantalizing lore. There are old friends, old enemies, time travel, mysterious artifacts, and of course, music by John Williams. The score is replete with leitmotifs for characters, and whiffs of the famous Raiders March make their appearance too. There is the familiar, and there are also a few changes. This is the only Indiana Jones film not directed by Steven Spielberg – he is in his producer role on this one.
Much has been made of the “de-aging” of Harrison Ford for the film. The cutting-edge technology uses actual footage of Ford to create a believable version of Jones in the flash-back scenes. But it is in the scenes set in the “current” year of 1969 that we see Jones/Ford as an older man, one still up to the challenge of galivanting across the continents to save the world – all while never losing his Fedora. If you grew up watching these films – and a couple of generations have – there’s something both familiar and oddly comforting about that.
The Dial of Destiny has taken the best bits that audiences loved from the previous four movies and woven them into a great plot. For Indy fans, this is the movie you’ve been waiting for.