Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Review

NOTE!: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED! LEAVE NOW!

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is an action adventure movie and the fifth and final installment of the film series. It's produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilms Ltd. and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is written by David Koepp, James Mangold, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth and directed by James Mangold.

The story is Indiana Jones meets with his godchild Helena Shaw, and they have talk about Archimedes' Dial and the supposed power it holds. This conversation soon leads to a race to see who can put the dial back together and use its fabled power.

Initial Reaction

When I first heard about a fifth Indiana Jones movie, I was pretty excited. Then I heard and read leaks, and was so hoping a lot of it wasn't true. But despite my worries, I was still excited.

Cons

One negative is the pacing. This movie is two hours and felt like two hours. You can just feel the runtime. I spent more time wondering when things would speed up, than actually having a good time. Then there's our villains. Not only were they not interesting, but, and maybe this is just from my point of view, but they just didn't feel all that threatening. Not only that, but they're Nazis. Which means we've done the Nazi thing three times. Do you know why Spielberg and Lucas made the voodoo tribe the villains for Temple of Doom and the KGB the villains for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? It was so the franchise had some fresh bad guys. So not only are our villains not interesting, but they also have a recycled gimmick. What a winning combination. Then there's the time traveling aspect. Yes, that leak along with many others was true. Now I know defended sci-fi elements in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but I just can't here. The reason is, while showing the aliens and their ship is a little unnecessary, at least Steven Spielberg and George Lucas didn't have Indy meet the aliens, then have him and the gang find a way off their ship, all while being shot at with laser beams. Here, not only did they time travel but, they interact with the people from that time period and even fight for a bit. The filmmakers basically took the sci-fi aspect and cranked it up to eleven. Making what Spielberg and Lucas did in Crystal Skull subtle in comparison. Then we come to the worst aspect of Dial of Destiny, Helena Shaw. This character is insufferable. Not only does this lady have a smug attitude like she's better than everyone else, there's just nothing to like about her. She's not charming, she's not charismatic, and she's not funny. Then there's the fact it seemed like the writers had no idea what she is. One moment she's a caring person, next she's a quirky con artist, and then she's a backstabber who's more than willing to let other people die in order to achieve her goals, even if it's her own godfather Indy. Just a poorly written character all around.

Middle Ground

One gray area is the CGI. While some of it can be noticeable, overall it's not too bad. The VFX artist did a pretty decent job. Then there's the action. The first twenty minutes was the absolute best, it felt like a true Indiana Jones movie. Afterwards it just fine. Other than those twenty minutes, the action is well shot, but it definitely needed more energy and excitement to them.

Pros

If there's anything to like about the movie it's John Williams' score and Harrison Ford's performance. While the overall movie isn't good, these were the two things that helped just a little bit.

Overall folks, you all owe Kingdom of the Crystal Skull an apology. This is the movie you should be hating on, today, tomorrow, and forever. Sure there's a slight quality that's pretty decent, but overall this movie just not good.

My final rating is, Bad.

Well that's all for now. Come back on Monday, Jul 3rd, where I'll write a problem plaguing comic book movies. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.