Review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) by Chrysler61 — 10 Jul 2023

This is a generic adventure movie with the 'Indiana Jones' name attached to it. Every 'Indiana Jones' movie has had at least one memorable moment while this one has none, which is pretty surprising since even 'Crystal Skull' had fridge scene (which was memorable, but for the wrong reasons). It feels pretty sanitized for an Indiana Jones movie as well, as we never see any of the goofy gruesome death scenes for the villians. Wasn't really bothered by the de-aged Harrison Ford, nor did I get any 'woke' vibes that some people are complaining about. The CGI wasn't terrible, but it did get a bit distracting during the train sequence, especially since a lot of it could have been done with practical effects.

Ford and Waller-Bridge have moments that are almost interesting, but for the most part it's a pretty tepid pairing in the movie, as is the inclusion of discount Short-Round. Kind of wish they had just brought Mutt back, but it is what it is. The villain is pretty middle of the road as well, though I'm still trying to figure out how he survived being smacked in the face by a pole while falling off a speeding train. As far as the whole time travel thing goes, it's not bad (WAY better than aliens), but I think it should have been handled differently. Overally, pretty 'meh.' Not the worst thing ever, but save your money and rent/stream it. Any die hard fans of the franchise are going to be massively disappointed, but perhaps less so than they were with 'Crystal Skull.