Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023) Dir: James Mangold
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The news of a fifth entry into this iconic, if aging, franchise, met me with skepticism and apathy. Upon hearing that legendary director Steven Spielberg would not be returning to direct, my skepticism grew exponentially. However, director James Mangold has a commendable filmography behind him, and took his particular lense to this latest installment.
I can appreciate the vision, the nostalgia and the fun that went into creating an adventure such as this, although I cannot deny that it does not manage to fill the awfully large shoes of the original trilogy - something the fourth film also fell victim to.
At 2 hours and 22 minutes, it is also an undeniably long film, which is not a bad thing per-say, but a few slumps in the pacing make sure the audience feels that runtime.
The de-aging technology, which I was especially worried about, turned out to be very solid, with some clever lighting allowing the CGI faces to look very lifelike.
The story itself is, as the other Indiana Jones films have been, absurdly silly and exciting. It doesn't have the originality of other stories, but it does make sure it feels like an adventure from start to end.
Whether or not the character arcs were fleshed out enough is another matter. The film unfortunately struggles to find a true purpose beyond nostalgia, but it does at least do that right.
Harrison Ford gives a commendable performance in his leading role, and although the body may be weaning, his acting ability is not. For a man so notorious for his grumpy demeanour, his ability to be expressive and comedic is not lost in this adventure.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as much as I adore her filmography, didn't quite work in this one for me. She brought a little too much of her usual mannerisms, and ended up taking away from serious moments too much.
Mads Mikkelsen does what he always does, and provides an interesting and consistent performance, despite his antagonist feeling rather uninspired and unoriginal.
Ethann Isidore was involved exponentially more than I expected, and while I enjoyed his performance for the most part, like Waller-Bridge, he didn't quite fit into the film as nicely as I had hoped. He felt like an accessory for much of the film, which is a shame, because there was certainly potential for more there.
Finally, I'll mention some other noteworthy inclusions; Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Karen Allen and Antonio Banderas.
Overall, while this was rather a shell of the original trilogy at times, there were still flashes of character that carry this above my prior expectations. I don't mind the absurdity of it all, especially because it honestly made the film all the more fun.
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