Films and Fiction

A good mix of new and old makes Indy’s final adventure an exciting ride

*Spoilers! Very dangerous!*

Indiana Jones has made his last appearance on the big screen, and as you might expect it’s loud, exciting, and not too subtle, but is it actually a good movie and, more importantly, a fitting end to one of the biggest franchises in movie history?

I’ll be honest, I did go into The Dial of Destiny with some apprehension. This was, after all, the first time Steven Spielberg wasn’t directing, and I wondered whether anyone could pull it off other than him. There’s also the fact that a lot has changed in the film industry since the ’80s, or even since Crystal Skull in 2008. I did ask whether movies like this could be made anymore, and whether a studio could consciously make a final installment now that franchises are king.

New Age Indy

Starting the movie with a retrospective set in 1944 was probably for the best, especially considering how much Indiana himself has changed when we see him in the ’60s. It’s also one of the best scenes in the movie, and was really the highlight. I imagine it could become ‘the’ scene that everyone remembers and becomes the trademark of the movie. It’s loud, explosive, and more than a little silly. All good stuff for in Indiana Jones movie. Even the de-aged Harrison Ford works well, except for the voice.

When we flick to Indy’s present, we see that he’s changed a lot since we last saw him. He’s divorced, drinking, and living in a less than opulent apartment. Everything has changed, even his college, he’s now working at Hunter, rather than Marshal college. I think the setting of the 1969 Moon landing is more than just a nice backdrop, it shows how Indy has been overtaken by science, technology, and very importantly, by time, and that people are looking to space for adventure. Strangely, despite the setting, the movie doesn’t feel too ’60s, except for some fashion and cars being different, but it could really be set before the Second World War in most ways. Harrison Ford’s (or Indy’s) age isn’t a big deal, either. He still punches as hard as he ever did, and aside from a few references to it, it could almost be forgotten about.

New Characters and Old Chases

The story doesn’t linger here for long, though, with Indy’s god daughter Helena Shaw showing up to shake him out of his slump. Being honest, I wasn’t looking forward to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character. From what I’d seen in the trailer, I thought she could be irritating, but I was pleasantly surprised. Her performance is quite profound in places, and we see that her smart, sure character is at least partly a defence against the kind of environment she lives in. When it occasionally slips, we see she’s a much deeper, more emotional character. She can be selfish, like when she leaves Indy to his fate, but there’s a balance which Waller-Bridge treads carefully between unlikable and likeable.

Her young sidekick Teddy, played brilliantly by Ethann Isidore, is a great new character, too. A street smart kid who’s also a small time criminal, but can be brave and selfless when it really matters.

With the MacGuffin firmly established in the story, things really take off, with a chase scene through the streets and into the subway. There are a lot of chases in this movie, far more than in any of the other four, and using every kind of transport imaginable: trains, cars, planes, bikes, horses, or even just on foot. They’re all fun, though, with the tuk-tuk chase scene one of the most ridiculously enjoyable. At one point I found myself thinking “this is getting a bit too silly,” then I realised that actually it wasn’t. This was Indiana Jones, after all, it’s supposed to be like that.

On a similar theme, the movie has some good humour. Several one-liners and in jokes, like when Indy crack his whip threateningly, only to have a room full of people pull their guns on him.

Bad Guys & MacGuffins

Indiana Jones needs a villain, or several, to fight, and there’s no disappointment here. There’s a good spread of bad guys, from Voller, the physicist searching for the Dial, to his henchmen, the trigger happy Klaber, and the obligatory massive goon Hauke (I wish he’d had a more grisly demise). I wonder if bringing back the Nazis as main villains was a good idea? They are the classic antagonists in the franchise, but they’re also not as big a problem in the ’60s, when the Soviets were the big bad in the world. I guess it helps to reinforce the fact that the villains are out of their time, just like Dr. Jones.

The MacGuffin itself is a lot less MacGuffiny than previous ones. It does have a big impact on the plot at the end of the movie. It also significantly changes the genre. I think it’s far too much cold, hard science and mathematics, turning the genre from fantasy to sci-fi, and taking away all the magic and superstitious mumbo jumbo. In many ways, this is the weakest part of the whole movie. I do like the idea that Voller is going back in time to kill Adolf Hitler so that Germany can win the war, though. I’ve often thought that people who say they would go back to make things better would often end up making them worse.

I’ve not made up my mind about the whole time travel scene, either. It’s fitting that Indy should get to see the past he’s devoted his life to studying and preserving, but it does lead to a lot of questions, and I think the whole time loop plot is overused by now. One thing I will say is that it had me worried more than once when Indiana says he wants to stay behind in ancient Greece with Archemedes. I thought that he might go the way of Han Solo, but I’m glad they didn’t. I don’t think there’s ever a need to kill off a main character simply because it’s their last movie.

Perhaps the ending they settled on is a little too perfect, in some ways, and perhaps could have been more spectacular for his final outing, but I think he deserved a happy ending. It is an adventure, after all.

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In summary, then, it’s a good, entertaining movie that feels like a classic Indiana Jones picture, with scenes like the shoal of eels, while also managing to be something new. It does occasionally veer into nostalgia, like with Sallah’s welcome but ultimately unnecessary cameo, though it never becomes sentimental. In fact, for what’s marketed as Indy’s final movie, it does feel remarkably self contained. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that most final movies tend to lean more heavily on what’s come before.

I’m actually glad that the franchise is over. I don’t think anything can survive very long in today’s Hollywood without being debased as studios try to wring every bit of content from their properties. It was a little sad to see Indy take his hat from the washing line knowing we won’t see him in it again, but Indiana Jones has cracked his whip for the last time, and with a satisfying enough result that he can hang it up with pride.

Thanks for reading!