Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny: Movie Review

Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones
Director: James Mangold

Indiana Jones' final cinematic outing offers both the best and the worst of the franchise - but make no mistake, this is Harrison Ford's film every frame of the way.

In parts feeling like a cookie cutter movie assembled by AI when fed archaeology lore (right up to a bonkers polarising finale), this latest sees Indy in pursuit of the Dial of Destiny in 1969. With Nazis (helmed by Mads Mikkelsen's underplayed menacing bad guy) on his heels, Indy finds himself thrust on another globetrotting adventure accompanied by Helena (Fleabag's Waller-Bridge) who may be playing as many angles as she can.

There's much in Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny that feels familiar.

Nazis in pursuit of a relic, banter between an older Jones and a younger companion, John Williams' terrific score and action set pieces that feel like homages to locations and chase sequences from previous films - it all fits together to make a solid but unspectacular finale throughout.

With a long early sequence showing off the adventures of a digitally de-aged Indy and his colleague Basil (the ever-wonderful Jones), the film's detours feel a little strung out and at times, like an attempt for a victory lap that aims to tick all the boxes.

But at times, the detours flounder with length and flatten the enthusiasm of the adventure rather than fuel it.

Far more enjoyable is Ford's take on an ageing Indy at the end of his life. Retired from lecturing where his students are more enthused by the lunar landings than the archaeology on the past and feeling wearied by the weight of adventure versus the personal cost, Ford leans into the melancholy of an ageing man whose personal worth is fading.

Waller-Bridge brings some spark and zing to Jones' goddaughter Wombat, whose world is about tricking others and ultimately hiding from herself. While it's a very familiar trope and role, the chemistry between Waller-Bridge and Jones sparkles as the old Indy sees something of himself in her.

Ultimately, Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is not a film that feels like it was necessary - it's a once more around the track kind of film that recreates both the highs and lows of the franchise. That's not necessarily a bad thing - and a final scene leaves things open for more - but perhaps with lowered expectations, this may crack the cinematic whip a little more than those desperate to put the memory of the Crystal Skull to one side.