Harrison Ford’s final outing as the rapscallion archaeologist Indiana Jones is a greatest hits compilation – with a new element thrown in. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is, fittingly, about the passage of time and its manipulation.
De-aging technology is used in scenes to remind us of how Ford looked in 1981, when he first set out on hair-raising adventure in Raiders of the Last Ark. Visual effects are deployed to the hilt as Ford – who is now 80 – embarks on yet another perilous quest to find a mythical object. Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge turns up to reel in the younger crowd.
At the end of World War II, Indiana gets his hands on one-third of a time-bending gadget invented by Archimedes. One half is with the Nazi doctor Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen).
In 1969, as America celebrates its first moon landing, Indiana is forced out of retirement by the arrival of his god-daughter Helena (Waller-Bridge). Helena’s less-than-honourable plans set into motion a continent-hopping trip that sees new allies as well as the return of old friends.
The tone is more sombre, despite no shortage of action sequences from director James Mangold (taking over from franchise regular Steven Spielberg). Beginning on a hectic note, the movie rolls out a series of frenetic chases on land, under the sea and in the air.
This is familiar, thrilling territory for franchise fans, and there are numerous throwbacks to please completists. But the crucial in-between portions – the repartee between Indiana and other characters, the well-rounded minor portraits, the madcap romance of treasure hunting – get all but left behind on a 154-minute nostalgia trip.
Despite three writers apart from Mangold – Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp – the screenplay is woefully short on the quips that Indiana readily wields along with his trusty whip. Waller-Bridge’s miscasting as a glam, wise-cracking action heroine who keeps Indiana on his toes is further undone by the lack of a single line to remember Helena by.
Other actors turn up for Indiana’s over-extended goodbye – Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Karen Allen. The sheer momentum created by the action setpieces, including a bravura face-off on a fast-moving train and the inventive use of alternate transport to beat the traffic, is the best possible tribute to the freewheeling spirit of the previous films.
John Williams’s insistent background score is trumped by the brilliant use of The Beatles classic Magical Mystery Tour. But magic is the one element in short supply in a film with a hero who is visibly older, less mobile than before, but still perfectly willing to leap into the unknown.
Harrison Ford provides all the sparks that light this film’s fuse. The curmudgeonly charmer is the star of his own send-off party, easily outshining every other actor. Phoebe Waller-Bridge can barely keep up. Mads Mikkelsen goes through the motions. A clench-jawed Boyd Holbrook could have been a comical sidekick in a less dutiful production designed to lay an iconic character to rest. Funerals can be fun too – and sometimes need to be.
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