Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd.

In pursuit of the holy lance

It is 1944 when the young archaeologist Indiana Jones finds himself in France in search of the Holy Lance of the Roman Empire. He suspects the artefact is on a train that has been taken over by Nazis.

 

Although the lance is a fake, Indy finds his kidnapped colleague Basil Shaw from Oxford on the train. He points out to him that among the archaeological junk is the mechanism of Antikythera.

 

This thing, a kind of space-time measuring device by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, is invaluable. Indy and Shaw then jump off the train just in time, as Allies use a bomb to blow up the bridge the train is hurtling towards.

 

Indiana Jones before well-deserved retirement

25 years later, Indiana Jones is just retiring as a professor in New York. The piece of this "Dial of destiny" is now unattended in the university's storeroom. In order to use it, one would have to possess the other part as well.

 

Indy's goddaughter Helena "Wombat" Shaw, Basil's daughter and an old friend know that this second piece must exist somewhere. The trail leads them to Morocco and Greece. As expected, they are pursued by an old adversary from the past who wants to misuse the artefact for his sinister aims.

 

The young Harrison Ford

In the fifth and last Indiana Jones film, a particularly sophisticated CGI trick technique stands out directly in the first half hour: A system by Lucasfilm that rejuvenates Harrison Ford by means of actual motion-capture recordings, old film footage and a body double.

 

In this way, the actor, who has been reworked in this way, looks as old as he did in the first film in 1981. Likewise, Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Doktor Jürgen Voller in the film, has also been made a few years younger for this time period. I have never experienced this trick effect so successfully before. Especially in contrast with the Indy just before retirement, it looks spectacular.

 

 

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The problem with errors

Director James Mangold was visibly concerned about the style of the predecessor Steven Spielberg and brings many obligatory elements under Indy's hat. But countless bloopers, logical errors, historical flaws and plot holes crept in. This is noticeable even to those who normally pay little attention to such things.

 

So it happens that clothes are swapped from one moment to the next, enemies disappear into nothingness or a broken bridge is suddenly halfway repaired. On top of that, a plot that flattens and confuses in the middle and seems harebrainedly exaggerated at the end.

 

Music and Sound

It is unlikely that the film music will go bad when John Williams has composed the score as usual. That is also the case here.

 

It is the same with the sounds, which are particularly beautifully old-fashioned in this retrospective. This supports this scenery from the 60s and 40s.

 

Shortcomings

Apart from the good beginning, there is hardly a build-up of real tension. In the middle section, the plot flattens out and is sometimes hard to follow. The ending is unbelievable and sloppy. The actually good idea would have offered a lot of original possibilities.

What succeeded?

Harrison Ford brilliant in this role

Lovely filmed at beautiful places

A coherent arc is drawn across all five films

 

 

Summary

Quite flawed but still worth seeing for adventure action film fans

 

Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny offers a lot. There are many bloopers and some characters, such as young Teddy, remain pale. On the other hand, some things are done really well.

 

For example, it seems unexpectedly coherent that Indiana Jones goes on this adventure journey and is constantly worried about Helena, who only seems interested in money. Many familiar themes and prominent faces return.

 

On Indy's photo shelf are pictures of Marion (Karen Allen), Henry Jones (Sean Connery) and Mutt (Shia LaBeouf). These details also show the effort that went into this conclusion.

 

Actors

Several actors from past Indiana Jones films make appearances. Therefore, if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this list all the way down until you've seen the film in the cinema.

 

 

Infos to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny