I’m an Indiana Jones fan. I’ve seen every movie in the theater, I own an Indy hat (that I wear to teach at my university), I frequently rewatch them all, and I loved the controversial fourth film, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Knowing all that, you can probably guess I went into “Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny” expecting to have a good time – and I had a great time.
This Indiana Jones follows the formula of the originals with swashbuckling action, mysterious artifacts, tomb-raiding disguised as archaeology, and fast, quippy dialog. Some people have made a big deal about “Dial of Destiny” not having extensive, direct involvement of Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, but James Mangold (“Ford v Ferrari,” “Logan”) and his writing team have done an excellent job recreating the magic of the originals.
Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. The first Indiana Jones released over 40 years ago, and a lot has changed about what we consider belongs in both an action movie and inside a museum. We’re (slowly) moving to the realization that removing sacred objects from their original location and original people is not always best (which “Temple of Doom” actually got right in the end). We also expect more and better involvement from our leading women – which “Dial of Destiny” actually delivers in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character Helena. Unfortunately, the film also falls victim to the notion that action movie heroes have a revolving-door of women sidekicks, a problem for almost every Indy movie (excluding “Crystal Skull”): Karen Allen’s “Marion” in Raiders, Kate Capshaw’s “Willie” in Temple of Doom, Alison Doody’s “Elsa” in Last Crusade, and now Helena in Dial of Destiny. Even worse this time around, however, Marion’s absence is explained by a quick pan across a pile of divorce papers that seem to have little emotional bearing on our hero’s globe-trotting journey. Indy’s marriage, son, and now divorce seem seldom to be on his mind.
Overall, “Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny” is a fun, action-filled romp through history that mostly suffers from the weight of 40 years of its own history and the tropes that are assumed to belong in action/adventure movies.
***The Bechdel Test for “Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny”: 1) The film contains one woman in a major role, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Karen Allen’s character shows up only in the film’s final 5 minutes, and I cannot consider that a “major role.” It’s barely long enough to be a cameo.