“That belongs in a museum.” This quote – and a couple variations of it – are spoken by Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. There, of course, the archaeologist-adventurer is referring to the Cross of Coronado. But it (potentially) has more relevance now, with the release of Indiana. Jones and the Dial of Destiny. After the mixed reception to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, many were wondering if a fifth installment was a wise idea. Star Harrison Ford was 79 during filming, Steven Spielberg wasn’t returning to direct. How much (compelling) story was left to be told? With this being Ford’s last outing as the globe-trotting adventurer, does Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny deliver a worthy sendoff?

The Plot

After an opening sequence in 1944, at the end of World War II, the story fast forwards to 1969. When Nazi scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a foe from Indy’s past, resurfaces unexpectedly, Jones must team up with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to prevent Voller from finding and gaining control of a legendary artifact with the potential to cause untold disaster to the world, the likes of which Jones has never had to contend with before.

The Critique

First things first, Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. It’s always fun to see him don the fedora and crack the whip again.  Ford is as game as ever. And even though he’s limited in the physical aspect, he still embodies the character as perfectly as ever. Not much else to say here. It’s Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. You know what you’re getting. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is more of a mixed bag as the newcomer Helena. She gets tasked with the quippy one-liners, as Jones’ fast-talking, street-smart goddaughter.

This works…sometimes. Dial of Destiny doesn’t go overboard with Helena and the jokes; they just don’t always fit. When they work, they’re able to add levity, offset the serious tone without undercutting it. But there are more instances where they don’t fit within the scene. It feels like the studio picked random scenes they felt a joke was needed and simply added one in, with no regard to the larger context.

Waller-Bridge and Ford also don’t have great chemistry. It’s not bad, more inconsistent. And in the moments where that’s more evident plus you get a joke that doesn’t land, it really sticks out. When she’s good, she’s very good. But those instances are just too few and far between.

Mads Mikkelsen as the villain was a huge bummer. Casting Mikkelsen as the big bad should have been an automatic W for the movie. And from an acting standpoint, Mikkelsen is fine. But his character is a big nothing burger. He’s completely one-note, to the point that not even Mikkelsen can make him into anything even resembling a compelling character. Ford does the vast majority of the heavy lifting in the character department, with Waller-Bridge picking up some of the slack here and there.

In addition to Harrison Ford, what do you come to an Indiana Jones movie for? The adventure! And this is where Dial of Destiny has the most success. While there’s no one set piece or sequence that you can point to as a signature moment of the film, all of those moments are, at worst, done adequately.

All the action, fights, chases will keep you engaged and entertained. You’ll feel the tension when you should, and you’ll laugh and smile when you should be laughing and smiling. Like most good adventure movies, previous Indiana Jones movies included, Dial of Destiny mixes in some good old fashioned puzzle solving as well. Not everything has to be explosions and fights on the top of a train.

Also read: Asteroid City Review: Wes Anderson Makes a Masterfully Meta Sci-Fi Comedy

Unfortunately, I’ve been saving the worst for last. The eponymous Dial of Destiny is a horrible plot contrivance. It’s as MacGuffiny as a MacGuffin can be. Its true power is only alluded to throughout the movie. You can figure it out, or at least get the general idea. But still, it’s hard to truly care about what’s happening if you don’t know what’s at stake. It’s revealed too late to get fully invested. And even then, some of the more specific details are glossed over, or ignored completely.

Then there’s basically the entire third act. There’s still some fun to be had, but wow, talk about a letdown of an ending. I can’t get into the biggest specifics without fully spoiling the ending. But there’s a particular character choice that simply makes no sense. Truly baffling.

And we finally have the jumping the shark moment for the Indiana Jones series. I didn’t love the aliens in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (didn’t hate them either, though, for what it’s worth). But that looks like a genius idea compared to a couple decisions made here, including some loose ends that are inexplicably left unexplained.

In Conclusion

This is not the farewell I wanted for such an iconic character. Poorly defined stakes and a disastrous ending threaten to completely derail Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. But with Harrison Ford doing his thing once again, and a collection of solid action-adventure set pieces, there’s enough good here to make this a fun time at the movies.

6/10

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