A gruffy and iconic hat and whip wielding movie icon is returning in his fifth and final 40 year long epic that is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford returns to the iconic character that sparked the adventures of archeology and one of the industries best and most beloved heroes. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a somber and action packed sendoff to the franchise that gives Harrison his proper sendoff, his way.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is no Last Crusade or Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it is an enjoyable film worthy of audience viewing this summer. What made Raiders and Last Crusade so iconic was the tangling with the Nazi’s over artifacts, and Dial of Destiny returns to iconic form. This time however, Nazi astrophysicist Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) is on the hunt for the dial of Archimedes which will alter time. Voller’s reasoning for the dial is so he can go back into time and alter the Nazi regime, assassinate Adolf Hitler (since the Third Reich would have been successful if Hitler was not in charge), and change the course of history.
The movie starts off in 1944 Nazi Germany, as the Nazi’s are on the brink of defeat from the Allies. A vastly de-aged Indiana Jones seizes a dial dating back to 212 BC, owned by the mathematician Archimedes. The other half of the dial is somewhere at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. This de-aged series of events features an epic train stunt scene as Indiana is running from the Nazi’s.
Present Day, Indiana Jones is retiring from teaching, and is visited by his god-daughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who is intrigued by the dial, and proposes to help Indiana retrieve the other half, since her father was working with Dr. Jones on the adventure. This dial is crucial, as it holds the power to create a time fissure, or time travel.
Through a series of action packed scenes and grab n’ go’s, audiences a reintroduced to one of the franchises most beloved friends, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies). Sallah anxiously and eager to return to the dessert, the sea, and the adventures of what life may bring him next. Indiana has other plans, and goes alone. Through a series of intense and epic stunts, the Nazi’s ultimately end up in the hands of the dial. Voller takes the dial in his plane and begins the time travel to Nazi Germany 1939. Or so he thought.
Indiana Jones, Helena, the Nazi’s and Vollmer end up not in Nazi Germany, but through the suspected continental drift not being a thing when Archimedes created the dial, the group ends up at the Siege of Syracuse 212 BC. The unsuspected and frightened armies shoot down the plane with catapults, killing all the Nazi’s but leaves Indiana Jones and Helena Shaw on the beach. A familiar historical figure appears and is intrigued that the dial works, Archimedes himself appears and is fascinated by the wonders of his dial.
A critical and at-peace Indiana Jones requests to stay since present-day has nothing for him left. Helena refuses to let Indy stay behind — and the scene cuts to Indiana Jones awaking in his bed, only to hear the sounds of voices in the kitchen. Culminating an iconic franchise, the audience is left with emotions running high as Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) appears with groceries to help and show that after all these years, she still has love for Indiana. Sallah and his children arrive on the scene, but are quickly ushered off for ice cream so that Indiana and Marion can reconcile as the screen fades to black.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a captivating and enjoyable film for any movie lover, and is the perfect sendoff and love letter to the beloved character. Director James Mangold and Executive Producer, Steven Spielberg, deliver a quality and action-packed film for audience goers, accompanied by the iconic musical arrangement of John Williams.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is Rated PG-13 for violence, language and graphic imagery.
Ever since he was young, Matt was enamored and glued to anything Disney. From the movies, to Playhouse Disney, to frequent visits to Walt Disney World. Disney was Matt’s childhood. As he grew up, and his interests went from movie fandom, to park operations fandom, his desire for spread to Disney Parks and his urge to work for Disney. Since then, he has completed numerous Disney College Programs, and is currently a proud Cast Member at his favorite park, EPCOT, having been apart of the opening teams for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Creations Shop, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind’s Treasures of Xandar.
