Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the new addition to the beloved series Indiana Jones, brings fans new and old one final action-packed adventure for our favorite archeologist. The Dial of Destiny follows the story of Dr. Henry Jones (Indiana Jones) and his goddaughter Helena Shaw’s tale to stop Nazi soldiers from using a dangerous and powerful artifact, the Antikythera.
Following the same formula as the other Indiana Jones movies, the Dial of Destiny is similar to Raiders of the Lost Arc and The Last Crusade in terms of plot and story progression. Nonetheless, that doesn’t make the film any less enjoyable to watch. Film director and writer James Mangold does an excellent job of making the Dial of Destiny live up to its former films of Indiana Jones and making it a film to remember.
With exciting action and breathtaking visuals, the Dial of Destiny truly gave all fans a treat. Even with the first opening scene of the movie, the deep faking technology that was used to make Harrison Ford look younger was mind-boggling. Every single VFX (visual effect) was incredible and just shows how much the Indiana Jones series has evolved over the years.
Despite Ford being impressively 80 years old, he still has the same fervor playing Indiana Jones as he had in 1981 and does an incredible job of playing Indiana after 15 years since the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The other cast members, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who plays Helena Shaw, and Mads Mikkelson, who plays Jürgen Voller, played their parts excellently. Furthermore, Bridge’s execution of Helena’s character development throughout the film truly shows with her acting. Mikkelson captivated watchers by portraying his deception and ruthlessness while playing the role of Jürgen.
Dial of Destiny had a rocky ride before finally being released in theaters. Speculation of the fifth Indiana Jones began as early as 2008, shortly after the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. With an original release date of 2019, planning and filming kept getting delayed due to the constant switching of writers and directors, as well as COVID-19 being a major setback. However, Director James Mongold managed to pull the project together and have Dial of Destiny finally released in late June.
Mangold is a renowned director in the film world, known for directing movies like Logan and Ford V. Ferrari. He keeps all the aspects of what makes Indiana Jones the film series that so many love and adore in The Dial of Destiny. Mangold added his touch to the film by adding references to past films in multiple scenes, which was a treat for long-time fans of the series.
The movie soundtrack is phenomenal and carefully composed with each piece of orchestral music highlighting the traits of every character in the movie. Legendary composer John Williams, who wrote soundtracks for Harry Potter, E.T., Jaws, and most notably, Star Wars, returned to compose the soundtrack of The Dial of Destiny. Williams commented that this film would be his last before retiring.
However, the film was far from perfect. The Dial of Destiny has a drawn-out story with predictable and poorly explained plot points. While it’s not the best Indiana Jones movie, it’s certainly not the worst. Dial of Destiny had its unique, exciting twist on the Indiana Jones movies. Overall, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a solid 7.5 out of 10. Despite some of its flaws, The Dial of Destiny reminded everyone why Indiana Jones is one of the most beloved movie series of all time that will only continue to captivate audiences for generations to come.
