Review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) by Jluis_001 — 30 Jun 2023

An adventure can be many things, but I think the bottom line is that it must be fun. Can you correlate something that has entertainment merits but not thrills? I've been thinking about it a lot. In my opinion that's what happens to this latest installment of Indiana Jones. Yes it has its degree of appeal but it doesn't elicit any excitement. Nearly $300 million dollars were spent on a story that feels empty, unfocused and worse, a conspicuous lack of motivation.

My God, it's clear that Harrison Ford himself didn't want to be there. It's noticeable that even for that reason Phoebe Waller-Bridge seems to have been given a lot of starring weight. Even poor Mads Mikkelsen once again ends up as a tedious, one-dimensional villain. It's terrible to see this actor wasted in english-language films. As I said, the entertainment dimensions are present. In this case I give special mentions to the chase sequence in Tangier and the whole opening sequence of the film. From there on the rest leaves much to be desired. And in this case it is fair to compare it with its predecessors. Even the absence of Spielberg in the director's chair plays an important role in the mediocre results of this film.

For the weight it carries and the franchise it represents, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny stands as a downright disappointment and one of the biggest letdowns of the year. It has only earned the other half star because of its scale and production values, but when the time comes and this film is added to the collection when it hits the physical format, believe me it won't matter whether it is there or not.