Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Year: 2023
Rating: PG-13
Length: 154 minutes / 2.57 hours
If you want proof that Hollywood won’t let a good franchise die, look no further than Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). The original 1980s trilogy stands pretty well by itself, but the first reboot, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) was so odd that it took almost another 20 years for the franchise to try anything else. Dial of Destiny merely exacerbates the problem of trying to resurrect this franchise by not transitioning off Harrison Ford (like it tried to do in Crystal Skull) but instead doubling down on de-aging technology and nostalgia.
There’s a huge section in the first part of this movie that was so CGI heavy, I could have sworn I was watching a video game cut scene for 30 minutes. De-aging Harrison Ford still has the same issues that all other de-aging techniques seem to have (mainly, a kind of “uncanny valley”). None of the other characters were interesting or engaging, and that includes the ones brought on for short cameos to move the plot forward. I was falling asleep by the dramatic climax, and I don’t think it was entirely because I was sleep deprived.
What’s perhaps most frustrating with Dial of Destiny is that they could have actually made a decent film. Even within the first three films, the two where the artifact being sought after was a religious relic were the better ones. That they could have had a Lance of Longinus movie instead of the unbelievable Dial of Destiny further reinforces that nobody who made this film knows what makes a good Indiana Jones film. I sincerely hope this is the last we’ll see of this franchise, because this movie was an insult to everything that came before it.
The worst Indiana Jones movie ever made, I give Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 1.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
