Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

In cinemas now

Cynics might suggest that the only reason the fifth and final installment of the Indiana Jones franchise exists is to retcon the near-disastrous effects of its universally derided predecessor (2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). Brief research into the production history of Dial of Destiny will tell you that’s not the case, but that doesn’t stop James Mangold’s film feeling like an exercise in damage control. 

Right from the off, we are transported back in time to 1944 to witness a de-aged Indie take on some oafish Nazi officers in a whip-smart action sequence that is in keeping with the spirit of the series’ most treasured entries. Though I’m still very much uneasy about the use of de-aging technology, this is easily the most effective case of it I’ve seen to date and really sets hopes high for a return to form for cinema’s most (or perhaps only) celebrated archaeologist. 

It’s a crying shame then to find that Mangold’s screenplay (which was co-written with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp) cannot sustain the entertainment of its opening act, despite the best efforts of Harrison Ford, who is every inch the star he always has been. Its narrative, which is centered on an ancient artifact that allows its users to travel back in time, leaves the film open to the pitfalls of Hollywood’s tiresome obsession with time travel and leads to a final act that is, without indulging any of its detail, frankly preposterous. 

Of Ford’s game supporting cast, Toby Jones is easily the standout, though Phoebe Waller-Bridge (good here but in perilous danger of getting the Miranda Hart treatment from lazy execs) and an entertainingly hammy Mads Mikkelsen also deserve credit. Nonetheless, with a whopping production budget of $295 million, it’s hard to see the Dial of Destiny as anything other than yet another expensive nostalgia act.