Some days have passed now since I first watched the latest effort in the Indiana Jones cannon (does anybody else still have no idea whether it’s one ‘n’ or two?) and I have come to the conclusion that although there were many things to like in this new film from James Mangold… I just can’t help but fall to the side of the negative. There are great strengths here and despite certain sequences outweighing Dial by a long stretch, this is better than Crystal Skull (that revisionism just holds no water with me I’m afraid), but the intrinsic problems of tangibility, pace and quality that plagued that film do end up plaguing this one too. It’s solid, airing on the side of bad rather than good, but it is solid. But just because solid is better than awful and just because it will never not be great to have Ford and Indy upon our screens however, does not mean I should lie to myself about in actuality what I did and did not enjoy about this film.
What is Indiana Jones for you at its core? Over time for me its become above all else about the tightness, pace and humour of the films above the action. The action is of course the reason one watches and the action in those first three films has many sequences that remain wholly unsurpassed in adventure films (never mind the two 21st century Jones efforts), but for me those characters and the humour is what makes the films so rewatchable. Maybe you’re a different Jones watcher, but for my money you will be disappointed either way with Dial. The humour now solely consists of lame one-liners and quips here and there, none of which landed, despite having heavy hitters comedically on-screen and off. Gone is the practical humour or effective set-ups, or subtlety, all that remains is blandness. The pace and tightness of a Jones film is also lost here. This is longer than most Jones movies by a half hour and longer than Last Crusade by twenty minutes and does nothing to utilise its time or make us feel that that running time was warranted. A slick 1hr 40min jaunt based around the main plot of this film could have worked, but then again the opening prologue was by the best part of the film for me. The opening prologue extended action sequence is Mangold at his best, even working atop a train once again, following The Wolverine. It’s slick and effective action that works and is the most in the Jones mould, however still is a little too close and CGI laden to be wholly enjoyable or commendable. Not to mention the incredibly effective de-aging of Ford (the voice didn’t entirely work for me) that was pulled off incredibly well, even if I will never not feel the uncanny valley and will never not wonder why we’re going through this again with the de-ageing and worse than that ‘bringing back the dead’ (in general, this film does not sink to that low that so many recent films feel indebted to do). Beyond the prologue however there are only two of the longer sequences that worked for me, one of them being early and one of them being the outrageously schlocky finale that takes a huge swing that will either work for you or not. Double edged sword I find in my criticism of the finale, because it did work for me, but largely down to the fact that it was the first time in the entire movie that I did not know what was going to happen or felt visually intrigued as to what I was going to see. But even then this eventually gives way to a lame and ham-fisted dialogue that comes off as ridiculous and a touch too far. Without spoilers, one things the perfect middle line would to have been to still cross over, but perhaps never land. Which of course is an apt way to describe this film in so many ways.
The new
characters are nothing to shout about and do nothing to raise the quality of
the film overall. Mads Mikkelsen is his standard terrific self and his villain
is interesting with an intriguing eventual motivation reveal, however this ends
up a simple extended chase movie and Mikkelsen’s Voller just follows and follows
without much variety of villainous actions. By his side is a supremely under-used
Boyd Holbrook who is effective narratively and stakes wise by actually killing
some people at the start of the film and throughout to add a tension, but his
motivations and such or depth are not something to be found. Together they make
a solid threat, but nothing that propels the film beyond the simple chase crux
of its majority. Karen Allen is insultingly underused and her one scene remains
possibly the best in the film, as is a similar case with Antonio Banderas who
is great as always but is gone before we even get to know him. Phoebe Waller-Bridge
as Helena Shaw is a fine torch passer subject,
but she’s not especially funny and not particularly likable either (not even in
a roguish way). Waller-Bridge was fine for a supporting character here, but I
couldn’t even dream of wishing to see a continuation of her character. Then
there is Ford. Harrison Ford. Who is just as brilliant here as he has always
been. He is timeless, iconic and remains one of our greatest stars. I recall how
his one scene with Adam Driver in Rise of Skywalker was not only the
only good moment in that entire film but also a truly effective dramatic scene
and construction – even in big budget trash he can still have power. This film
allows for many such moments, however the de-aging and the many scenes with his
face covered do lead one to just strain believability with the action here.
Plus the action is of no greatness anyhow. Ford is a superstar like we just don’t
have anymore and his shine still is bright. But this is not the great swan song
that he deserves, nor will F*CKING PLANET HULK BE EITHER! I apologise, but
I mean… Come on…
A solid 6/10. Maybe 7, but I don’t think so, not really. There’s just too much blandness here, there’s just too much CGI and too little tangibility. It’s just far too long and drawn out and the new characters range from the ‘fine’ to the ‘solid’ to the ‘just plain uninteresting’. It’s kind of maddening that I have sat through now my third fitting and touching farewell to the character of Indiana Jones, but how can anybody say with sincerity that this all should not have ended with the literal perfect heading off into the sunset of Last Crusade. Dial can be fun and can be enjoyable, Mangold is an above average director, however Dial just by the end has little going for it to make it exceptional, and remains as I have said over and over now; solid. Just solid.
P.S. How many times has this exact sort of film been pitched as a box office saver? “Get James Mangold to direct a gritty elderly [IP] character movie again like Logan”. Logan was sensational, incredibly rewatchable and has held up. This barley held up the three days since I first watched it. This is not Logan, nor would ever be allowed to be. Even then Logan has now been thwarted with the up-coming Deadpool 3. Nothing is sacred, an ironic phrase when discussing the core of the Jones films of course.
P.P.S. Without Spielberg was this ever going to be great? People keep saying this despite Crystal Skull being right there and just as bad as everybody remembers. Sorry, no, revisionism in this camp. If I only I had some sort of device that could help me go back and change… In other news I keep re-watching The Fabelmans and it may actually now be a top five Spielberg for me. Now that is an masterful film.
- Thomas Carruthers
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