Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
2023 · Directed by James Mangold
Original language: English
- adventure
- action
The story
Finding himself in a new era, and approaching retirement, Indy wrestles with fitting into a world that seems to have outgrown him. But as the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
What it’s like
Warm, dusty adventure bathed in tungsten and golden-hour amber, with the sun-bleached, faded-postcard look of a film about an aging man in a changing world. The camera moves more than the older Indy films did, sweeping through crowded 1969 New York streets, a cramped Tangier market, and a rattling train, while the sea-and-sky wide shots of Mediterranean coastline give the action room to breathe. Sound leans on John Williams' brass-and-strings heroics, bright and nostalgic, with quieter passages where the score drops to near silence around Indy's loneliness. The mood is wistful and bittersweet, a melancholy looking back that never stops being playful, and the pacing alternates long, languid stretches of talk with propulsive chases, a knife fight, and a sprawling flashback to ancient Rome and wartime Nazi Germany. Violence is frequent and cartoonishly brutal in the PG-13 way, with punches, gunfire, and falls, plus some tense peril and minor gore, but nothing lingers in dread. It suits a rainy Sunday or a comfort rewatch for fans who want a mellow, reflective goodbye to a beloved hero, rather than a fresh, breathless thrill.
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