christian movie reviews indiana jones and the dial of destiny

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Reviewed by: Raphael Vera CONTRIBUTOR

Harrison Ford’s final portrayal of fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones and the end of the Indiana Jones franchise

Ford was digitally de-aged for the film’s 1944 opening sequence to depict his appearance during the first three Indiana Jones films.

“Dial of Destiny” is the only film in the series that is neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor written by George Lucas.

It is also the only film in the series not to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm that transferred film rights for future sequels.

The film's MacGuffin, the fictional Archimedes Dial, was inspired by research that director Mangold conducted into the Antikythera mechanism. Artistic liberty was taken with the film’s dial to suit the story. The dial is named after Greek inventor Archimedes, who is believed to have played a role in the creation of the real Antikythera.

Evil Nazi plan to replay history to win WWII

I n the final days of World War II, Nazi’s are scrambling to escape with as much of their stolen treasures as they can. Indiana Jones and his partner, archeologist Basil Shaw ( Toby Jones ), are after one of those treasures and end up with a part of the fabled ‘Archimedes Dial’. An artifact that Schmidt, a Nazi physicist, believes may unlock passages through time and make the owner god.

Fast forward to 1969, and the United States is celebrating the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts from the moon. But for Indiana Jones ( Harrison Ford ) it’s just another day of teaching a room full of disinterested college students. After class, Helena Shaw ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ) the daughter of his old friend enters his life after not seeing him for almost 18-years. She is on a quest to find the Archimedes Dial, but so are a group of heavily armed Germans working for Dr. Jürgen Voller ( Mads Mikkelsen ).

“…Dial of Destiny” thrusts a retiring Indiana Jones back into an adventure that will take him to Tangiers and beyond in search of the lost treasure. Indy’s goal is mainly to keep it from being sold on the black market and put it where it belongs, namely in a museum. However, his god-daughter is not exactly as she appears and has very different plans, as does the decorated German physicist Voller (aka Schmidt) who uses the men at his command to kill anyone that stands in the way of his destiny.

Objectionable Content

VIOLENCE: Heavy. The death toll is heavy and varied including people being shot, crushed, impaled, burned, thrown from moving cars, crashing, exploding, and there is an attempted hanging. Schmidt’s henchmen are as cold blooded as the Nazis they revere and are shown heartlessly shooting bystanders and even comrades at point blank range. A young boy is shown killing one of the Nazis by drowning.

LANGUAGE: Moderate. The Lord’s name is taken in vain in the form of J*sus (1), G*d (3), G*d- d**n (1), d**n (2), p*ss (1), and h*ll is exclaimed the most throughout the film (9 times), several times comically as during an anti-war protest when it is chanted, “H*ll no we won’t go!”. Admittedly the film has a lower than average number of curses when compared to most PG-13 rated films. Helena refers lasciviously to a shirtless man as “promising”.

SEX/NUDITY: Mild. There is no sex or nudity shown and only one instance of gentle kissing. Helena is shown twice ogling men in unnecessary, throw away scenes. Indy is shirtless when he first wakes up and one of the divers is shown shirtless as he is getting into his wet suit.

WOKENESS: Moderate. In one scene they are arguing over who the Archimedes Dial belongs to, and Helena sums it up by saying everyone steals from everyone, “That’s capitalism!”. Helena is the epitome of the strong empowered feminist who can duke it out, gamble and drink with the best of them and dates gangsters. Several times Helena is shown doing stunts that border on so improbable that even a younger Indiana Jones would be hard pressed to get away with them. The concept of “my truth” is subtly touched upon by our hero, but more on that later.

There are several themes that are woven throughout the film that bear spiritual significance including that of idolatry , faith and marriage .

IDOLATRY. At its core almost everyone in the film idolizes something. Helena and her teenage sidekick, Teddy ( Ethann Isidore ), idolize money . Archimedes, as he is presented here, held mathematics in such high regard that he believed he could predict and even use nature itself. Schmidt worships power and hopes the artifact can literally make him a god as he would have mastery over time and in turn the world.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.’ — Colossians 3:5

There is an unexpected side affect of having such a passion for the temporal things of this world:

“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.’ — Jonah 2:8

FAITH. As Indiana Jones says to Helena, “I’ve come to believe it’s not so much what you believe, but how hard you believe it.” Indy is suggesting here that the subject of your belief (faith) is irrelevant, that what matters more is the strength of your conviction. Following this ‘logic’ your ‘belief’ can and will create or manifest the results or reality that you desire.

Believing that you can alter your personal reality and that truth is not absolute and can be determined by your whims, is fundamental to the “my truth” mindset that many have been lied to by the world’s media and academia.

Bottom line, if you are seeking truth there is only one answer that will give you the peace, in this life, and the joy in the hereafter with God our Father in Heaven.

Jesus answered, “ I am the way and the truth and the life . No one comes to the Father except through me.’ — John 14:6

The benefit of knowing the truth was also known by Dr. Martin Luther King when he quoted John 8:32, in saying,

“Then you will know the truth , and the truth will set you free.”

Scripture further explains that,

“We are from God , and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood .’ — 1 John 4:6

MARRIAGE. During a low moment in Indiana’s life, he realizes that if he is alone, who does he have to live for? From the very beginning God did not create us to be alone.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” — Genesis 2:18

In fact, God created marriage for our happiness, as well as holiness , but that is a longer discussion for another time.

“For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.’ — Isaiah 62:5

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” sees Harrison Ford’s long-overdue return to his iconic role 15-years after his last turn in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Today’s question is, are his adventures still worth the price of admission?

On the plus side, the character of Indiana Jones is easily the most developed and consistent character of the film, due in no small measure to Harrison Ford’s on-screen presence and charisma. The same cannot be said of Phoebe Waller-Bridge ’s Helena, whose transition from very unlikeable foe to dependable ally is unconvincing. Vital lines of exposition and heartfelt moments could have been used to explain her change of heart, but without those scenes the character comes off as conflicted and the tonal shifts sometimes jarring. As a character we are meant to like, Teddy ( Ethann Isidore ) should have been better developed.

John Williams returns to masterfully score Indiana Jones, and it is difficult to imagine an Indy film without him or Harrison Ford, although no new themes stood out or were noticed by this reviewer. What was noticeable was the poor CGI at times, such as when Indy is running atop the train.

Fantasy and adventure films often ask for some ‘suspension of disbelief’ to make occasional plot contrivances work, but done too often, as it happens here, pulls the audience away from immersing in the story . One cannot learn how to fly a plane after hearing someone describe all the steps needed, no more than you can play a flight simulator program and successfully take off on your own. “Dial of Destiny” needed some judicious script doctoring before actual production. Let us hope there is a ‘Directors Cut’ in the future that addresses the film’s issues.

Closing Thoughts

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” has a touching emotional payout at the end for Indy that should please many fans, but may be brought low by comparisons to the earlier films featuring a younger, naturally more robust action hero. The movie is hampered by its narrative and woke elements , but manages to bring a satisfying final chapter to the Indiana Jones franchise.

• Violence: Heavy
• Wokeism: Moderate
• Profane language: Mild
• Vulgar/Crude language: Mild
• Nudity: Minor
• Drugs/Alcohol: Mild
• Occult: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

• Non-viewer comments

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Christian Movie Review)

Verdict: Despite a fantastic opening sequence and flashes of the original charm and excitement, the sequel is unable to locate the same relentless sense of fun and adventure.

About The Movie

Everyone’s favorite fedora wearing, whip swinging, swashbuckling archeologist went on a “last crusade” decades ago, but his adventuring days are not over quite yet. Audiences already experienced an aging Indy in the disappointing 2008 sequel, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . In Dial of Destiny, he is even older, despite his fashion style remaining unchanged (if it works, it works!).

Unfortunately, not only does the 5 th Indy flick fail to right the wrongs of the previous lackluster sequel, but it also steps onto many of the same booby traps that derailed that film. Dial of Destiny is an Indiana Jones movie in appearance, and demonstrates flashes of the original charm and excitement, but it is unable to locate the same relentless sense of fun and adventure. It is not a total disaster, but by the end the movie you almost feel sad and sorry for Indiana Jones, rather than compelled to race to the nearest costume store to try and be him.

The movie begins with an extended flashback scene that features a convincingly de-aged Harrison Ford. The technology is still not perfect, but is good enough to gives a surreal feeling of being transported back in time and watching an unmade sequel to 1989’s Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. The opening is the best sequence of the movie, that beyond simply looking the most like the originals, also does the best at capturing the classic adventure vibe and tone.

The movie then transitions to the current Indiana Jones, an old and lonely man in a reclining chair. The movie (thankfully) makes no attempt to conceal Ford’s age, fully committing to the hero’s later stage of life. Whether this newer (or, rather, older) version is as entertaining as the classic depiction, however, remains up for discussion.

There are some positive elements. Harrison Ford remains great as Indy, and Mads Mikkelsen is well-cast as a villainous Nazi scientist. John Williams’ tremendous score also does some heavy lifting. Hearing that iconic theme song again will make even a hardened cynic grin. At the same time, the exhilarating opening sequence and the delightful soundtrack are double-edged swords, reminding audiences how much fun the franchise once was and, by contrast, how much less fun the current iteration is.

