Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: Action Aplenty in Awesome Homage to the Series

By Karen Gordon

Rating: A

The two biggest questions I had going into Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny were: will it be fun and will the film stay true to the character of Indiana Jones. The answer, I'm pleased to say, is yes on both counts. It's a ton of fun. I had a blast.

The fifth and final chapter in the Indiana Jones franchise is a non-stop, action-packed romp that perfectly captures the spirit of the beloved original, 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. It honours the previous films and considers the tastes of modern movie-going audiences.

And the franchise that made me want to quit my job and follow my latent impulses towards a career in archeology made me feel badly for myself that I didn't do that 40-something years ago, after watching Raiders for the first time.

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny begins eight years after Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s 1944. Indy and his colleague, Oxford archeologist Dr. Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) are in Nazi territory, trying to recover another ancient relic said to have mystical powers before it falls into Hitler’s possession.

The relic is on a train loaded with plundered treasures heading for Germany, and where the Nazi archeologist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) waits to authenticate it for the commandant.

Indy and Shaw are captured. And while the commandant focuses his questioning on one particular item, Voller, Shaw, and Indy separately discover something that they know is much more valuable: a gizmo, or rather, half a gizmo, an Antikythera.

This one is said to have been invented by the Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor Archimedes. The legend is that if the two halves are put together the device can find fissures in time, so that whoever possesses it can time travel. But finding both halves is going to be extremely tricky.

Archimedes felt his invention was so dangerous that he split it in half and hid both parts in separate places aiming to make sure that never happened.

Indy and Shaw grab the half of the Antikythera and are pursued by the Nazis and by Voller who is determined to get it back. In this lengthy action sequence, they make their escape from the moving train.

The action then shifts to 1969. Indy is living in Manhattan, divorced from Marion (Karen Allen), and about to retire as a professor of archeology. He’s feeling his age, irritated at the disinterest of his students. He is, of course, irascible, as ever. He’s not going gently into any kind of good night.

He gets a surprise visit from someone he hasn't seen in so long that he doesn't recognize her: his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). She’s the child of his late colleague Basil Shaw and has inherited her father's obsession with archeological artifacts. She’s smart, feisty, driven and determined. Believing that he knows its whereabouts, she wants Indy to help her find the Antikythera. Before he can dissuade her, they are ambushed.

It turns out that Jürgen Voller survived the chase on the train, and the war, and has been working with the American government on the space program. Having now helped put a man on the moon, Voller — who makes no secret of his Nazi leanings and, aided by a couple of ruthless Nazi henchmen — has also turned his attention to reclaiming the Antikythera. He believes that Indy has it, or knows where it is.

They follow Helena as she meets with Indy, aiming to steal what they believe Indy has. The chase begins, first through the crowded streets of New York during a parade, then overseas to Tunisia where we meet Helena’s young accomplice Teddy (Ethan Isidore).

Next, it’s on to Athens where they meet up with Renaldo (Antonio Banderas), an old friend of Indy’s who has a fishing boat that they need. Now caught up in the chase, Indy is reluctantly helping Helene. Voller and his accomplices have a horrifying reason for wanting to possess the artifact.

The Indiana Jones movies have always been an action series, but Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny feels even more so. Structurally, it feels a lot like a Mission Impossible film, with long, exciting and daring action sequences in far-flung locations, and on land, in the air, under the ocean, knitted together with quieter moments that give the characters time to reflect a bit, and also advance the plot.

This is the first of the Indiana Jones films not directed by Steven Spielberg. James Mangold has met the challenge, directing with vigour and energy, and giving the movie the right edgy tone, as befits Indy’s personality and in keeping with the tone of the series overall.

The writers Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp as well as Mangold have been very thoughtful about all of this. They haven’t just created a plot that references the theme of time —which echo through the movie — but also have built in references to other movies in the franchise.

For instance, the Tuk-Tuk chase through the markets of Tunisia references the famous Raiders market scene in Cairo. And there are lots of other Easter eggs that are joyful moments for fans of the series, (snakes! bugs! skeletons! tombs!) and some familiar faces show up as well. As well, the art direction echoes the past movies.

As for the newer characters, Waller-Bridge’s Helena is a wry, danger-seeking character and a female archetype who would have worked in the movies set in the 30s as well as she does in the late sixties. It’s not easy to share the screen with an actor like Harrison Ford, never mind when he’s playing an iconic and beloved character like Indiana Jones. Waller-Bridge deftly holds her own.

Does the plot completely work? Sure, the bad guys seem to show up in the right place at just the right moment, but the action is crisp and well-motivated. (I wouldn't be surprised to see the editing team nominated during awards season.) And the characters develop bonds and relationships as the film goes on, even if they have different agendas, just as we'd expect from an Indiana Jones movie.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a romp, an action movie, an homage to the series and, to the character of Indiana Jones a love letter to the fans, and an acknowledgement that time stops for no one, including the once ageless Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Directed by James Mangold. Written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and James Mangold. Starring Harrison Ford, Toby Jones, Mads Mikkelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, and Ethan Isadore. In theatres June 30.