Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) review: Let's get some closure.
ENGLISH
When I was reviewing the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a few days ago, I commented that not having grown up with the Indiana Jones movies put me in a very particular position where the absence of nostalgia made me see with different eyes several aspects that for many could be extremely polarizing.
What for me was a fairly consistent franchise (even if it was impossible to reach the level of quality of the eighties trilogy) for many was a myth that refused to die, a series that they appreciated, but definitely did not want to see return.
And as expected, Dial of Destiny is no exception to the rule, an unnecessary extension of Steven Spielberg's work...
The funny thing is that after having spent my first time watching The Raiders of the lost ark, the Temple of Doom, the last crusade and the kingdom of the crystal skull, I discovered that I don't love Indiana Jones enough to hate a sequel like this, and for me, it ended up being a satisfactory conclusion that combined very well the adventurous spirit of the classics, with the predictable ailments that go with the passing of the years of its protagonists.
Although the young archaeologist we saw in 1981 trying to escape from a dark cave full of traps and insects is immortal, the same could not be said of Harrison Ford, who has given his all in all his character's forays and has He is at an age when he should rather rest.
James Mangold knows how to implement this bitter reality within the story, offering us a farewell adventure where Indy can shine without having to fall into the absurd, embracing the chaotic energy that he has had since his beginnings and paying tribute to all the essential notes that become one of the most iconic characters in popular culture.
Although it could align many, in my humble opinion this is enhanced by a solid cast of secondary characters, who accompany him at every step of his adventure and (as expected) serve to build interesting dynamics that not only advance the plot, but also create emotional impact.
In many ways we could say that Dial of Destiny is a thematic sequel to what was seen in Crystal Skull, ushering in a new generation with an endearing, almost ambiguous air of silliness.
And although during its excessive two and a half hours we don't have anything particularly "special", we have to deal with its excellent third act in class separately, which takes up the tradition of taking everything by a rather supernatural route, and connects very well with everyone. the events that have been shown to us so far.
It is far from perfect, we already know that: paragraphs and paragraphs could be written criticizing the digital rejuvenation of Harrison Ford in the opening sequence, as well as the reinterpretation of the lives of several of his recurring characters, however, for me this is a movie funny enough that it effectively closes out one of the greatest franchises of all time.
Picture taken by @mariaogliastre
Score taken from my Letterboxd Account.
ESPAÑOL
Cuando reseñaba el reino de la calavera de Cristal hace unos días, comentaba que el no haber crecido con las películas de Indiana Jones me ponía en una posición bastante particular en dónde la ausencia de nostalgia me hacía ver con otros ojos varios aspectos que para muchos podrían resultar extremadamente polarizantes.
Lo que para mí resultaba una franquicia bastante consistente (Aunque fuese imposible alcanzar el nivel de calidad de la trilogía ochentera) para muchos era un mito que se negaba a morir, una serie que apreciaban, pero que definitivamente no deseaban ver regresar.
Y como es de esperarse Dial of Destiny no es la excepción a la regla, una prolongación innecesaria de la obra de Steven Spielberg...
Lo curioso es que luego de haberme dedicado a ver por primera vez The Raiders of the lost ark, the Temple of Doom, the last crusade y the kingdom of the crystal skull, descubrí que no amo a Indiana Jones lo suficiente como para odiar una secuela como esta, y para mí, terminó siendo una conclusión satisfactoria que juntaba muy bien el espíritu aventurero de los clásicos, con los predecibles achaques que van con el paso de los años de sus protagonistas.
Si bien el joven arqueológo que vimos en el año 1981 tratando de huir de una tenebrosa cueva llena de trampas e insectos es inmortal, lo mismo no podríamos decir de Harrison Ford, quien ha dado todo de si en todas las incursiones de su personaje y se encuentra en una edad en la que más bien debería descansar.
James Mangold sabe implementar está amarga realidad dentro de la historia, brindandonos una aventura de despedida en dónde Indy puede lucirse sin necesidad de caer en lo absurdo, abrazando la energía caótica que ha tenido desde sus inicios y rindiendo homenaje a todas las notas esenciales que lo convierten en uno de los personajes más iconicos de la cultura popular.
Aunque podría alinear a muchos, en mi humilde opinión esto se ve repotenciado por una sólida plantilla de personajes secundarios, quienes lo acompañan en cada paso de su aventura y (Como es de esperarse) sirven para construir dinámicas interesantes que no solo avanzan la trama, sino que también crean impacto emocional.
En muchos aspectos podríamos decir que Dial of Destiny es una secuela temática de lo visto en Crystal Skull, abriendo paso a una nueva generación con un aire de necedad entrañable casi ambiguo.
Y si bien durante sus excesivas dos horas y medias de duración no tenemos nada particularmente "especial", tenemos que tratar en clase aparte su excelente tercer acto, que retoma la tradición de llevar todo por una ruta bastante sobrenatural, y conecta muy bien con todos los eventos que se nos han ido mostrando hasta el momento.
Dista de ser perfecta, eso ya lo sabemos: podrían escribirse párrafos y párrafos criticando el rejuvenecimiento digital de Harrison Ford en la secuencia inicial, así como la reinterpretación de la vida de varios de sus personajes recurrentes, no obstante, para mí estamos ante una película bastante divertida que cierra efectivamente una de las mejores franquicias de todos los tiempos.
Foto tomada por @mariaogliastre
Puntaje sacado de mi cuenta de Letterboxd
Twitter/Instagram/Letterbox: Alxxssss
Mi película favorita! No sé cuantos veces he visto esta trilogía lo único que sé es que la seguiré viendo cada vez que pueda jajaja. Saludos.