The story reuses many classic elements from previous movies, but is overlong and convoluted, featuring a string of MacGuffins and far too many competing factions and characters. Director James Mangold takes a bold swing with a sure-to-be-controversial finale that—while not quite as cringe-worthy as the aliens in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull —doesn’t work at all, ending the movie on a low note.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character is introduced as Indiana Jones’ goddaughter. She is a spunky, self-sufficient, wise-cracking foil to Indy, but sometimes comes across more obnoxious than endearing. Part of the problem is how frequently she steals the spotlight from Indiana. Particularly in the middle act, Harrison Ford feels sidelined (which is not what anyone wants from a final Indiana Jones film, regardless of what they may think of Bridge’s character).   

In the end, Dial of Destiny simply doesn’t always feel like an Indiana Jones movie. The nostalgic elements don’t hit as hard as they should, and it almost feels more inspired by the National Treasure movies than a continuation of the films that inspired those movies. The ending is an anti-climactic and unsatisfying send off for the iconic character (even more so than his ending in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). The modern Indiana Jones movies are a reminder of how rare these sorts of films are today, and how great the original films were. But seeing the iconic character as a broken down, frail, and lonely man, I can’t help feeling that perhaps it would be better to let him rest in his reclining chair in peace rather than dragging him into another adventure; a cherished relic from an older era ready to find a lasting home in a museum.

For Consideration

Language: A handful of minor profanities (“H—,” “D—“), and both “God” and “Jesus” are wrongly used.

Violence:  Nothing as extreme as previous Indy films. Lots of characters get shot and killed; we see blood seeping from wounds and pooling on floor around them. The most graphic moment of violence is when a character is killed in a plane crash, and his body is found with burned and boiled skin, but the camera does not linger.

Sexuality: None.

Engage The Film

Faith & science.

As an archeologist, Indiana Jones is a man of science. In a flashback scene, after his friend expresses a belief in supernatural powers, Indy challenges, “But you can’t prove it! Proving it is what makes it science !” Now, years later, after having seen angels of death melt Nazi faces, the Holy Grail heal his father from certain death, and even some aliens, his rigid views have been reevaluated and expanded. Indiana Jones is not religious, but he is now more agnostic about the supernatural. Later in the film, he muses, “It’s not so much what you believe. It’s about how hard you believe it.” This conviction may embrace an erroneous relativistic understanding of truth, but also reflects his character’s growth and acceptance that there are realities in the world that defy scientific explanation.

The Dial is claimed to have the power to turn back time. The villain desires this power to manipulate history for the Nazi’s to win the war. While Indiana wants the artifact kept in a museum rather than used, he also is largely occupied with the concept of time and dealing with the past. Time comes for everyone. Indiana Jones is now old and frail, not the forever-young archetypal hero of the past. He frequently reminisces and reflects on his past, mostly the painful memories. In a way, he and the villain share a discontent with the present and a wistful desire to change their pasts.

On a meta-level, the movie uses technology to wield its own Dial of Destiny by turning back the clock several decades, de-aging Harrison Ford, and continuing the iconic franchise. In doing so, it raises some interesting questions about whether it is healthy to stay fixated on reliving the past, or if we must learn to be content with embracing the time in which we live and allow relics to remain in the past. The Bible conveys, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Life unfolds in seasons, and time is meant to be experienced in the present, not in dwelling on the past.

Daniel holds a PhD in "Christianity and the Arts" from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author/co-author of multiple books and he speaks in churches and schools across the country on the topics of Christian worldview, apologetics, creative writing, and the Arts.

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Indiana jones and the dial of destiny, common sense media reviewers.

Entertaining fifth Indy movie has some shocking violence.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Ingenuity, courage, teamwork, and trying to do the

Indy is brave, resourceful, loyal, and smart, and

The two primary characters -- Indy (Harrison Ford)

Frequent peril/danger, lots of guns and shooting,

Woman spies shirtless man (one of a couple seen on

Occasional language includes uses of "damn" and "d

A character drinks a bottle of Coca-Cola. Coca-Col

Fairly frequent drinking: Indy spikes his morning

Parents need to know that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth and likely final movie in the blockbuster adventure franchise starring Harrison Ford. There's plenty of the series' usual peril and violence, though this one has more deaths that really feel like murders: Several characters,…

Positive Messages

Ingenuity, courage, teamwork, and trying to do the right thing are ultimately rewarded, though some of the heroes' methods and choices are iffy. Family is important here, especially found family; knowing that people care about you can be a calming/positive influence. Violence can be swift and brutal, but it's important to acknowledge and mourn your losses.

Positive Role Models

Indy is brave, resourceful, loyal, and smart, and he's dedicated to preserving historical artifacts and protecting them from those who would misuse them. That said, you probably don't want your kids imitating him, especially given the violence he's forced to use. Helena is smart and proactive, even if her motives are questionable at best. Enemies are portrayed one-dimensionally, as purely evil. Lots of bickering. Two main characters find themselves drawn to doing illicit or unwise things because they think no one will care. When they do realize that someone cares, it settles them.

Diverse Representations

The two primary characters -- Indy (Harrison Ford) and Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) -- are White. Helena is smart and resourceful and has agency; she needs no rescuing. And Indy is now 80 but still active and tenacious. Movie is set in several places, including Manhattan, Sicily, and Morocco; many characters of color in background, but some locations still feel exoticized. Antonio Banderas plays a Spanish diver who helps the heroes. Helena has a young, fearless Moroccan sidekick (Ethann Bergua-Isidore, who's of Franco-Mauritian-Brazilian descent). U.S. Agent Mason (Shaunette Renée Wilson) is Black and is important to the plot, but her story arc plays into some stereotypes. Egyptian character Sallah (Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies) says that he wants his children and grandchildren to understand what it's like to be both American and Egyptian. A minor character uses crutches. Indy makes brief references to having drunk the Blood of Kali and been the target of "voodoo." An African American bellhop has a run-in with the Nazi villain, who says racist things to him (asking him where he's "really" from and making reference to "your people"). The villains are Nazis and all White.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Frequent peril/danger, lots of guns and shooting, sometimes in crowded places (including an anti-war protest). Several characters are shot and killed, sometimes very abruptly/execution style by bloodthirsty villains (more deaths feel like murders here than in previous Indy films). Characters are thrown from moving trains and in-flight airplanes and jump/fall from heights. Knives. Fighting, punching. Woman punched in face. Burned/charred corpse in plane wreckage. Child taken captive/in peril. Two characters handcuffed together fall into the water; one escapes and leaves the other trapped, sure to drown. Threats, bloody wounds. Mace or similar sprayed on villains. Blood on hand leaves bloody prints on a phone receiver. Several action-packed car/train/vehicle chases, crashes. Plane crash. Noose put around character's neck; he barely escapes being hung, and swings from the rope for a bit. Explosions: bombs, dynamite, more. Characters held prisoner. Vicious attacking eels, creepy centipedes. Skeletons. Depiction of a large battle includes ships attacking, firing deadly weapons, ships on fire, etc. Yelling, arguing. Characters mourn the loss of loved ones.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Woman spies shirtless man (one of a couple seen on a boat), says to herself: "promising!" Indy shown wearing just boxer briefs. Tender kiss.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional language includes uses of "damn" and "dammit," "crap," "hell" and "what the hell," "stupid," "pissed off," "shut up," and "cracker." Exclamatory use of "Jesus" and "my God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

A character drinks a bottle of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola sign. An old Levi's ad is seen on a subway train. Pan Am logo on airplane; ConEd, Brillo logos seen.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Fairly frequent drinking: Indy spikes his morning coffee, has whiskey in a bar, Scotch on airplane, whiskeys on boat, etc. Characters drink from a flask before doing something dangerous. A character says "you've had too many whiskeys." Cigarette smoking. Character sucks on a cigar stub; another has a pipe. Ashtrays shown.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth and likely final movie in the blockbuster adventure franchise starring Harrison Ford . There's plenty of the series' usual peril and violence, though this one has more deaths that really feel like murders: Several characters, including innocent bystanders, are abruptly, shockingly shot and killed. Heroes and villains alike use guns and other weapons (Indy has his trusty whip, of course) throughout the movie, and there's fighting and punching, big explosions, high-stakes chases, people being thrown from trains and planes, a villain left to presumably drown, some blood (wounds, on hands, etc.), a burned/charred corpse, vicious eels, creepy bugs, and more. Occasional mild language ranges from "damn" and "crap" to "Jesus" and "hell." A woman briefly indicates sexual attraction to a shirtless man, Indy is shown in his boxer briefs, and a couple kisses tenderly. Characters drink -- mostly whiskey/Scotch fairly frequently, and there's some cigarette smoking. Ingenuity, courage, teamwork, and trying to do the right thing are ultimately rewarded, and family -- especially found family -- is important. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (17)
• Kids say (19)

Based on 17 parent reviews

Classic Indy movie but skip the previews

Fun family movie for tweens and up, what's the story.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY opens with a sequence set at the end of World War II, with Indiana Jones ( Harrison Ford ) and his friend Basil ( Toby Jones ) trying to rescue an ancient religious artifact from the Nazis. What they find instead is half of Archimedes' Antikythera mechanism, a mechanical dial that's said to bring untold power to whoever possesses and masters it. Indy tangles with sinister Nazi scientist Voller ( Mads Mikkelsen ), but he and Basil manage to escape with the dial. Years later, in 1969, Dr. Jones is freshly retired from teaching when he receives a visit from Basil's daughter, Helena ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ), who's eager to get her hands on the dial. But why, exactly? Indy quickly finds himself caught up in yet another adventure as the truth unfolds.

