‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’: Fans celebrate franchise finale, tell harsh critics to ‘get a life’

Vincent Mandile
·5 min read
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On June 30, 2023, Walt Disney Studios released “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Harrison Ford‘s last hurrah as the adventurous title character. This time around, Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history. The ensemble cast includes old favorites and newcomers alike with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook and Karen Allen.

The film directed by James Mangold received mixed reviews from the critics, holding fresh at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. with a Critics Consensus that reads, “It isn’t as thrilling as earlier adventures, but the nostalgic rush of seeing Harrison Ford back in action helps ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ find a few final bits of cinematic treasure.” 

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Fans, on the other hand, have been much more enthusiastic. The audience score of 88% includes comments such as, “Get a life and shut up. I loved it. Give ‘em hell, Indiana Jones!” (Derek W.) and “I don’t understand these so-called critics who are essentially bashing the film based on how old the actors and the franchise are…Don’t let the “putrid” reviews steer you away” (Alexis D.). Read our full review round-up below. 

Robert Daniels of The Playlist notes, “The only warmth is Harrison Ford: He just seems so at ease. He doesn’t fall for the bait of trying to recreate the past. He pinpoints the exact emotional wear and tear Jones should be feeling at this moment of his life. Ford is a curmudgeon and a charmer; he offers vulnerability and strength, patience and naturalism, the willingness to play with his star persona and the ability to give audience their comfort food. He is everywhere the movie should be and in the places where the film tragically isn’t. Waller-Bridge tries to be a swashbuckling mirror to Jones; unfortunately, she struggles to balance the unlikeable aspects of the character (her devotion to capitalism) without pulling through the clear sorrowful undertones the narrative intimates. She can’t pull off what Ford does, who elevates a rote script for real instances of pathos.”

Steve Pond of The Wrap writes, “Is it as fresh, bracing and enjoyable as ‘Raiders’ was way back in 1981, when director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas teamed up to do nothing more ambitious than give audiences a really, really good time at the movies? Of course not. And 42 years later, it couldn’t be. A 2023 ‘Indiana Jones’ movie starring an 80-year-old Ford has to serve as a valedictory to a beloved character and a beloved series, even if at least two of the entries in that series weren’t all that good. (Nos. 2 and 4, by my reckoning.)”

SEE ‘That is my face’: Harrison Ford stands up for de-aged Indiana Jones

Rory O’Connor of The Film Stage writes, “The steady hand behind ‘Ford v Ferrari’ and ‘Logan,’ Mangold certainly understands the assignment. More or less summoning the vibe of the earlier films, as well as some of the rush and glare of the Spielberg-Kaminski aesthetic (it’s shot by Phedon Papamichael, collaborating with Mangold for the sixth time), ‘Dial of Destiny’ goes through the hits with all the warm, forgettable nostalgia of a well-drilled cover band: the screenplay––credited to Mangold, John Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp––provides the requisite amount of archeological mumbo jumbo; we’re taken to digitally whipped-up locations in North Africa and the Mediterranean sea; there’s a motorbike with a sidecar, a magical MacGuffin, a hubristic Nazi (Mads Mikkelsen) and a street-smart kid (Ethann Isidore).” He concludes, “Was any of it necessary? Surely not. But it’s here and it’s decent.”

Dave Calhoun of Time Out praises the film, noting, “This latest, fifth Indiana Jones movie plays it safe by returning to familiar territory and achieving an energetic momentum that it mostly manages to maintain for its lengthy runtime, partly by keeping its quieter human moments to a strict minimum. ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ finds Indy (Harrison Ford) as a cranky and grieving academic in late 1960s New York – allowing the ageing archeologist-adventurer briefly to rub up against the modernity of the space race and youthful hippies. But the core team behind this last hurrah (surely the last?) for 80-year-old Ford (director James Mangold and writers including Britain’s Butterworth brothers) know what really makes old Indy tick: Nazis, speeding trains, spooky caves, scary snakes, Ancient World mumbo-jumbo and a sojourn to North Africa.” 

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