Espero disfrutes está también, no está al mismo nivel pero es muy entretenida 😅
Excelente!!
Está en mi lista por ver. Yo si crecí viendo Indiana. Y recientemente mi hija vio la primera, estaba muy tensa con tanta acción. Gracias por compartir tu mirada. Si, ya Harry no da para más con ese personaje, ojalá lo hayan usado a su favor, porque sería interesante, la vida de un aventurero a la tercera edad. Solo para contar anécdotas a los nietos? Jejeje
Jajaja, exacto! Está fue una buena película, retiene las virtudes de los clásicos y acepta muy bien la vejez de Indy.
Thanks for the review. I appreciate it as written by someone who just recently marathoned the previous films and had not grown up with the franchise. I am also a huge fan of James Mangold. Logan, Ford v. Ferrari, Call of the Wild, were all great films that I enjoyed. Ok. On to the meat
I just couldn't disagree more with this:
Thematically, it's not in the same universe. You drew a line using silliness as the theme, but that wasn't the time of either film. In Dial of Destiny, Indy ends the same as he begins. Sad and broken. There's no journey when you start where you end.
Going to disagree here too. When I commented on your review of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I didn't know then what people were talking about when they were upset that they thought it was concluded and now it wasn't. I now get it. Indy had gotten the ending he deserved. I don't mean the film is what he deserved. I mean the end. The conclusion. The finality. He married the love of his life. Connected with his family. Things weren't perfect, but things were very Indy. Not to mention things were resolved. That is one of the biggest things that set Kingdom of the Crystal Skull apart from the other films. All the films (including Dial of Destiny) had an episodic format. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Fast-forward a time gap. Everything you thought was resolved is suddenly unresolved because if you can write it, you don't need a reason. Things are ripped out away from him. I don't mean gradually either. It's as if he is suddenly thrust into this unhappy and even less familiar future with us. He acts as if his loss just happened all at once in a single moment or rather he's just experiencing it all for the first time. His ending was taken from him. It was just not believable for me. I immediately felt disconnected from the film and in something I'd never experienced before. I was disconnected from Indiana Jones.
Even more so, I feel like this film wasn't a conclusion either. I don't even feel like it is Indiana Jones's last film where he is the main character.
To conclude, I disagree because I now agree with others that the previous film was a better ending and also because the existence of this film shows that there probably will be another.
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts and ideas. I disagree on a couple points, but I appreciate your words and perspective. I think it definitely made me think things through and explore my own feelings for which I'm grateful. Thanks also for the forum to share my thoughts in return.
You have an interesting perspective, and I honestly find it difficult to combat any of the points you made.
I feel the ending of Dial of Destiny could be considered unnecessary and satisfying at the same time, although it's definitely a lot more bitter than what we saw in Crytal Skull and Mutt's (enforced) absence didn't help counter this case.
I guess the connection that I saw thematically speaking between this movie and Crystal Skull had to do with how they introduced us to an older Indiana Jones, making a feint of passing the mantle to a younger character without having to do it at the end, Wombat for me it fulfilled that role effectively, although in the end it is a personal matter to prefer how this was executed in Indy 4 or Indy 5.
It's not impossible that they will resume the franchise, although I would honestly prefer that they didn't... Maybe a spinoff, nothing more.
Getting a little more personal, I quickly grew fond of Dial of Destiny because it was my first opportunity to see an Indiana Jones movie directly in theaters (When Crystal Skull I was very young and had no interest in the franchise) even though I just watched them for the first time and I was barely attached to their characters I knew deep in my heart that this was very likely not to happen again, it's like when you grow up with a version of Star Wars (Original, prequel or sequels) and you tend to advocate for them because of the shared connection.
Out of curiosity, what did you think about Wombat forcing Indy back to the present day at the end? The handling of that climax was very strange, but I liked it.
I think it shouldn't have been written that way. Indy was for a time, the villain that needed to be defeated to preserve the future. It created a situation that is common in modern films where a scene or arc becomes a pointless detour. Pointless because if it were completely cut from the film, no one would notice. It resolves at the point that it starts. Like when the protagonist creates a situation he/she must solve. Kind of like the Canto Bight arc of the recent Star Wars films. It existed to introduce a character that gets thrown out later, so they didn't really matter in the first place. The whole arc could have been cut. In episodic films, this is fine because it usually leads somewhere or at least introduces a new character in some way that is important to a future arc. In the case of the ending in Dial of Destiny, the entire film is like that. It's a chase for a macguffin. There's a situation where the protagonist creates a problem must be solved. They fix it. The end. Back to the beginning. Could have skipped the whole movie. It could cut and no one would notice or care.
I blame the writing because it's time travel. How else can it end? Either the past is changed, or it isn't. In the end, the nobler choice is to not change it. It's a trope. It's so easy and so lazy that there's two movies released within a week of each other using it.
If I had to write it though, I would have written it kind of like the series "Timeless". Tell the story backwards. Instead write it so Indy learns that someone has already used the Dial of Destiny to sabotage him, his family, and kill his son. Then, he has to somehow recover the Dial (or just find the correct time fissure another way) to restore the past to the correct ending. I think this would have been so much better. It wouldn't be an overdone copy of another movie. Now that I think about it, finding a time fissure another way is probably better because then it's not just another chase-the-macguffin story.
That's a pretty interesting pitch, specially because you could use it to implement someone like Marion in the plot in a way more organic manner, although we have to admit that Harrison Ford managed pretty well that moment in terms of acting.
Now that we are talking about it, I wish that the film did more with the time traveling thing in a less cliché way.
I have to completely agree here.