Is It Any Good?

This satisfying fifth (and presumably final) Indiana Jones adventure hits all the right beats, understanding that these movies have always been about more than just chases and fights. Directed by James Mangold , Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has some of the same flavor that he brought to his earlier movies about seasoned adventurers ( 3:10 to Yuma , Logan ), and plenty of soul. Ford, 80 at the time of the movie's release, is allowed to look and feel his age (while climbing a stone wall in a cave, he complains about his aches and pains). And yet the stunts and action are all very much still exciting, with Waller-Bridge more than holding her own. A pair of flashbacks that use de-aging digital technology to give us a younger Indy are nearly seamless, too.

One of the best things about the Indy movies is that they revel in scenes set in musty old libraries or storage rooms and delight in the piecing together of 1,000-year-old puzzles -- and this one is no different. These beats provide rests between chases and build the characters. Even though Mangold goes long with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , at 154 minutes, the pacing largely feels right. We really get the sense of just who Indiana Jones is here, what his history is, and how he feels about things. Now that his story is well and truly told, he's still our hero, but we feel like part of his family.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

Do you agree with Indy that historic artifacts belong in museums? What are today's best practices around preserving cultural treasures?

How are drinking and smoking portrayed here? Are they used casually? Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

How does this film compare to the previous Indy movies in terms of positive diverse representations ?

If you had a Dial of Destiny, how would you use it?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 5, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : December 5, 2023
• Cast : Harrison Ford , Phoebe Waller-Bridge , Mads Mikkelsen
• Director : James Mangold
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Adventures , History
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 154 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sequences of violence and action, language and smoking
• Last updated : December 6, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Movie Reviews

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“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is somehow both never boring and never really entertaining. It walks a line of modest interest in what’s going to happen next thanks to equal parts innovative story beats and the foundation of nostalgia that everyone brings to the theater. It’s an alternating series of frustrating choices, promising beats, and general goodwill for a legendary actor donning one of the most famous hats in movie history yet again. It should be better. It could have been worse. Both can be true. In an era of extreme online critical opinion, “The Dial of Destiny” is a hard movie to truly hate, which is nice. It’s also an Indiana Jones movie that's difficult to truly love, which makes this massive fan of the original trilogy a little sad.

The unsettling mix of good and bad starts in the first sequence, a flashback to the final days of World War II that features Indy ( Harrison Ford ) and a colleague named Basil Shaw ( Toby Jones ) trying to reclaim some of the historical artifacts being stolen by the fleeing Nazis. Jones looks normal, of course, but Ford here is an uncanny valley occupant, a figure of de-aged CGI that never looks quite human. He doesn't move or even sound quite right. It’s the first but not the last time in “The Dial of Destiny” in which it feels like you can’t really get your hands on what you’re watching. It sets up a standard of over-used effects that are the film’s greatest flaw. We’re watching Indiana Jones at the end of World War II, but the effects are distracting instead of enhancing.

It's a shame, too, because the structure of the prologue is solid. Indy escapes capture from a Nazi played by Thomas Kretschmann , but the important introduction here is that of a Nazi astrophysicist named Jurgen Voller (a de-aged Mads Mikkelsen ), who discovers that, while looking for something called the Lance of Longinus, the Nazis have stumbled upon half of the Antikythera, or Archimedes’ Dial. Based on a real Ancient Greek item that could reportedly predict astronomical positions for decades, the dial is given the magical Indy franchise treatment in ways that I won’t spoil other than to say it’s not as explicitly religious as items like the Ark of the Covenant of The Holy Grail other than, as Voller says, it almost makes its owner God.

After a cleverly staged sequence involving anti-aircraft fire and dozens of dead Nazis, “The Dial of Destiny” jumps to 1969. An elderly Indiana Jones is retiring from Hunter College, unsure of what comes next in part because he’s separated from Marion after the death of their son Mutt in the Vietnam War. The best thing about “The Dial of Destiny” starts here in the emotional undercurrents in Harrison Ford’s performance. He could have lazily walked through playing Indy again, but he very clearly asked where this man would be emotionally at this point in his life. Ford’s dramatic choices, especially in the film's back half, can be remarkable, reminding one how good he can be with the right material. His work here made me truly hope that he gets a brilliant drama again in his career, the kind he made more often in the ‘80s.

But back to the action/adventure stuff. Before he can put his retirement gift away, Indy is whisked off on an adventure with Helena Shaw ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ), the daughter of Basil and goddaughter of Indy. It turns out that Basil became obsessed with the dial after their encounter with it a quarter-century ago, and Indy told him he would destroy the half of the dial they found. Of course, Indiana Jones doesn’t destroy historical artifacts. As they’re getting the dial from the storeroom, they’re attacked by Voller and his goons, leading to a horse chase through the subway during a parade. It’s a cluttered, awkward action sequence with power that’s purely nostalgic—an iconic hero riding a horse through a parade being thrown for someone else.

Before you know it, everyone is in Tangier, where Helena wants to sell her half of the dial, and the film injects its final major character into the action with a sidekick named Teddy ( Ethann Isidore ). From here, “The Dial of Destiny” becomes a traditional Indy chase movie with Jones and his team trying to stay ahead of the bad guys while leading them to what they’re trying to uncover.

James Mangold has delivered on “old-man hero action” before with the excellent “ Logan ,” but he gets lost on the journey here, unable to stage action sequences in a way that’s anywhere near as engaging as how Steven Spielberg does the same. Yes, we’re in a different era. CGI is more prevalent. But that doesn’t excuse clunky, awkward, incoherent action choreography. Look at films like “ John Wick: Chapter 4 ” or a little sequel that’s coming out in a few weeks that I’m not really supposed to talk about—even with the CGI enhancements, you know where the characters are at almost all times, what they’re trying to accomplish, and what stands in their way. 

That basic action structure often falls apart in “The Dial of Destiny.” There’s a car chase scene through Tangier that’s incredibly frustrating, a blur of activity that should work on paper but has no weight and no real stakes. A later scene in a shipwreck that should be claustrophobic is similarly clunky in terms of basic composition. I know not everyone can be Spielberg, but the simple framing of action sequences in “ Raiders of the Lost Ark ” and even “ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ” is gone here, replaced by sequences that cost so much that they somehow elevated the budget to $300 million. I wished early and often to see this movie's $100 million version.

“The Dial of Destiny” works much better when it’s less worried about spending that massive budget. When Indy and Helena get to actual treasure-hunting, and John Williams ’ all-timer theme kicks in again, the movie clicks. And, without spoiling, it ends with a series of events and ideas that I wish had been foregrounded more in the 130 minutes that preceded it. Ultimately, “The Dial of Destiny” is about a man who wants to control history being thwarted by a man who wants to appreciate it but has arguably allowed himself to get stuck in it through regret or inaction. There’s a powerful emotional center here, but it comes too late to have the impact it could have with a stronger script. One senses that this script was sanded down so many times by producers and rewrites that it lost some of the rough edges it needed to work.

Spielberg reportedly gave Mangold some advice when he passed the whip to the director, telling him , “It’s a movie that’s a trailer from beginning to end—always be moving.” Sure. Trailers are rarely boring. But they’re never as entertaining as a great movie.

In theaters now.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking.

154 minutes

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw

Antonio Banderas as Renaldo

John Rhys-Davies as Sallah

Toby Jones as Basil Shaw

Boyd Holbrook as Klaber

Ethann Isidore as Teddy Kumar

Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Jürgen Voller

Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood

Thomas Kretschmann as Colonel Weber

• James Mangold

Writer (based on characters created by)

• George Lucas
• Philip Kaufman
• David Koepp
• Jez Butterworth
• John-Henry Butterworth

Cinematographer

• Phedon Papamichael
• Michael McCusker
• Dirk Westervelt
• Andrew Buckland
• John Williams

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Indy’s Final Chapter in a Life of Adventure

It has been fifteen years since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Harrison Ford is now 80 years old. Can Indy still wow audiences? And is this movie suitable for children? In this Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Christian Movie Review & Parent Guide, I answer all your questions before seeing this film.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Christian Movie Review

From the studio: .

Harrison Ford returns to the role of the legendary hero archaeologist for this fifth installment of the iconic franchise. Starring along with Ford are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”), John Rhys-Davies (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Shaunette Renee Wilson (“Black Panther”), Thomas Kretschmann (“Das Boot”), Toby Jones (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”), Boyd Holbrook (“Logan”), Oliver Richters (“Black Widow”), Ethann Isidore (“Mortel”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”).

My Synopsis:

The year is 1969, Dr. Henry Jones is retiring from teaching. He is now 70 years old, and it doesn’t appear he has much going on in his life. At this point, his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, shows up. She is looking for the Archimedes dial that Jones and her father, Basil Shaw, took from Nazis during the Allied liberation of Europe in 1944, after a grueling fight with Jurgen Voller.

While Helena wants the dial for financial gain, Indiana Jones wants to prevent it from falling in the wrong hands.

Additionally, Voller is back under a new identity, and he has just helped NASA successfully complete the Apollo 11 mission of landing the astronauts on the moon. Since 1944, he has bided his time and is now working to find the Dial of Destiny. His plan is to right the wrongs – Hitler losing the war – and set a new path for the future. Can Indy save the future of mankind?

