‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Gives Harrison Ford a Send-Off That Is All About Nostalgia 

Alci Rengifo

What instantly comes across in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is the feeling of a movie trying hard to assure us of its familiarity. We recognize everything we’re seeing because it’s consciously trying to be a shadow of its predecessors. That entire mood permeates in what is the fifth entry in one of the most popular of all Hollywood franchises, arriving 15 years after the still-divisive “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which dropped 19 years after “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” Every few years someone in the executive offices seems to think it’s time to bring back the classic archaeologist turned rugged hero, and these days where everything is a sequel, why not make Harrison Ford put back on the hat and whip? This is also the first in the series without Steven Spielberg at the helm, meaning the texture changes under new director James Mangold. The result is a rather tired, though impressively-mounted, attempt at recapturing the spirit of a film series that has already been imitated to death.

The ‘40s and ‘50s pulp spirit is gone because now the story is set in 1969. The counterculture is in the streets while Indiana Jones (Ford) is depressed in his New York City apartment. He’s about to retire as a professor from Hunter College, where everyone is excited over the upcoming Moon landing. We also learn “Indy” has been separated from Marion (Karen Allen) following the death of their son (meaning they explain why Shia LaBeouf isn’t around). But the adventurer is pulled back into the game with the appearance of Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), daughter of Indy’s goddaughter. She’s seeking the Antikythera, an ancient device cut in half that once reunited, can open portals into the past, etc. Also looking for the artifact is Dr. Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a German scientist helping NASA who was once a Nazi Indy traded punches with during World War II. Voller wants to return to 1945, correct Adolf Hitler’s mistakes and win the war. 

The great weight that has always hung over the “Indiana Jones” franchise is how to continue a series that began with a true classic. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” premiered in 1981 with Spielberg and George Lucas creating the concept out of Saturday morning serials. It remains an exhilarating piece of action cinema, with a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan that hides depth in-between the adventure material. The following sequels, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” remained impressive feats that always featured Spielberg’s eye and sincere passion for the material. Mangold knows what that is like with films like “Walk the Line” and “Logan,” which ranged from biopic to comic book adaptation, but felt inspired. “Dial of Destiny” feels like a work done on assignment, with Mangold and co-writers Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Davie Koepp tasked with bringing back Indy by making sure the story makes sense timewise, while recycling the original villains. It’s almost a common pattern with this franchise. When “Temple of Doom” premiered it was considered too dark of a follow-up to “Raiders,” as Indy battled a blood-drinking cult after having cheerfully stopped the Nazis from capturing the Ark of the Covenant. “The Last Crusade” brought back the Nazis, now seeking the Holy Grail. “Crystal Skull” went into full ‘50s pulp mode with aliens, Soviet agents, ancient temples and references to the Roswell crash. Now Mads Mikkelsen plays a new take on the mad Nazi seeking occult powers.

On a technical level much of “Dial of Destiny” is still impressively mounted. The opening scene is classic Indiana Jones with a flashback featuring a digitally younger Harrison Ford fighting Nazis atop a speeding train. A chase on horseback through an anti-war rally has some of the franchise’s familiar dynamism and the scale only increases from there, all the way to being on a plane about to rip through the fabric of time by aiming for the eye of a hurricane. Because it’s the ‘60s, a few jokes land well like an older, grumpier Indy now telling the pot-smoking hippies next door to turn down the music. It’s almost a Freudian slip by the movie, since Ford doesn’t feel totally invested in the proceedings. He has more fun with moments of dry humor, while looking a bit bored with the movie’s other attempts at blowing the dust off expected antics, like tracking down Helena to a backdoor gambling table in Tangiers. The now infamous orientalism of the first movie is toned down, and the ensuing chase has some charms, even if Phoebe Waller-Bridge struggles to make her character likable. She’s too low-key in the delivery of a personality designed as a cartoon for an actor fit for edgier fare. Mikkelsen is effortless because he’s always playing this kind of cold, brainy villain from “Casino Royale” to “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.” Antonio Banderas is a great addition, playing a Greek scuba diver and old friend of Indy’s with the necessary, rugged goofiness. 

It can be a packed set and sometimes Mangold introduces intriguing characters who then disappear from the story or tries to go dark to explain why the Joneses are now divorced. There’s barely enough room for Ethann Isidore as Teddy, Helena’s kid sidekick who is naturally a pickpocket loaded with comic relief. With great relief comes the third act. Once the story reaches its big crescendo and rediscovers its pulp spirit, “Dial of Destiny” recaptures some of the magic. The dial of the title switches on, time warps take place, and a plotline involving the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes is entertaining but genuinely moving. Under all the clutter, Mangold does reach at some point some of the essence of what Indiana Jones represents. The rest is franchise autopilot with even John Williams’s score bristling with some of his usual delights, but never reaching beyond what’s expected. Our yearning for nostalgia and the familiar surely welcomes seeing Harrison Ford again in this familiar costume. It is also hard to deny he deserves to say a final goodbye to one of his enduring characters. At the same time, “Dial of Destiny” feels like revisiting a favorite place from a distant memory. We may enjoy coming back, but time has passed, things have changed and you realize it’s not so terrible to move on.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” releases June 30 in theaters nationwide.