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Sunday, July 16, 2023

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" (2023) -- Initial Thoughts

Well, that was a fun ride!  Not a brilliant movie.  Not a mind-blowing adventure.  But a really, thoroughly enjoyable movie.  Which is precisely what I want from an Indiana Jones movie.  I hope to manage to see it in the theater at least once more this summer!

The plot revolves around an actual artifact, the Antikythera -- I have actually watched a whole documentary about it more than once because my son was fascinated by it when he was a bit younger.  So when I discovered that's what this one revolved around, I was like, ohhhhh, he's going to enjoy this movie one day.

Anyway, back during WWII, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his British friend Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) are trying to nab a different artifact from Nazi treasure hunter Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), and they discover he also has the Antikythera.  A thrilling trainboard chase sequence ensues.  I happen to be really fond of people running around on top of trains (blame my childhood spent watching westerns), so I really enjoyed that bit.  Also, the CGI they used to give Indy his 40-yr-old face was really, really good.  It did go a little uncanny-valley now and then, but not often.  Unfortunately, they didn't do as well on Mads Mikkelsen, but oh well.

The bulk of the story takes place twenty-five-ish years later, in 1969, when Indy is contacted by his friend Basil's daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who wants to know if Indy has the Antikythera.  And it turns out Voller is now a NASA scientist, and he's got a bunch of henchmen who may or may not be working for the CIA, and they want the gizmo too.  So we have a lot more chase scenes.

I happen to like chase scenes, so I enjoyed those, too.


My favorite part of the movie was probably the deep-sea diving adventure that involved another old friend of Indy's, this one played by Antonio Banderas.  I have long dreamed of going deep-sea diving and exploring shipwrecks, and so I just was bouncing with glee all through that sequence.  Plus, Antonio Banderas!!!  

I also loved that the overall message of this movie went back to the roots of my favorite Indy movies: people are more important than stuff.  In the end, an object of historical significance, is just an object, and not worth trading a person's life for.  Loved that.

Also, the very end of the movie made me cry with joy, and I loved that too.  


I didn't realize that this is directed by James Mangold, but when I saw his name in the end credits, suddenly I noticed how similar this movie is to Logan (2017), and how I liked it for a lot of the same reasons.  You have an aging hero who is dismissed as an old geezer by the bad guys, but who proves to still be heroic.  Who stands up and says, "I may be old, but I will not sit idly by while you commit evil actions.  I will do what I can to stop you."  Man, I LOVE that kind of character.  Plus, you have a mentorship gone sour, and family relationships that have fallen apart but could be salvaged again.  And Boyd Holbrook plays a super annoying bad guy in both of them.  See?  So similar.

Anyway, yeah, I liked it.  

Is this movie family friendly?  It earns its PG-13 rating with jump scares, some icky stuff involving centipedes and eels and skeletons, some cussing, and lots of shooting and other violence (but it was non-gory).  No smutty scenes.

16 comments:

  1. I like a good car chase scene too! I'm looking forward to seeing this movie as soon as it's streaming somewhere. Glad to know it was directed by the same director who did "Logan." I love that movie too, especially Logan's heroic last stand. The young girl who played his daughter Laura (X-23) was outstanding too.

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    1. Debra, nice to know you're also a fan of Logan. Definitely agree that Dafne Keene was a stand-out as Laura/X-23! If you like a good car chase, I hope you enjoy the chases in this Indy movie :-)

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  2. Hi Rachel, wow, I envy you – I so totally want to watch the (probably last) Indy movie with Harrison Ford, but they closed down virtually all cinemas here in Basel Switzerland with the exception of a dreadful multiplex on the outskirts of town (and I have no car and would have to sit in public transport in high summer with soaring temperatures for an hour or so...). Ick. (Covid sort of killed the already slightly moribund cinema business... so many happy memories of my youth … gone.) By the way, I was involved in an exhibit in our Ancient History Museum in Basel about the Antikythera shipwreck and I actually saw the REAL THING that strange "first computer" clock whatever thingy and many other fascinating things recovered from the wreck and I met the deep sea divers who were searching the wrecked vessel. It was so awesome. One more reason I want to see the film. I guess I have to travel to that multiplex after all...