What Parents Want to Know about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Christian Movie Review

For the most part, the language in this latest installment of Indiana Jones is pretty tame. However, there are a few instances of “d-mn,” “what the h-ll,” one “p-ss me off.” Someone says, “He will be god,” about a person who has the dial.

Additionally, people chant, “Hell, no. We won’t go” during an anti-war demonstration.

A character refers to another character as “cracker.”

The violence in this movie is pretty substantial. The worst of it is just the point blank killing of innocent people. There is blood, gunshots, machine guns, fistfights, dynamite, explosions, fighting in a bar, and an intense and lengthy car chase scene. There is a pretty high casualty count.

Furthermore, in an early scene, a man is put in a noose and is going to be hanged when a bomb goes off. He is fighting for his life in an attempt to remove the noose.

The train chase scene is also pretty harrowing. It includes men being shot from above, a man smashes into a tree, and there are other gruesome deaths.

Additionally, there is a chase through New York City during a parade. Indiana Jones rides the horse through the subway and at one point is on the tracks with a train barreling down on him. 

A young boy is kidnapped.

There is a battle scene involving planes and ships. 

Adult Situations:

Early in the movie, you see a “separation agreement” between Marion and Henry Jones. He discusses what led to this separation. It is implied that a woman has slept with men that she is not married to. A couple kiss.

Other Content:

There is drinking and smoking throughout the movie. Furthermore, there is lying, deception, and lots of stealing throughout the entire film. 

An adult male is seen in his boxer shorts.

Finally, it would not be an Indiana Jones movie without bugs, more bugs, eels, snakes, and other creepy crawlers. 

Spiritual Content:

There are references to a blade that drew Christ’s blood.

Teachable Moments: Teaching Guide & Homeschooling Resource for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones talks about what led to his marriage falling apart. This is a very raw and real emotion packed scene. Discuss divorce and why people get divorced versus what does God say about divorce? 

If faced with a Time Machine that will take you to any place in history or even the future, where would you go and why? Indiana Jones answer to that question was heart-felt which displayed how he has changed through the years. 

Historical Moments:

There are a lot of deep dives you can do from this film, from the blade that pierced Christ’s side , the Antikythera , Nazi Germany, and the moon landing. 

Study the Lance of Longinus, the blade that pierced the side of Christ. Has it been found? What are the other names for this relic? Read the Biblical account of the death of Christ.

The beginning of the movie is set in Nazi Germany. As the movie progresses, you see the same Third Reich trying to regain control. Discuss the Nazi party, what they stand for and Nazi groups today. 

While we consider the Nazi party to be a hate-filled group, Hitler had some good initiatives as a politician. Research those initiatives – animal and nature protection, Mother’s Day was started, anti-smoking laws, a great leader for Germany, etc. Compare those things to the evil committed by the man and Nazis.

Also seen in the film is a parade celebrating Apollo 11 and the moon landing. Look for actual footage from the parade that celebrated the astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. 

Finally, there was a siege of Syracuse from 213-212 BC in which Archimedes was killed. Study Archimedes and the Siege of Syracuse.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Viewing Recommendations

First, this latest film is exciting, action-packed, and takes a lot of twists and turns. However, it certainly deserves the PG-13 rating.

While this fifth installment of the Indiana Jones series is one of the milder films in terms of language and sexual content, it is one of the more violent in terms of killing for the sake of killing. In the movie, Voller and his men are racing against time to change the course of history. They will stop at nothing to get their hands on the dial. They leave a trail of dead bodies everywhere they go. 

Because of this violence and point blank shooting of everyone in sight, I recommend keeping the younger kids from seeing this movie. Therefore, my recommendation is 12-13 years old and up.

While this movie lacks the charm and comedy of some of the other films in this series, it is worth watching. Harrison Ford delivers an outstanding Indiana Jones performance, and Mads Mikkelsen is the villain you love to hate. However, I was disappointed in Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw. Overall, Dial of Destiny is a great ending to a long journey.

About the Movie – Dial of Destiny:

Rating: PG-13 for Language/Action/Sequences of Violence/Smoking

Release Date: June 30, 2023

Genre: Action/Adventure

Runtime: 2 hr., 22 mins.

Director: James Mangold (Le Mans ‘66, Logan)

Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel

Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas

Writers: Jen Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp

Musical Score: John Williams

Cast of Dial of Destiny:

Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones

Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Helena

Antonio Banderas as Renaldo

Karen Allen as Marion

John Rhys-Davies as Sallah

Shaunette Renee Wilson as Mason

Thomas Kretschmann as Colonel Weber

Toby Jones as Basil Shaw

Boyd Holbrook as Klaber

Olivier Richters as Hauke

Ethann Isidore as Teddy

Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Voller

Martin McDougall as Durkin 

Alana Safi as Rahim

Francis Chapman as young SS officer

Frequently Asked Questions:

Where can i watch indiana jones.

The movie was released on June 30, 2023, and could only be viewed in movie theaters. It will be streaming on Disney+ and should be available to rent on Amazon Prime and other rental platforms in the future.

What is the Dial of Destiny?

This fictional item (Dial of Destiny) is actually based on a real machine. The Archimedes dial is also called Antikythera. In the movie it is believed to help you travel through fissures in time to go into the past – essentially a Time Machine.

In real life: The Antikythera mechanism was found off the coast of a Greek Island in 1900. It is believed to chart the movement of the sun and moon, chart the planets, and predict eclipses. 

It is unknown who invented the Antikythera, and archaeologists believe that this real life Antikythera is from the wrong time period to have been created by Archimedes. However, it is believed that Archimedes was the person who developed this particular type of technology.

The Antikythera is on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

How old is Indiana Jones in Dial of Destiny?

Indiana Jones was born in 1899. The year is 1969. Therefore, he is 70 years old.

How old is Harrison Ford in this movie?

At the time of this movie, Harrison Ford is 80 years old.

How old is Karen Allen in Dial of Destiny?

Karen is 71 years old.

(SPOILER ALERT) Do Indiana Jones and Marion reconcile?

Yes. At the end of the movie, after Indiana Jones is nearly killed, Marion returns and the final scene shows them kissing.

Quotes: 

“I Don’t Believe in magic, but a few times in my life I’ve seen things…things I can’t explain.”

“To the victor, belongs the spoils.”

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INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

"love is the true treasure".

What You Need To Know:

Miscellaneous Immorality: Villains take young teenage boy hostage, hero’s old Egyptian friend appears to be a Muslim immigrant living now in the United States with his family, children and grandchildren, but there are no specific Muslim references, and heroine is somewhat materialistic in an immoral way where she justifies stealing, but she comes to her senses.

More Detail:

Harrison Ford takes up the mantle again in INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, where Indiana Jones, with help from his goddaughter, must stop a former Nazi rocket scientist in 1969, who’s trying to find an ancient time travel device invented by Greek mathematician Archimedes so he can change the outcome of World War II. INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY has all the exciting, suspenseful action scenes and narrow escapes moviegoers expect from an Indiana Jones movie, with Indiana Jones finding, once again, that love is worth all the knowledge in the world, but the movie has some foul language and scary, violent moments that warrant caution for older children.

The movie starts off with a bang. In the Fall of 1945, Indiana and his fellow archeologist, Basil Shaw, are behind German lines following a lead to the Spear of Longinus that pierced Christ’s side. However, the Nazis have captured Indy and are about to hang him, when an Allied bombing raid frees him. Indy dons the uniform of a dead German soldier he shot to infiltrate the Germans and see if the Nazis have the spear.

Meanwhile, a Nazi rocket scientist named Voller has found what looks to be the Spear tip, but he tells the German Colonel taking it back to Hitler that it’s a faked replica. However, Voller tells the Colonel he’s got something much better. It’s half of an ancient device invented by Greek mathematician Archimedes. Voller thinks it’s a time-travel mechanism that can help the Nazis change the past. The Colonel is highly skeptical.

He and Voller get on a speeding train to Berlin. Indy’s friend, Basil, is also on the train after being captured. An exciting chase ensues as Indy drives a car, then a motorcycle to hop on the train, fight a lot of Nazis, and get the device.

Cut to 25 years later, in 1969 New York, just before the Aug. 13 ticker-tape parade for the first astronauts to land on the moon, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Indy has been teaching for 10 years at Harper College there, where he’s now set to retire. Sadly, his son died in the Vietnam War and his wife, Marion, is suing him for divorce because of how the resulting grief and acrimony hurt their marriage.

Voller is still alive and has spent years helping the moon rocket program for the United States. He’s now convinced the CIA to help him search for the second half of the Archimedes device. He, a black female CIA agent and a group of vicious thugs hired by Voller have followed Indy’s goddaughter, Helena, the late Basil Shaw’s daughter to New York. Helena has come to New York to get the device from Indy, who hid it away somewhere after her father became too obsessed with the device and what it can do. Basil thought the two halves of the device could find or create fissures in time to investigate the past.

Helena and Indy are skeptical about her father’s theories, but she wants to take the device from Indy and sell it at an illegal antiquities auction in Morocco. Of course, Voller, the CIA agent and the Nazi thugs show up, trying to grab the device. They kill several people and chase Indy and Helena through New York, including the ticker tape parade and an antiwar protest.

Helena steals the device from Indy and heads off to Morocco. So, Indy follows her there, with Voller and his Nazi thugs not far behind. The chase is on to find the other half of the device before Voller does.

