It seems like an eternity since the last Indiana Jones film was released. But, folks, it was part of the summer onslaught. After “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” something like Indiana Jones does get buried.
Unearth “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” now and you’ll discover its charms.
To make sure you remember just how Tom Cruise-like he was, director James Mangold goes back in time and shows a younger Indy (thanks to a special effects process that de-ages Harrison Ford) that puts him in touch with, what else? Nazis.
Then, when it settles down for a more contemporary story, we see an aged Indiana Jones in the 1960s. He’s lecturing and, presumably, past his prime to crawl around caves and tombs. A goddaughter, however, slips into one of his classes and sparks a journey – a search for half of Archimedes’ Dial, a device the mathematician created.
The goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), has an idea where the other half might be. Indy seems game, but there are others who want the secrets that it holds.
Business, then, is back to normal.
De-aging Ford, however, is the real game-changer. Surprisingly, the effect doesn’t look creepy and it allows him to play out a wild adventure in 1944 when he and Shaw’s father are trying to wrest artifacts from the Nazis. That means a harrowing train trip, a jaunt around the map and a peek at his own destiny.
In the ‘60s, he’s still able to don the fedora and crack the whip. When he and Shaw start bumping around (meeting a jaunty sailor played by Antonio Banderas), they use just about every form of transportation and get help from a kid (played with great gusto by Ethann Isidore). The three encounter another form of snakes (Jones’ fear) and plan stops in Greece and Sicily. In a cavern, they find the tomb of Archimedes and a clue as to what he was concocting.
“Dial of Destiny” never seems to sit still (even though it runs more than two-and-a-half hours) and isn’t afraid to visit old haunts. It’s like a reunion tour of a rock group. The highlights are here; only the range is limited.
Ford still has what it takes to make the character work. Waller-Bridge looks (and acts) like many of his female partners from the past. John Rhys-Davies and Karen Allen are here, as well. But the one who makes this sing is Mads Mikkelsen as the antagonist determined to get his hands on the dial.
Movie critic Bruce Miller says “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” has enough close calls to wonder if this really is his last trek. As with all Indiana Jones films, this one rarely sits still.
