Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review: Indy’s nostalgic farewell

Certain actors and characters become so entrenched in our lives that it’s nearly impossible to be objective when looking at the films themselves. In full disclosure, it’s how I’ve always felt about the Indiana Jones films; if you’ve got a wisecracking Harrison Ford fighting Nazis (or, err, aliens) to a sweeping John Williams score, I’m in.

In many ways, that sense of fan nostalgia is baked into Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth film in the decades-spanning franchise. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker James Mangold (Logan), Dial of Destiny is purportedly the final film in the Indy series, or at least the last to star the now 80-year-old Ford as the infamous archeologist.

Mangold, working from a script he co-wrote with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp, solves the problem of staging an action film with an 80-year-old star in a couple of ways. In what is sure to be the most controversial, the filmmakers employ de-aging special effects to portray a much younger Ford in the film’s admittedly thrilling WWII-era opening. The other method is to pair Ford with a much younger co-star, which they do with the incredible Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), who offsets Ford perfectly in both the film’s quippier moments and its elaborate action sequences.

While the idea of watching a young, computer-generated (or at least, greatly enhanced) Harrison Ford has an uncanny valley element to it, somehow Mangold and his army of effects technicians manage to pull it off. It may signal an uneasy turn in movie history, but it’s hard not to get swept up in the magic they’ve created here.

As the film starts, we see a young Indiana Jones in the midst of a train caper during WWII. Indy is there in search of a priceless artifact being held by the Nazis (natch), but accidentally stumbles upon something wilder; the Dial of Destiny, a device created by Archimedes that apparently has the power to control time. In the midst of a face-off with one Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), Indy and his partner Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) lose the Dial, setting the stage for Shaw to obsess over the artifact and its powers for the rest of his days.

Decades later, we pick up with Indy in New York City in 1969. While the streets are chock-full of hippies and free love, Indy is a grumpy older man on the verge of retirement. Separated from his wife Marion (Karen Allen), he seems destined for a quiet and lonely life until he meets the perky Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the daughter of his old partner. Helena has followed her father’s footsteps into the world of archeology and believes she knows where the invaluable Dial of Destiny may be hidden — if only she can convince Indy to head out on one more adventure.

The Dial of Destiny has all the components of a great Indiana Jones film, and when everything falls into place it hits all the right nostalgic notes perfectly. Ford gives one of his best performances in years as the grizzled vet who can’t resist one final mission and has great chemistry with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who more than holds her own in the comedy and action components. There are a few moving cameos that fans of the franchise will appreciate, and John Williams’ score brings the whole endeavor to a higher level.

The timeline also really helps things feel fresh, and Mangold takes full advantage of the chaotic ’60s setting. From Indy complaining about his neighbours blasting The Beatles to a thrilling horseback chase through a Vietnam protest, Mangold throws in a number of welcome new elements into the Indy stable of tricks.

While the setting and performances are all top-notch, Dial of Destiny falls into the sequel trap of trying to outdo everything we’ve seen before, with mixed results. There are entirely too many characters and sub-plots (including a whole extraneous segment involving Antonio Banderas as a sea captain), and you really begin to feel the film’s bloated 154-minute running time at points.

That said, the film fully embraces its pulpy inspirations and features a wild third act that will likely evenly split audiences. If you thought bringing aliens into the franchise with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was unbelievable, just wait until you see where this film goes.

You have to admire the audacity of a film like this that wants to be everything to everyone; a familiar and nostalgic nod to the past, while likely setting up the future of the franchise once Ford hangs up the fedora and the whip for good. It doesn’t always work and the de-aging technology may make everything look like a video game, but there are moments here that are more exciting and genuinely enjoyable than anything we’ve seen in a Blockbuster release in some time.

It’s long, crazy, and may be an affront to filmmaking, but I can’t wait to see it again.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in theatres on June 30.