Watching INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY is like revisiting an old friend. The movie has a lot of the exciting and suspenseful realistic action and narrow escapes that one expects from an Indiana Jones movie, but it also has some of the fanciful action that places the action adventure franchise into the realm of heroic fantasy. For example, the more realistic action scenes include a chase sequence shot in the streets of New York and one in Morocco. In the opening sequence, there are some special effects where Indy runs across the top of the speeding train, where he also has to fight Voller and the German Colonel for the device. The final action sequence includes some similar special effects work.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY has. However, there is some foul language and scary moments involving murder, plane crashes, some bugs in a cave, and a bevy of eels in an underwater sequence. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.

• Movie Review

The Dial of Destiny is a ruminative, remedial Indiana Jones history lesson

The newest indiana jones movie isn’t trying to reinvent the classic lucasfilm formula, but it is trying to make you think about what it really means to obsess about the past..

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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The more reverence you have for Lucasfilm’s original Indiana Jones films and the younger, scrappier Harrison Ford who made them so mesmerizing to watch, the less fun you’re likely to have with director James Mangold’s The Dial of Destiny. But if you, like Ford , have spent some time really disabusing yourself of the idea that nostalgic warm and fuzzies are the only feelings moviegoers should be searching for in the cinema, The Dial of Destiny might just surprise you with how hard it’s working to say something poignant about who Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr. is.

Set largely in the late summer of 1969 right as he’s planning to retire, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny tells the story of how, after years of being out of the madcap adventuring and treasure-hunting games, Indiana Jones finds himself sucked into yet another unbelievable predicament stemming from — what else — his time fighting Nazis during World War II.

This post includes very light spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, so proceed with caution if you’ve not yet seen it.

Before The Dial of Destiny fully focuses on Indy’s present, the movie actually opens decades before in the mid-40s right as Jones and his fellow archaeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) were captured by Hitler’s goons while searching for a legendary (and biblical) artifact to steal from them.

As old-hat as Indiana Jones using his wits and charm to out-maneuver cartoonish European villains is for the franchise, The Dial of Destiny tries to breathe new life into that facet of these stories by working the deepest, darkest de-aging technological magicks on Ford’s 80-year-old face during flashbacks to transform him into a barely convincing likeness of his 45-year-old self. For the most part, it’s genuinely astounding and only but so unsettling to see Ford-as-Jones in his swarthy, sweaty prime punching Nazis and ogling the invaluable relics they’re attempting to spirit away to the führer as the Allied forces descend upon Germany.

Part of what makes the de-aging here work so well for Ford but less so for the younger version of Nazi researcher Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) is the way that flashback Indy is very clearly the product of VFX artists using AI tools trained on old Indiana Jones footage to subtly dial back the aging we’ve witnessed Ford go through. But as soon as Ford — who delivered a motion capture performance for the flashbacks assisted by stunt double Mike Massa — begins to talk and move around in his youthful guise, you immediately clock that there’s an octogenarian acting beneath all those visual effects and the illusion’s effectiveness wavers.

It feels a little too generous to call the uncanny dreaminess — a not altogether off-putting un-reality — that defines the de-aged Ford wholly intentional on The Dial of Destiny ’s part. The effect smacks of an unsettling desire on Disney’s part to keep the Indiana Jones IP machine running complete with Ford’s likeness long after he himself steps away from the franchise. But the way The Dial of Destiny juxtaposes the idealized frozen-in-time Indy of 1944 with the world-weary, worse-for-wear, and regretful Indiana of 1969 does a magnificent job of establishing one of the movie’s core ideas: that obsessively reveling in the past’s greatness rather than embracing the present is a surefire way to set one’s self up for misery.

There’s quite a bit of that idea present in The Dial of Destiny ’s depiction of Jones as an older, wiser man whose specialized passion for history feels at odds with the younger public’s fascination with the Apollo Moon landing and really the future in general. But you can also see it reflected in the way the movie catches up with Voller in the present, where he and a number of Nazi sympathizers are rather free to move through the world — so long as they’re with their government handler Mason (Shaunette Renée Wilson) — after having been hired by NASA to help put a man on the Moon. Pitting Indiana Jones against Nazis is nothing new for these movies.

What does feel surprisingly fresh and quite tapped into our own current real-world political moment , though, is the way The Dial of Destiny frames Voller’s past and his fixation on lost glory as evils that’ve become subsumed into society rather than stamped out — in part because of people’s refusal to fully engage with the past and see the man as the quiet, deranged Nazi that he actually is.

In presenting Indiana Jones as a historian who remembers things (because he was there) rather than an old man who feels like he’s being left behind by the progress of time, The Dial of Destiny avoids some of the cringey narrative pitfalls that made 2008’s The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull such a rough ride. But this presentation also lends a kind of narrative neatness to the way that Basil Shaw’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) — a brainy student of history who takes after her godfather — comes crashing into back Indy’s life for the first time in more than a decade.

Because we’ve had so much time to spend with Ford’s Jones over the years, with him specifically, there’s a certain degree to which The Dial of Destiny ’s able to get away with merely mentioning and gesturing toward off-screen events that’ve turned him into the man he is here. Because Helena’s such a new presence, though, and the movie doesn’t spend all that much time really letting her just exist before the action picks up, it’s often hard not to see her and her pickpocket sidekick Teddy (Ethann Isidore) as Disney’s new, remixed spins on Marion (Karen Allen) Short Round, and Crystal Skull ’s Mutt. But as somewhat derivative as their characters feel, Waller-Bridge and Isidore are clearly having proper fun with the roles and know exactly what sort of energy classic Indiana Jones supporting characters call for.

But ultimately, that strength ends up cutting both ways like a double-edged sword because of how they highlight some of The Dial of Destiny ’s less-inspired instances of drawing on classic Indiana Jones beats. As good as it is to see The Dial of Jones pump the brakes on the exoticism that’s always plagued these films, there are many times where it feels as if, after making that solid judgment call, Mangold opted to recreate more than a few too many moments from older Indiana Jones , only with new characters delivering those same iconic lines.

This all has a handy way of making The Dial of Destiny play like a big, epic retrospective of Indy’s greatest hits, which might work for some viewers (the way it did for me). But for hardcore fans looking for something that feels innovative and new on all fronts, they might find the film lacking.

Thankfully, something the film isn’t lacking at all is a broad variety of action-packed (if occasionally overlong) set pieces that play to Mangold’s strengths as a director who knows how to use his camera to transform even the most haggard-seeming characters into revitalized, robust, heroic versions of themselves — a talent that works to Ford’s benefit. With Ford insisting that The Dial of Destiny is his final outing as Jones, it’s not entirely clear what the future holds for the franchise, let alone any of this movie’s new characters. But the way The Dial of Destiny comes to a close is one of the more fascinating and risky choices Lucasfilm and Disney have ever gone with for an Indiana Jones movie, and it very well could be a sign of even more interesting things to come.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny also stars Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, and Alaa Safi. The movie is in theaters now.

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‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ Review: Turning Back the Clock

The gruff appeal of Harrison Ford, both de-aged and properly weathered, is the main draw in this generally silly entry in the long-running franchise.

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By Manohla Dargis

What makes Indy run? For years, the obvious answer was Steven Spielberg, who, starting in 1981 with “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” guided Harrison Ford’s hunky archaeologist, Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr., in and out of gnarly escapades and ripped shirts in four box-office behemoths. By the time Spielberg directed Ford in their last outing, “ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ” (2008), Indy was in his late 50s and fans were speculating that the character was immortal, even if the franchise itself had begun running on fumes.

As a longtime big Hollywood star and hitmaker, Ford had already achieved an immortality of a kind. Indy-ologists, though, were more focused on the eternal life that Indy might have been granted by the Holy Grail when he takes a healthy swig from it in his third outing, “The Last Crusade” (1989). It’s pretty clear from his newest venture, the overstuffed if not entirely charmless “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” that while Indy may not in fact be immortal, the brain trust overseeing this installment wishes he were. They haven’t simply brought the character back for another go, they have also given him a digital face-lift.

The face-lift is as weird and distracting as this kind of digital plastic surgery tends to be, though your mileage will vary as will your philosophical objections to the idea that Ford needed to be de-aged to draw an audience, even for a 42-year-old franchise that’s now older than most North American moviegoers. The results don’t have the spooky emptiness of uncanny-valley faces. That said, the altered Indy is cognitively dissonant; I kept wondering what they’d done to — or perhaps with — Ford. It turns out that when he wasn’t getting body doubled, he was on set hitting his marks before his face was sent out to be digitally refreshed.

The guy you’re familiar with eventually appears — with wrinkles and gray hair, though without a shirt or pants, huzzah — but first you need to get past the prolonged opener, which plays like a franchise highlight reel. These nods to the past are unsurprising for a series steeped in nostalgia. “Raiders” was created by Spielberg’s pal, George Lucas, who saw it as a homage to the serials that he’d loved as a kid. Lucas envisioned a hero along the lines of Humphrey Bogart in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” but with morals (more or less), while Spielberg was interested in making a Bond-style film without the hardware and gimmicks.

As soon as the younger Indy appears in “Dial of Destiny,” it’s clear that the nostalgic love for old Hollywood that defined and shaped the original film has been supplanted by an equally powerful nostalgia for the series itself. That helps explain why this movie finds Indy once again battling Nazis, who make conveniently disposable villains for a movie banking on international sales. After directing “Schindler’s List” (1993), Spielberg expressed reluctance to make Nazis “Saturday-matinee villains,” as he once put it . The team here, by contrast, knows no such hesitation, even if evoking Spielberg’s films inevitably raises comparisons that do no one any favors, particularly the franchise’s new director, James Mangold.

