It's funny that they waited almost 20 years to make a sequel to the Last Crusade, then another 15 years after Crystal Skulls ended up being less than stellar (pun intended, aliens, get it?).
I'm happy that Harrison Ford, Lucas&Spielberg, and the rest of the returning cast finally got a good send off sans Shia LaBeouf, but please let this be the final installment. I don't want to see a continuation with Helena Shaw, even though unlike a lot of other reviewers, I didn't mind her.
Fleabag does a good job in the film, and they avoided making her character overly bitchy, negative, or unlikeable. Reviewers saying she's unlikeable apparently wanted a female character who bows down and kisses Indy's ass, when even Marion in the originals never did that. The fact that her character is into archeology for the wrong reasons gives her somewhere to grow from, the fact that she has tension with Indy makes it interesting, but it's not a situation where the man we're here to see feels shoved aside or disregarded because of a new character. They strike the right balance.
Overall, the movie feels sort of like what happened with Star Wars: the prequels tried something different (like Crystal Skulls did) and people pushed back against it. Then to course-correct, you had Force Awakens, which was overly reminiscent of the originals and practically a remake.
Dial of Destiny isn't quite a remake of the prior franchise, but you can feel the desire to correct from Crystal Skulls all over the movie; it follows a very tried and true, familiar Indiana Jones formula. Except without Harrison Ford in his prime, without Spielberg's direction, without as many practical effects as the originals (the CGI isn't egregious, it's just that the original movies were very sparing on those type of effects), so it doesn't quite capture the same greatness. How could it?
It's very similar to Ghostbusters: Afterlife in that it's well-made but safe, acting as a companion piece to the far greater originals that have now become protected and beloved.
With all that criticism aside, Dial features some action that definitely takes from the cues of the rest of the series and understands what makes those action beats work. Mangold's direction provides some well-shot and staged action, and it's interesting seeing Indy deal with the late 60s. The supernatural elements are eased into the movie in a more natural fashion than Crystal Skulls, and Mads Mikkelsen is once again flawless as the villain. His reintroduction after the opening in the past was effective and chilling.
I liked that the movie acknowledged Indy/Harrison's age and embraced themes of time and how we deal with the past. But time is a factor none of us can escape, there is no dial to get around the reality of the years passing, and while this is a competent and satisfying send-off, they ultimately waited too long, with box office numbers not doing great because unlike wide brands like Star Wars or Marvel with universes of characters, Indiana Jones is tied to one character and one man, and there's an entire generation now who might not have seen or been familiar with the character and the greatness those od movies embodied. I couldn't shake the feeling of "too little, too late" during the runtime.
I would say that unless you're a lifelong Indiana Jones lover like me, you don't have to go rush out to see this. If you are, it'll give you a nice final taste of what is in my opinion, overall some of the finest action-adventure movies (and I mean the original three) ever made.
I'm happy that Harrison Ford, Lucas&Spielberg, and the rest of the returning cast finally got a good send off sans Shia LaBeouf, but please let this be the final installment. I don't want to see a continuation with Helena Shaw, even though unlike a lot of other reviewers, I didn't mind her.
Fleabag does a good job in the film, and they avoided making her character overly bitchy, negative, or unlikeable. Reviewers saying she's unlikeable apparently wanted a female character who bows down and kisses Indy's ass, when even Marion in the originals never did that. The fact that her character is into archeology for the wrong reasons gives her somewhere to grow from, the fact that she has tension with Indy makes it interesting, but it's not a situation where the man we're here to see feels shoved aside or disregarded because of a new character. They strike the right balance.
Overall, the movie feels sort of like what happened with Star Wars: the prequels tried something different (like Crystal Skulls did) and people pushed back against it. Then to course-correct, you had Force Awakens, which was overly reminiscent of the originals and practically a remake.
Dial of Destiny isn't quite a remake of the prior franchise, but you can feel the desire to correct from Crystal Skulls all over the movie; it follows a very tried and true, familiar Indiana Jones formula. Except without Harrison Ford in his prime, without Spielberg's direction, without as many practical effects as the originals (the CGI isn't egregious, it's just that the original movies were very sparing on those type of effects), so it doesn't quite capture the same greatness. How could it?
It's very similar to Ghostbusters: Afterlife in that it's well-made but safe, acting as a companion piece to the far greater originals that have now become protected and beloved.
With all that criticism aside, Dial features some action that definitely takes from the cues of the rest of the series and understands what makes those action beats work. Mangold's direction provides some well-shot and staged action, and it's interesting seeing Indy deal with the late 60s. The supernatural elements are eased into the movie in a more natural fashion than Crystal Skulls, and Mads Mikkelsen is once again flawless as the villain. His reintroduction after the opening in the past was effective and chilling.
I liked that the movie acknowledged Indy/Harrison's age and embraced themes of time and how we deal with the past. But time is a factor none of us can escape, there is no dial to get around the reality of the years passing, and while this is a competent and satisfying send-off, they ultimately waited too long, with box office numbers not doing great because unlike wide brands like Star Wars or Marvel with universes of characters, Indiana Jones is tied to one character and one man, and there's an entire generation now who might not have seen or been familiar with the character and the greatness those od movies embodied. I couldn't shake the feeling of "too little, too late" during the runtime.
I would say that unless you're a lifelong Indiana Jones lover like me, you don't have to go rush out to see this. If you are, it'll give you a nice final taste of what is in my opinion, overall some of the finest action-adventure movies (and I mean the original three) ever made.
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