Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (December 26, 2023)
After two adventures in 1981 and in 1984, it appeared that the Indiana Jones franchise wound to an end via 1989’s Last Crusade. Granted, the character continued via Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on TV in the 1990s as well as through novels, comic books and videogames.
As a cinematic property, however, Indy appeared done in 1989. Heck, the lead literally rides off into the sunset at the movie’s end – how more conclusive could a finale be?
Apparently not so much, as 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brought Indy back to multiplexes after that 19-year gap. But that was it, right?
Given that you clicked on a review of 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, clearly you understand that Crystal Skull didn’t finish the cinematic franchise. Destiny certainly looks like the end of the road, but never say never, I guess.
Set in July 1969, elderly archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) finally retires from his life as a professor. Indy seems at a low point, for his wife Marian (Karen Allen) left him and his son Mutt died in Vietnam.
A new challenge arises when his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) shows up and proposes a search for a fantastical dial created by ancient mathematician Archimedes millennia ago. Indy hunted for it with fellow archaeologist – and Helena’s dad - Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) 25 years earlier, a jaunt that left the men barely ahead of Nazi astrophysicist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) as he seeks the item.
Indy and Helena get half of the dial from a university archive and find themselves pursued by Voller once again. This leads Indy and Helena to a chase across various lands to find the other part of the dial before Voller does.
Hmm… Indy ventures around the world to locate a magical item before the Nazis get there. Why does that plot sound familiar?
Yes, this narrative clearly echoes that of Raiders of the Lost Ark. This doesn’t mean Destiny offers a clone of the 1981 classic, however.
Though at times I wish it did, mainly because Destiny lacks much of the original Indy flick’s charm and excitement – and it doesn’t match up to the three sequels either. If this acts as Indy’s swansong, it becomes a disappointing goodbye.
Of course, I don’t expect any Indy adventure to live up to Raiders. Indeed, I don’t expect any action flick period to equal the highs of that classic. If Raiders doesn’t stand as the greatest action movie ever made, it nonetheless stands exceptionally high on that list.
For the first time, someone other than Steven Spielberg directs an Indy movie. Here we get James Mangold in that chair.
I went into this change of personnel with some apprehension – but not as much as I would’ve felt 30 years ago. The Spielberg of 2023 just isn’t as good as the Spielberg of 1993, much less his “classic era” of 1975-1982.
That said, it felt weird to see someone other than Spielberg behind the camera, and Mangold’s filmography didn’t inspire tons of confidence. While he made some solid movies, he also directed some clunkers, a track record that didn’t lead me to believe he’d offer a guarantee of quality as he took over this storied franchise.
Part of the issue comes from my view of Destiny as too much homage – and too repetitive. We get Nazis as the villains for the third time, which seems like at least one instance too many.
Yes, the fact most of Destiny takes place nearly a quarter century after the end of WWII adds a twist. Nonetheless, why not give Indy a fresh adventure without Nazis once again?
We do spend some time in 1944, as we see Indy and Helena’s dad (Toby Jones) pursue rare antiquities possessed by the Germans. This scene exists as a cheap stab at thrills – and a way to shoehorn in the sight of Ford “deaged” to look like a younger Indy.
The 1944 prologue goes on much longer than necessary, especially because the movie doesn’t require that sequence at all in terms of story. Yes, it generates exposition, but a Destiny that launches in 1969 could explain the requisite information in about three minutes, as we get nothing in the flashback that requires us to see it.
Also, the opening simply runs far too long. It spans more than 21 minutes, and given the simplicity of the material involved, that seems like too much, particularly because the action beats don’t really dazzle.
Like much of the rest of Destiny, those elements feel recycled from prior Indy movies. This one sporadically attempts to become its own film, but it never gets there, as it seems far too eager to echo its predecessors.
Destiny does separate from the pack in one way: running time. While the prior four Indiana Jones movies clocked in around two hours each, this one cranks a little past the two-and-a-half hour mark.
That makes the movie drag. With maybe 30 minutes less on display, the film could feel faster paced and less sluggish.
Again, the opening prologue doesn’t need to exist. We also get other extraneous scenes or ones that could get trimmed and fare better.
The scenes in New York before Indy and Helena leave town fare best. I find the site of a “beaten-down” Indy to offer intrigue, and the action shows signs of life.
Once the action moves out of the US, matters slow to a crawl and never manage to kick into gear. The addition of a gratuitous “kid assistant” doesn’t help, as he feels like a cheap, unnecessary riff of Temple of Doom’s Short Round.
That general feeling of déjà vu remains a concern here, but the biggest issue stems from an essential absence of excitement of thrills – at least after the story leaves the US, as noted. Destiny throws a lot of action at us but hardly any of it gets pulses racing.
Fans crack on Crystal Skull, and I don’t deny that it came with flaws. However, it still brought a lot of the old Indy charm and verve.
These qualities largely fail to appear in the tedious Destiny. While not a genuinely bad movie, it just doesn’t click, as it seems too scattered and feels like it tries too hard to become an “Indiana Jones Movie” rather than reach that goal organically.