The movie opens in 1944 with Indy — wearing an enemy uniform as he did in “Raiders” — being held captive, a sack coyly obscuring his head while Nazi hordes scurry about. Once the sack comes off — ta-da! — the plot thickens with a mysterious antique (à la “Raiders”), nods to the Führer, the introduction of an Indy colleague (Toby Jones) and dastardly doings from a fanatic (Mads Mikkelsen, whose face has been similarly ironed out). There’s an explosion, a sprint to freedom, a zipping car, a zooming motorcycle (as in “The Last Crusade”) and a dash atop a moving train (ditto), a busy pileup that Mangold finesses with spatial coherency.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny First Reviews: 'Safe,' 'Wacky,' 'Empty,' Critics Say

"harrison ford's performance carries the movie" and more opinions from cannes film festival critics about the latest indiana jones adventure, in which ford revisits his role as the titular hero one last time..

TAGGED AS: Film , Lucasfilm , movie , Walt Disney Pictures

Exactly 15 years after the Cannes premiere of the previous installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny   just made its debut at the same film festival, and the first reviews have made their way online. This fifth movie in the franchise sees Harrison Ford return as the titular adventuring archaeologist, with many of his scenes set in the past using de-aging special effects.

Also along for the ride are Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Indy’s goddaughter and Antonio Banderas as a new ally, while John Rhys-Davies returns as Sallah, last seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . James Mangold directs Dial of Destiny , taking over from Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first four Indiana Jones movies.

Here’s what critics are saying about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny .

(Photo by Lucasfilm)

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Does it live up to expectations?

“It’s fun; it’s wacky; it works.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“We all sat down to this movie hoping for a resurgence comparable to what JJ Abrams did with The Force Awakens, and if that didn’t exactly happen, it still gets up a storytelling gallop.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“James Mangold brings the character’s adventures to a satisfying close.” – James Mottram, South China Morning Post

“If this is the final Indiana Jones movie, as it most likely will be, it’s nice to see that they stuck the landing.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

“Unfortunately, it ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“A belabored reminder that some relics are better left where and when they belong.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“We have lived with worse.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

Where does it rank among the other Indiana Jones movies?

Ray Winstone, Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Photo by ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection)

“It’s an improvement on the execrable Crystal Skull .” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

“This one has quite a bit of zip and fun and narrative ingenuity with all its MacGuffiny silliness that the last one really didn’t.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“ Dial of Destiny feels like an old-school Indy romp, more so than 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , as it tries to capture the rollicking spirit of the originals.” – James Mottram, South China Morning Post

“ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may not be the finest film of the franchise, but it’s far from the worst.” – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

“Nobody with a brain in their heads will compare Dial of Destiny favorably to the first three films.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“Four were enough.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

What are some other comparable movies?

National Treasure (2004) stars Diane Kruger, Nicolas Cage, and Justin Bartha (Photo by Touchstone/courtesy Everett Collection)

“There are big National Treasure vibes…take from that what you will.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

“It could give late-vintage Fast & Furious a very, very speedy run for its money when it comes to spectacular (and spectacularly ludicrous) SFX stunts.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

How is Harrison Ford’s return as Indiana Jones?

“Ford is beyond triumphant…his performance shines in the sense that the audience can feel the deeply emotional send-off he personally is giving his character in every quip, every punch, and every heartfelt adage that comes off his lips.” – Lex Briscuso, Slashfilm

“At 80 years old, Ford himself really gives it his all, even though the role initially requires him to look like he’d rather be anywhere else.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“Now 80 years young, but carrying it off with humor and style and still nailing that reluctant crooked smile.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“He never loses either his scowl or his doggedness. He plays even the flimsiest scenes with conviction and dry humour. His performance carries the movie. Age cannot wither him in the slightest.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“Ford often seems disengaged, as if he’s weighing up whether this will restore the tarnished luster to his iconic action hero or reveal that he’s past his expiration date.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

What about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s new character?

“She is gratifyingly badass.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“Like Karen Allen’s Marion in the first film, a Howards Hawksian woman.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine

“Phoebe Waller-Bridge has a tremendous co-star turn as Indy’s roguish goddaughter.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

“Waller-Bridge has clearly been given the instruction to ‘just do Fleabag ’ but she’s operating without Fleabag -level material here, and her frequent attempts to juice up the clumsy gags with her trademark winking delivery tend to fall flat.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“While Phoebe Waller-Bridge, of Fleabag fame, makes her saucy, spiky, and duplicitous in a cheeky way (she’s like the young Maggie Smith with a boatload of attitude), we never feel in our guts that Helena is a chip off the old Indy block.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

How are the movie’s villains?

Mads Mikkelsen (left) and Thomas Kretschmann (far right) in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“As Jürgen Voller, Mads Mikkelsen is enjoyably hissable.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine

“Mikkelsen, flanked by some heavies including Boyd Holbrook, is an excellent adversary.” – James Mottram, South China Morning Post

“He’s an infuriating villain, one that feels both menacing and overwhelming in his brutish intelligence — the kind of adversary it seems impossible to defeat, and thus the perfect final match for the one and only Indiana Jones.” – Lex Briscuso, Slashfilm

“Mikkelsen can be a fabulously debonair villain (see: Casino Royale ), but any interesting idiosyncrasies the character might have exhibited are drowned in convoluted plot. This calls for a larger-than-life bad guy, and he’s somehow smaller.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

“Mads Mikkelsen, with his lizard scowl and his shiny metallic hair, doesn’t play Voller as a realistic character. He’s a leering megalomaniac out of central casting.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Unfortunately, what we get is the pantomimic, hubristic, goose-stepping version of the Nazis.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

Are the action scenes worth the price of admission?

“The action is often very inventively staged. James Mangold, who has taken over directing duties from Steven Spielberg, sets a breakneck tempo.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“A bit involving a very heavy bomb is worthy of any movie this franchise has ever produced.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“There are plenty of jolly chases, including a tuk-tuk vs classic Jag event in the narrow streets of Tangier.” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“The action is generic and clunkily staged – for all the local detail in every individual shot of the heavily advertised tuk-tuk chase, it might as well be taking place on an endless conveyor belt.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“Endless action sequences can become so flabbily overblown they lose any punch, but [Mangold] is never anything but brisk.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“Like virtually all action sequences these days, this one suffers from the fact that visual effects can do pretty much anything, which tends to strip away any sense of surprise, novelty or even high stakes, no matter how frantic and extravagant things get.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

“[They] utilize too much (far too much) of the era’s computer-generated imagery.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

Does it otherwise look good?

Boyd Holbrook in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“The recreations of the 1960s vistas are gorgeous.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“There’s no shot here, nor twist of choreography, that makes you marvel at the filmmaking mind that conceived it.” – Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“The climax of the film…looks washed out and sallow.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

Is the script satisfying?

Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, and Toby Jones in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“The plot is hokum of the cheesiest hue, but the screenwriters know that hokum is the mulch in which this franchise germinates.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“The screenplay does provide a few big laughs.” – Jo-Ann Titmarsh, London Evening Standard

“The screenplay sometimes seems like a mish-mash of elements from the older movies thrown together in scattergun fashion.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“The globe-trotting can occasionally feel a bit MacGuffin-by-numbers: we must find the thing, which leads us to the map, which will help find the other thing.” – John Nugent, Empire Magazine

“One can feel the four credited screenwriters grasping at inspiration and coming up short.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

“Considering that the screenplay is credited to four writers, couldn’t they at least have thought of something cool for Indy to do with his whip?” – Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

Does it lean too much on nostalgia?

Harrison Ford de-aged in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

“It contains lots of satisfying fan service, from old friends popping up, to familiar situations unfolding in different ways.” – Steve Pond, The Wrap

“Just hearing John Williams’ score, yet another variant on the heroics and theatrics of the original, makes anyone of a certain age feel that everything is momentarily right with the world.” – Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily

“This is an exercise in affectionate nostalgia.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“At least this film’s easy nostalgia has some meta-textual purpose behind it.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“The film just about gets a passing grade for not going too heavy on the nostalgia-porn fan service.” – David Jenkins, Little White Lies

Is Steven Spielberg missed?

“The missing component is Steven Spielberg, for as talented as a director James Mangold is, he cannot measure up to the cinematic brilliance that Spielberg imbues into each of his projects.” – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

“James Mangold, tasked with living up to a fearsome legacy, is competent with an action set piece, but displays little of Spielberg’s nimble, inventive physics, or of Spielberg’s famous gift for conjuring awe.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

“It’s content to tick off everything you’ve seen in other Indiana Jones films already, but with little of Spielberg’s sparkle.” – Nicholas Barber, BBC.com

“The biggest (or at least most evident) difference between Spielberg and Mangold is that one of them would never have allowed himself to make anything this stale, and one of them probably wasn’t given any other choice.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

Are there any other major issues?

Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.)