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    1. Andrea, yes, I expect this is the final Indy movie. And really, it's a wonderful closing for his adventures! Very satisfying. Hope you get to see it!

      All we have here in my city are multiplexes, though I don't know if they are dreadful or not. I don't think they are.

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    2. It's not the multiplex per se which I find dreadful, but the fact that they are no longer "in the city" but far away. We had a street downtown called "the cinema mile" with lots of lovely old buildings with really wide screens and they closed them all, now not knowing what to do with the buildings. Cinemas like those in the 1930', "movie theaters", and nice restaurants close by where you could have a drink afterwards. Not possible in the new multiplex far out on the outskirts close to the soccer stadium. No atmosphere – hope you get my (slightly nostalgic) point...

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    3. Andrea, I certainly can understand that. When I was a teen, there was an old theater that showed "second run" movies -- things that were done playing at the big theaters, but not out on VHS yet. It had two screens, one upstairs and one downstairs, and the loveliest vintage feel. Going to a movie there felt really special in a different way than going to one of the bigger, newer places. Also, the much cheaper ticket price meant my teen friends and I could go see movies more often :-D

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  3. Sounds like it wasn't as bad as some people said it was!

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    1. Lisa, definitely not! Actually, I have avoided reviews of it because I wanted to go into it with an open mind -- which is why I didn't even realize who directed it. But I have heard the word "trainwreck" describe it, which I think is silly. Or maybe those people were just referencing the train wreck that occurs during the opening sequence?

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  4. I don't think I've ever seen this series... apart from maybe the last "newest" movie. I started the MI movies earlier this year to watch them all in order leading up to see the new one (someday), so I need to add these to my list too! They seem like they'd be fun. :)

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    1. Rissi, well, the Indiana Jones series is a perfect summertime movie choice -- pure popcorn fun that lets you spend a couple of hours at a time enjoying a good ride :-)

      And that's a fun idea to watch all of the M:I movies before seeing the new one! I have been thinking about rewatching the last couple before this newest one.

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  5. I half expected a different scene late in that movie. (The curve ball I mentioned in my own review). I won't spoil it here either, but that ending was good as well as unexpected.

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    1. Anonymous, is this Quiggy, by chance? If so, I agree that the true motivation for Mads Mikkelson's character was a surprise! And a good one.

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    2. I don't know why the website published that as Anonymous, but it was me. I wasn't referring to the motivation of Mikkelson's character, however. I was referring to where the character's ended up in the final reel. If they had ended up going where I was dreading they were going, time-wise, I was sure I would have walked out. I hope it doesn't count as a spoiler but I thought they would be looking down at the Jurassic period. And that would have been just too cheesy to stomach.

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    3. Quiggy, aha! Gotcha. I agree, that would have been cheesy. This worked really well. Good storytelling.

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  6. I love the opening of this movie so much, though I disagree about the de-aging on Mads. He looked so perfect to L and me that we didn't actually realize he'd been de-aged until later, when were like, duh, of course. But then, I've also watched a ton of his movies? But everything about the beginning just pleases me. When that opening is over, I just want them to back the movie up and replay that part! The fight on top of the train, the dialog ("have you met Hitler??"), Thomas Kretschmann, it's all loads of fun. And I adore Antonio in this. He seems like he's having so much fun being in this movie! I can't say I like the deep sea diving part... you know me and the ocean, so that part just stresses me out.

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    1. DKoren, that could be -- I really only know Mads from more recent things, starting with Casino Royale and going forward, so maybe it looked 'off' to me because I'm just not used to him being younger?

      The fight on top of the train was perfect. I always love those.

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