‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ impresses at Cannes: Harrison Ford fights back tears after standing ovation

Ronald Meyer
·3 min read
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The initial reactions to “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” out of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival have made landfall, and critics are calling the movie a fitting end to the beloved franchise – or at least Harrison Ford’s part in it. 

“Indy 5’s” official synopsis reads:

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Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA.

On his fifth outing as “one of cinema’s greatest heroes” (James Mottram, GamesRadar+) – and the first not directed by Steven Spielberg – Ford is joined by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), Mads Mikkelsen (“Another Round”), Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos”), Shaunette Renée Wilson (“Billions”), Toby Jones (“In Cold Blood”), Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”) and newcomer Ethann Isidore. Mottram calls Mikkelsen’s Wernher von Braun-inspired Nazi rocket scientist the best villain “Indy has faced since Mola Ram brought new meaning to ‘pulling the heartstrings.’”

SEE No need for the Staff of Ra: Finding Indiana Jones movies is easy

Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian) says the James Mangold-directed film, while not totally course-correcting from the franchise’s previous installment (thanks to which the expression “nuke the fridge” is in film and TV parlance), nevertheless “gets up a storytelling gallop.” He concludes, “Indiana Jones still has a certain old-school class.” Donald Clarke (The Irish Times) draws an analogy to “one of those halfway decent David Bowie albums from the 1990s.” He continues, “You like it well enough when it comes out, but, a few years later, you again find yourself reaching first for ‘Aladdin Sane’ or ‘Low.’ Or ‘Temple of Doom.’ Or ‘Last Crusade.’”

Commenting on the VFX, which several critics are noting raises the bar for digital de-aging, Stephanie Bunbury (Deadline) writes, “It could give late-vintage ‘Fast and Furious’ a very, very speedy run for its money when it comes to spectacular (and spectacularly ludicrous) SFX stunts. It serves them up, however, in the same gleeful spirit that Steven Spielberg brought to ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ way back in 1981.”

SEE Steven Spielberg has seen ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’

Though some might shudder at the nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime, a series high, Bunbury remarks that Mangold is “never anything but brisk”: “One minute we’re with Indy underwater, looking for directions written in an Alexandrine code; next we’re at a Passion week procession in a Sicilian village…It’s fun; it’s wacky; it works.” 

Standing beside a visibly tearful Ford, who received an honorary Palme prior to the screening, the “Logan” and “Ford v Ferrari” director said, “It can be a family that makes a movie, and it can come out of love, however hard that is to believe, even on this scale, and I’m here to prove it.” 

The evening, which was capped by a five-minute standing ovation, marks Indy’s second voyage to Cannes. “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” premiered on the French Riviera in 2008 just days before bowing stateside. We’re not as fortunate this time, as “The Dial of Destiny” won’t hit theaters until June 30. 

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