“As the film goes on, the focus on uninteresting puzzles becomes a bit tedious.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

“Tonally, the film wavers. It pulls in too many different directions at once.” – Geoffrey Macnab, Independent

“One problem is the title relic, a curio of Ancient Greek lore rumored to give its possessor the power of time travel… Dial of Destiny ’s digression from holiness, though, is less than inspiring.” – Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

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• DVD & Streaming

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

• Action/Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• June 30, 2023
• Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones; Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena; Ethann Bergua-Isidore as Teddy; Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Voller; Karen Allen as Marion; Boyd Holbrook as Klaber; Antonio Banderas as Renaldo; John Rhys-Davies as Sallah; Toby Jones as Basil Shaw; Olivier Richters as Hauke; Shaunette Renée Wilson as Mason

Home Release Date

• August 29, 2023
• James Mangold

Distributor

• Walt Disny Studios Motion Pictures

Movie Review

It’s 1936, and a youngish archaeologist named Indiana Jones is about to be buried alive in an ancient Egyptian tomb. His nemesis, Belloq, gloats from above. Recalling an earlier conversation they had over the value of a dime-store pocket watch after a thousand years, Belloq offers a cutting quip.

“You’re about to become a permanent addition to this archeological find,” Belloq says. “Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something.”

It’s 1969, and luckily, Indiana Jones wasn’t buried alive after all. He is, however, getting—and feeling—older by the day. Only he doesn’t feel like he’s gaining value. He feels as though he’s losing it.

Forget the days when underclassmen would write “love you” on their eyelids and blink slowly in the handsome Dr. Jones’ direction. When his students shut their eyes these days, it’s to take a quick nap. Forget the years when he came back to a home filled with love and family: His only son, Mutt, died in Vietnam. His relationship with wife, Marion, was wrecked by the grief, and she left him.

The man who survived the blood of Kali? Who braved the most devious of medieval traps? Who ran pell-mell from a gigantic boulder and nonchalantly brushed tarantulas from his leather coat? That man is 30 years gone. A big adventure these days might be more fairly called Indiana Jones and the Afternoon Nap .

Or so it would seem.

But then, on the day of his retirement, a familiar figure walks through his classroom door: Helena Shaw, Indy’s goddaughter. She’s after the Antikythera, an ancient Greek construct that was her father’s obsession. What does it do? No one really knows. The technology it represents shouldn’t, technically, exist for another thousand years. But Helena’s dad—in his crazed, waning days—thought that it might be able to manipulate time . 

Whatever it does, its Greek creator (the famed Archimedes) thought it was so powerful that he broke the thing in half.

Indy has one part of the Antikythera: Helena wants his help in finding the rest. Or so she says.

But she’s not the only one after the fabled mechanism: Dr. Voller, once-and-future Nazi, has his eyes on the prize, too. And you can guarantee that the bespectacled baddie has his own plans for it.

Nazis. We hate those guys.

Positive Elements

We can’t quibble with stopping Nazis. And, as we all know, Indiana Jones (for all his faults and occasionally questionable choices) has stopped more than his fair share. The stakes are high this time around, because even though Germany lost the war, Dr. Voller is scheming to make everything … Reich.

Helena’s not the do-gooder that Indy is. She’s on this particular quest for (as Indiana Jones himself once said) fortune and glory. Or so she says, at least. Indy sees something more in her, though: A desire to connect with her late father. She develops a real attachment to her godfather, too.

Helena also serves as a guardian/friend/mentor to a teen named Teddy. Now, their relationship is hardly perfect, given that it’s based on stealing and cheating and all sorts of bad behavior. But Helena has managed to keep Teddy relatively safe and off the streets, and she might be the closest thing to a mother/friend that Teddy’s ever had. And when things get particularly dangerous, we see the lengths that they’ll all go to save one another.

We also see some nice messages about friendship, marriage and reconciliation.

Spiritual Elements

When the movie opens in flashback (during the final days of World War II) we see that Indiana and his friend, Basil Shaw, are after another biblical relic. The Nazis have in their possession the Lance of Longinus—the spearhead that pierced Jesus’ side during His crucifixion—and Indy and Basil are attempting to liberate it.

The spear is revealed to be fake (though we see it again in a later scene).

The Antikythera, meanwhile, is very much real and (again in flashback) very much in Nazi hands. We hear that if the ancient dial finds its way into Hitler’s hands, “He will be God.”

We hear that Archimedes was a “mathematician, not a magician.” Indy says that he doesn’t believe in magic, but he does allude to his many experiences that he can’t explain. He’s come to the conclusion that “It’s not so much what you believe; it’s how hard you believe it.”

A picture of Christ is seen hanging on a wall. A Bible reference (Philippians 22) is scrawled on a subway wall. A Catholic statue makes its way through a Sicilian street. Indy alludes to earlier adventures, including drinking the blood of Kali. (The name refers to the Hindu goddess of death, and the blood itself apparently held magical powers.)

Sexual Content

Helena wears a top that reveals a bit of midriff. She was also engaged to a violently lovelorn mafia don. Indy walks around shirtless and in his skivvies. A couple shares a kiss or two.

Violent Content

The violence in Dial of Destiny isn’t as gross as we’ve seen in previous Indiana Jones adventures: No melting faces, no monkey brains, no one gets chopped up by airplane propellers. But the body count is quite high.

We can “thank” the opening flashback for a great many fatalities. Cars and motorcycles crash and fly around, killing and sometimes throwing free their occupants. On a train, a huge machine gun goes haywire (thanks to the sudden demise of its operator) and shoots dozens of people (most of whom fall off the train). Several folks are killed via handgun, too. A guy is killed a bit grotesquely while on the top of said train.

Several people—many of them entirely innocent—are flat-out murdered in the film. One or two are shot in the back as they try to run. One man is handcuffed to something underwater and presumably drowns. Another person nearly drowns, as well. Bullet lead flies frequently, often finding fleshy termination. (Not everyone dies from these gunshot wounds, but many do.)

People are killed via arrows and (more grotesquely) gigantic harpoons. Cars crash. Planes crash. Trains crash. Bridges collapse. Boats are dynamited. We see several corpses. Punches upon punches are thrown. People are threatened. Various vehicles careen in disturbingly unsafe ways. Indy says that he’s been shot nine times. We hear that Indy’s son died in the war.

Characters must brave eels (which can, and do, issue a painful bite), tarantulas and giant centipedes.

Crude or Profane Language

We hear several misuses each of “d–n” and “h—.” Language such as “crap” and “p-ss” is also used. God’s name is misused three times, once with the word “d–n,” and Jesus’ name is abused once. A racial slur is used.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Indiana’s first scene in 1969 finds him in his apartment, empty bottles strewn about. After Indiana retires, Helena finds him in a nearby bar, drinking. She joins him, and she tries to encourage him to join her quest over glasses of whiskey. He spikes his coffee with a bit of liquor from a flask. The consumption of liquor is fairly common throughout.

Characters—especially Nazis—also smoke. Voller often puffs on cigarettes, while another character chomps on a cigar.

Other Negative Elements

Teddy is a skilled thief. Helena tells Indy that they actually met when Teddy tried to steal her purse. He swipes several possessions during the film, including some money from a couple of Italian kids who made fun of his clothes. While he’s often forced to give the stuff he steals back, he uses that money to buy ice cream.

Helena lies frequently and steals the Antikythera. (She calls it “capitalism.”) She also calls out Indy for his questionable archaeology—saying he’s more a tomb robber than noble scholar. We hear that Indy broke a promise to a friend.

We learn that the American government has shielded an ex-Nazi from prosecution and put him on the payroll, using his expertise to help win the Space Race. (It seems that they’re willing to let a great many things slide when it comes to the behavior of him and his ever-present attaches, but his CIA handler will only go so far for him.)

There are references to blackjack and gambling debts.

Indiana Jones’ adventures have always been, in a way, about time. A 3,000-year-old ark. A 2,000-year-old cup. Stones too ancient to guess. With each new exotic setting, Indy and his friends dive into the dirt of history, peeling away pages of time.

Paradoxically, time has always seemed on the verge of running out on Indy, too. The torch fades. The tank trundles to the edge of the cliff. Even though he’s after such timeless artifacts, Indy always needs to do something right now , before the boulder catches up to him.

On one hand, Indy deals in eons. In the other, seconds.

It seems altogether fitting that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny deals so explicitly with time and the desire to turn it back. Here, we can feel the weight of time not just on Indiana Jones’ adventure, but on Indy himself.

Turns out, he didn’t need to worry about the careening boulder. The thing that threatens to crush Indiana Jones is the sands dropping through the hourglass, one grain at a time.

And yet he still has something to say. And do.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is no Raiders of the Lost Ark . Like Indy himself, the franchise is well past its prime. But it is a reasonably entertaining adventure story that is far better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (the franchise’s midlife crisis, perhaps?) and comes with, if not a treasure, at least a keepsake. A bittersweet poignancy at its core. And while it loses its way sometimes in its own convoluted story, it still boasts heart.

Of course, any archeological dig turns up plenty of unwanted detritus, and Dial of Destiny is no different. You’ll turn up shovelfuls of muck: foul language, irresponsible behavior, drinking, smoking and, of course, tons of violence. Nope, the Indiana Jones franchise didn’t turn all sweet and innocent while you weren’t looking.

But compared to some of the previous installments, the Dial of Destiny does dial the content back—just a touch. So maybe Dr. Jones did mellow in his old age.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review: Disney whips up a lively (final?) adventure

If Indiana Jones does hang up his hat, the fifth film is a surprisingly emotional, diverting, and satisfying conclusion.

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine , The Hollywood Reporter , and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight , is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

It's not the years, it's the mileage… and in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, out June 30, the titular hero racks up plenty of thrilling miles in what is supposedly his farewell to the big screen.

