Review: Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (spoiler-free)

Indiana Jones
And The Dial Of Destiny
(spoiler-free)
Cert: 12A / 154 mins / Dir. James Mangold / Trailer

Short and sweet then, you don't want to be reading all about Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny at this point, you just want to know if it's worth the journey to the cinema. Your humble correspondent is delighted (albeit predictably so) to report that Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny is worth the journey to the cinema.

We open - as is traditional - with a pre-main-movie adventure, set in the last days of the Second World War. Henry Jones (Harrison Ford) and fellow archaeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) are on the trail of an historical artefact coveted by the nazis (no change there) when they inadvertently stumble over another, potentially far more powerful, one: Achimedes' Antikythera. And so, Indy makes another enemy-for-life in deranged scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). Fast forward to 1969, and Doctor Jones is about to retire from professorship in New York when his yearned-for release is interrupted by the arrival of his estranged goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller Bridge) and - not unconnectedly - Dr Jürgen Voller. Because you can't keep a good Macguffin down, and another adventure is about to begin...

GRAVITY

Director James Mangold has channeled the ochre colour-palette and emotional gravity of his spin with Logan for this fifth cinematic entry to the series. Considering how reluctant so many of the characters are to get actively involved in life-threatening high jinks, the whole thing zips along (mostly) at an exhilarating pace. The story is linear enough to get by without being overwhelmed by exposition, but also facilitates the introduction of new characters as well as a handful of old favourites. Bathed in a Kodak-glow, cinematographer Phedon Papamichael channels warm vintage tones long before we're whisked off to the Mediterranean, while the three-strong editing team balance the relentless chase sequences with conveying the weight on Indy's shoulders. Meanwhile, John Williams is on outstanding form with a score which fits seamlessly into the canon and channels some of his best work from the Star Wars prequel-era.

It's not all plain-sailing, of course. The film is longer than it needs to be (because we're never more than five minutes away from one of those chase-sequences), there's a definite sag in the second-act, and the mechanics of the crucial central premise itself feel under-explained; not in a mysterious way, more that the writers couldn't agree on how it was actually going to work and so It Just Does. The recovery of each prized antiquity leans toward a straightforward checklist, and the antagonists are always a conveniently-assured two paces behind, despite rarely showing their working-out. All of the cast here are competent and great fun to watch, but swathes of them carry a very 21st century sensibility which feels out of place for 1969. And the worst offender here, unfortunately, is Phoebe Waller-Bridge (who is otherwise excellent as usual). Oh, and that CGI on the wartime-Indy is still far from perfect. It's way better than the Rogue One debacle, but once again the images that look amazing as stills fall down when they're moving, and our hero's face always feels like it's lit separately and from a different angle. The overall effect is of a video-game cutscene; something which really looks like Harrison Ford but is definitely not him on a subconscious level.

INTERSTELLAR

The best trick the movie pulls, though, is that ultimately none of that matters. The love and attention to detail which have gone into this more than make up for its shortcomings in a year where mediocrity seems encouraged. And extra points should be awarded for a bittersweet ending which doesn't take the glaringly obvious feel-good route many other films would have (more on that in the upcoming spoiler-review).

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny never quite matches the rip-roaring highs of the first three movies (and frankly, no one expected that to be the case), but the energy, enthusiasm and sincerity are more than enough for long-haul Indy fans to love.

Go. Go to the cinema.
Now.

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