Over the long weekend, I received many text messages that were different iterations of, “Should I see the new Indiana Jones movie?” Having seen it three times now myself, my answer was, “Yes, you should.” The primary concern seemed to be rooted in that nobody was in the mood to sit through something even remotely like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull again. And after the initial reviews from Cannes,* It’s understandable why people might think this was the road we were headed down again.
(*For whatever reason, the Cannes crowd did not enjoy Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at a percentage that is far different than the people who saw it anywhere but at Cannes. I’ve been at festival screenings before for big movies and they can be a risky proposition. The cast is usually there, it’s exciting, no one has seen the movie before, which usually results in over-praise. Then, after, we watch the Rotten Tomatoes score slowly start coming down as the film plays outside that initial festival. Dial of Destiny has been the opposite. (I am not a fan of how we judge movies by Rotten Tomatoes scores, but it’s the way the world works.) At one point it was in the high 30s. Now it’s hovering around 70 percent. This is unusual. (I saw Dial of Destiny on June 7th, so after the initial Cannes reaction, but before the wave of good reviews came in. So for about a week I felt like the one lone person saying, “Hey this is pretty good!”)
Anyway, I also got a lot of texts, after they saw the movie, that they very much enjoyed it. Unlike Crystal Skull, it’s a satisfying adventure. (I enjoy being vindicated.) Last week I wrote about why I still can’t get on board with Crystal Skull (even though I’ve tried) and I was curious, using specific plot points from Dial of Destiny, how the latter movie avoided the mistakes that Crystal Skull made. So, yes, obviously there will be spoilers from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny going forward.
Well, okay, first of all, Archimedes’ Dial actually does something. For the life of me, I still can’t tell you what the Skull does. If you look into its eyes you zone out a bit? Then, later, it turns into a living being, frowns, then leaves. In Dial of Destiny, there’s actually a payoff! They go back to 212 BC! Whatever a complaint of Dial of Destiny might be, not having a payoff isn’t one of them. You may not like the payoff, but there’s certainly a payoff.
And also, let’s not forget Indy’s “buddy” Mac betrays him, what, three times? Why would Indiana Jones keep hanging out with this guy? The new supporting characters in Crystal Skull are all … not great. Mutt is in a different movie. As stated, Mac betrays Indiana Jones multiple times throughout the film. And Oxley just kind of mumbles the whole time. Great. In Dial of Destiny, Helena Shaw is a real character. It’s interesting she’s in it for the money (at least at first) and doesn’t want to get bogged down in morality after watching her father go mad obsessing over the Dial. Speaking of her father, Bas is also a great character who we completely understand why Indiana Jones would consider him a friend. Bas even risks his life to try to save Indy in the scene that’s set in 1944. Dial of Destiny is actually filled with great new characters.
And speaking of characters, like the Skull, I still can’t tell you what Irina Spalko’s motivation was. Something about unlocking the power of the skull? I think? What those powers are, no one seems to quite know. Now, I do know exactly what Jürgen Voller’s motivation is. What he wants to do is a pretty audacious plot point, but I have no question whatsoever what he wants to do and why he wants to do it.
My favorite line in Dial of Destiny is a severely injured Indiana Jones, half delirious, half giddy, tells Jürgen Voller, “Your calculations are wrong!” Then adds, “I don’t know where we’re going, Jürgen, but it sure as hell ain’t 1939!” (My second favorite line is Indy, annoyed, “You weren’t forced to drink the blood of Kali!” Indiana Jones is, once again, the smartest person in the room and knows what’s going on before anyone else. In Crystal Skull, Indy just looks kind of confused the whole time, like us. Finally, wrapping the whole thing up by guessing the inter-dimensional beings sought knowledge as their treasure? I mean, sure, most of us do like learning things, but that’s a disappointing ending to an Indiana Jones movie.
In Dial of Destiny, because of the loss of his son, Indy has a real emotional arc with a terrific payoff. Having seen it a few times now, director James Mangold really milks the scene where Indy says he’s staying in 212 BC. It goes on so long, the audience truly believes this is how it will end for Indiana Jones and, every time, Helena’s punch gets a roaring applause. We are led to believe Marion Ravenwood was the one who couldn’t be consoled, but the whole time it was Indiana Jones who was so overcome with grief he’d rather die in 212 BC from a gunshot than face his own reality of booze in his morning coffee followed by some day-drinking at his local pub. It’s pretty heartbreaking. But we need to feel that heartbreak to get to that perfect ending of Marion asking Indy, “I heard you were back. Are you back?” A scene so good, nothing in Crystal Skull comes remotely close and I could make a case that this is the most emotional scene out of all five movies.
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