Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ★★★☆☆
Ah, Indiana Jones, back again—whipping Nazis, dodging relic thieves, and this time, taking a brief detour through ancient Greece, the 1960s, and, wait for it, a time rift! Yes, time travel. It’s the 5th (and supposedly final) installment of the beloved franchise, but this one swaps Spielberg for James Mangold, marking a notable change in tone. At 80, Harrison Ford still swings, runs, and grimaces his way through this adventure, though it sometimes feels like he’s racing against not just the bad guys, but Father Time himself.
The premise is familiar enough to Indy veterans: a historical artifact with powers too dangerous for human hands falls into the wrong ones—ex-Nazi hands, naturally. This time it’s the Dial of Destiny, a mystical device created by Archimedes, which might allow its wielder to manipulate time itself. Indiana, unwillingly drawn from his New York retirement by his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), must chase the dial across continents while battling both Nazis and his own arthritic knees.
Underneath all the whip-cracking and globe-trotting, Dial of Destiny wrestles with aging, regret, and whether history—both personal and collective—can ever truly be rewritten. The bad guy, Jürgen Voller (a smirking Mads Mikkelsen), plans to use the dial to rewind history and fix all those inconvenient Nazi losses. Indy, on the other hand, represents a man stuck in his own past, haunted by grief (courtesy of a dead son and estranged wife). While the film flirts with deeper ideas about fate, loss, and the futility of trying to fix the past, it mostly plays things safe, never quite committing to its more introspective threads.
James Mangold, who directed Logan, certainly knows how to handle aging action heroes, but let’s be clear: he’s no Spielberg. The film leans heavily on CGI (and a controversial de-aged Harrison Ford in the prologue), losing some of the practical, grounded charm of the earlier installments. There’s spectacle aplenty, though—high-speed chases through Tangier and daring underwater tomb raids—but it’s all a bit too frantic, like a movie trying to hit nostalgia buttons while also keeping up with modern action flicks. Unfortunately, the overstuffed action sequences often feel like a cluttered attempt to distract from the film’s weaker moments.
Ford brings his weathered charm, and honestly, it’s delightful to see him as Indy one last time. The weary hero act suits him, even if the plot doesn’t always live up to his performance. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena is spunky and fun, but her hyper-modern banter sometimes feels a bit out of place in 1969. Mads Mikkelsen, as the villain, oozes menace but feels underutilized; you’ll wish for a bit more from his diabolical plan than the clichéd “Nazi time travel revenge.” Supporting players, like Antonio Banderas (in a woefully brief role) and John Rhys-Davies (back as Sallah), are mostly there for nostalgia.
At a runtime of 154 minutes, Dial of Destiny overstays its welcome by about 30 minutes. The film’s pacing is uneven, with frenetic chases followed by slower, plodding stretches that make you wonder if Indy is the only one feeling the weight of age. The third act, involving a time travel plot twist that’s as goofy as it is grand, feels especially bloated. If you’re here for a breezy adventure, you might find yourself tapping your foot during the heavier exposition dumps.
As a longtime fan of Indiana Jones, I found myself torn. There’s a bittersweet thrill in seeing Ford don the fedora one last time, but much like Indy himself, the film feels like it’s trying too hard to cling to the past. Watching him battle Nazis (again), flirt with archaeology, and roll his eyes at modern youth is fun—until you realize we’ve seen it all before, and done better.
So, who’s this for? Hardcore Indy fans will find just enough to enjoy: the familiar faces, the cracking whip, the Williams score swelling in the background. But if you’re new to the series or looking for something more than a nostalgia trip, you might leave underwhelmed. This is a decent farewell, but not quite the grand send-off the character deserved.