We open on a younger Indy (a de-aged Harrison Ford in the best use of the often questionable technology to date) running for his life amidst the death throes of the Third Reich. Infiltrating a Nazi treasure trove, he and fellow academic/archaeologist Basil Shaw ( Toby Jones ) attempt to recover priceless historical artifacts from the retreating Nazis. On board a train, Indy encounters Jürgen Voller ( Mads Mikkelsen ), a Nazi mathematician intent on locating the Dial of Destiny, more formally known as Archimedes' antikythera, a cosmological device with potentially world-altering powers.

Flash forward to 1969 and the celebration of the moon landing in New York City. Indiana Jones is living alone. He mourns his son Mutt, who died in combat in the Vietnam War (an expedient end to the problematic specter of what to do about Shia LaBeouf 's existence within the franchise); he's separated from Marion ( Karen Allen ); and he's now preparing to retire from Hunter College where he's been a professor for over a decade.

His lonely life is interrupted by the arrival of Helena Shaw ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ), his goddaughter, who is on the hunt for the antikythera with questionable motives. Helena's appearance and bid for the dial thrusts Indy into a new adventure where he must once again face off against Voller, who now goes by the name of Professor Schmitt, and stop his quest to return the Nazi regime to power.

Ford returns as Indy, but he's not merely a guy with a cool hat and a bullwhip with a few more lines on his face. Just as James Mangold did for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in Logan , he presents an Indiana Jones weathered by life — a man who has spent decades chasing down ancient artifacts and fighting Nazis.

Indiana Jones has always been a world-weary guy, cynical and full of wise cracks in the face of danger, but here, he feels like he's finally earned it. Ford's soulful, craggy face is the cipher for the lifetime of adventure, physical pain, and loss that Indy has endured. There's humor in that, as when Indy lists off some of the more ridiculous things he has done while scaling a wall with Helena. But there's sadness too, in the friends he's lost and the tragedy he has faced.

Ford has always lent Indy a humanity and depth that is too often ignored in favor of celebrating his capacity for dry one-liners and his rugged good looks (both well-deserving of the praise they've received). Here, he gets to unleash the emotional side of Indy, his reverence for history and love for those he holds dear visibly weighing him down. In 1969, as humanity looks to the future, Indiana Jones, a man dedicated to protecting the past, is a man out of place in his own time. Ford's curmudgeonly restraint barely conceals the open wounds of his losses.

Dial of Destiny is often best in its moments of quiet resonance, but it doesn't leave enough breathing room to maximize the impact of Ford's performance. Instead, the film volleys from one action sequence to the next, whether it be a dangerous dive into deep ocean waters, a horse race through New York City streets and subways(!), or a perilous car chase through Tangiers. Mangold crafts these scenes with precision, building them to a fever pitch and then throttling the accelerator when it seems the scene has peaked. This makes the pacing wonky, and more scenes of introspective Indy would have been welcome in exchange for shaving a few minutes off the nonstop danger. But that doesn't make the sequences any less exciting or nerve-wracking, generating an old-school adventure energy reminiscent of the original trilogy.

Unlike the monkey swinging or the infamous nuclear explosion refrigerator nonsense of Crystal Skull, the action here also feels utterly believable. The physical toll it takes on an older Indy is palpable, the stakes higher because of the acknowledgement of his mortality. At his best, Indiana Jones has always been a hero that feels utterly human. Maybe a little smarter than the rest of us, but no less earthbound. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, when he takes a punch to the jaw, we feel it — and Dial remembers that Indy's greatest asset is his conspicuous humanity in the face of peril.

Waller-Bridge, who leaped from Fleabag 's critical acclaim to writing for James Bond and starring in an Indiana Jones flick, is a saucy, slippery foil to Ford. Where Marion was feisty and reckless, and Dr. Henry Jones ( Sean Connery) was persnickety and gruff, Helena is whimsical and brash. Her loyalties shift faster than sand in an hourglass, keeping Indiana Jones, and by extension, the audience, on their toes. Waller-Bridge has a winking sense of humor as a performer that imbues her natural ability to make the audience believe they're her confidantes while remaining delightfully unpredictable.

Mikkelsen, a prince of silver-tongued, elegant villainy, is under-used. Jürgen Voller lacks distinction as a villain, possessing neither the naked ambition of Belloq (Paul Freeman) from Raiders or the self-serving sycophancy of Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) in Last Crusade. While his goons are outright unhinged, Voller is chilled cardboard, a Nazi who lacks any personality besides his commitment to the ideals of Nazism. His villainy lacks teeth, but perhaps that's because the notion of bringing fascism back feels like a day-to-day occurrence in our world. He's not half so frightening as anything on the nightly news.

Dial of Destiny is 85 percent of a delightful return to form for the franchise and 15 percent absolutely ludicrous climax. We won't spoil the reveal, but suffice it to say it leans too heavily into a plot point that Marvel and DC have exhausted in recent years — and the temporal, geographical place it decides to take its climactic sequence is both outlandish and entirely too on-the-nose.

It's not that Indiana Jones hasn't always built its stories around fantastical ancient artifacts. (See: the Ark of the Covenant, the Sankara Stones, the Holy Grail, and, sigh, the Crystal Skull.) The antikythera is as good a McGuffin as any other (and it is based on a real scientific device from ancient Greece). But while the mystical, inexplicable power of objects like the Ark and the Grail have the capacity to shock and awe, the antikythera is merely a tool for a tired trope with a payoff that verges on tritely absurd.

One can understand the allegorical impulse of the storytelling device. This older, probably not wiser version of Indiana Jones is one who feels as much a relic as the artifacts he's dedicated his life to studying and preserving. It's hard to resist literalizing the metaphor in a story where the hero is made to feel like time has passed him by. But it doesn't land the way the filmmakers intended, instead undercutting Indy's reckoning with history and his place in it.

It's a testament to Ford's performance and the movie's overall effectiveness that this disappointing climax doesn't outweigh how much fun it all is. Much like the entries of the original trilogy, at its heart, Dial is a rip-roaring adventure that borrows more from the cinematic language of golden age swashbucklers than modern blockbusters.

In a sense, Indiana Jones has always been about nostalgia. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas set out to make movies that evoked the 1940s serials they loved growing up. That operates on two levels in Dial of Destiny, both in the film's historical setting and our own yen for the way the original movies made us feel.

Dial uses nostalgia as an appetizer, not a main course, and it's absolutely delicious for it. Nothing feels pandering, but rather each nod to the past is welcome in its measured distribution, as cozy and familiar as a favorite sweater or reconnecting with an old friend. Speaking of, Sallah ( John Rhys-Davis ) is back, but mainly as a vestige of the life Indy feels he's lost. Sallah too yearns for their shared past.

There are nods to our hero's well cataloged hatred of snakes, a cheeky reversal of the Raiders bringing a knife (or whip) to a gunfight, plenty of traveling by map, and a tear-jerking return to kissing where it doesn't hurt, all set to the core memory sounds of John Williams ' inimitable score (including a new theme for Helena!).

Much has been made of the fact that Dial will be Ford's last outing in the franchise. The movie has been billed as a send-off for Indiana Jones, but it doesn't feel definitive, particularly when the film's final shot makes a very decisive point about Ford/Indy hanging up the hat.

If it is indeed the last we'll see of Ford's Indiana Jones, it's a far more satisfying goodbye than where we last left him. But Dial makes one thing clear: whatever happens next, this franchise still has fresh skullduggery left to explore. Indiana Jones does not (and will never) belong in a museum. He's far too vital for that; his mileage, as a character and a pop culture icon, is infinite. Grade : B+

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Related content:

• Indiana Jones stars Harrison Ford, Ke Huy Quan reunite at Dial of Destiny premiere: 'You're all grown up!'
• Harrison Ford defends de-aging in Indiana Jones 5 at Cannes: 'That's what I looked like 35 years ago'
• Meet Voller: Mads Mikkelsen on what to expect from the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny villain

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

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Watch Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

It isn't as thrilling as earlier adventures, but the nostalgic rush of seeing Harrison Ford back in action helps Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny find a few final bits of cinematic treasure.

With plenty of entertaining action and a few surprising twists, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ends the series on a high note.

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4 Things You Should Know about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

• Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
• Updated Jul 10, 2023

Henry is a gray-haired, semi-retired college archaeology professor who is losing patience with the world in 1969 America.

As he sees it, young people play their music too loud. They party too much. He's no longer the optimistic, determined man who, decades ago, searched for ancient treasures, including the Ark of the Covenant . Today, Henry – some call him "Indiana Jones" – is a curmudgeon.

But then, a young woman enters his life. She's optimistic like he once was. And determined. She also has a passion for archaeology.

In her view, "Dr. Jones" is a hero of the archaeological world, and she needs his help.

This woman – his goddaughter, Helena – is in search of an ancient dial that was supposedly created by the ancient Greek mathematician/inventor Archimedes. As the story goes, Archimedes broke it into two pieces before he died. Legend holds that if the two pieces are placed back together, it will release untold powers.

Will they find it?

The new film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (PG-13) follows the worldwide quest of Indiana and Helena as they try to find the dial before the Nazis do. It stars Harrison Ford in the lead role.

Here are four things you should know:

Photo courtesy: ©Disney, used with permission.

1. It Includes Everything You Love about Indiana Jones

The film wisely gives Indiana a younger sidekick in the uber-confident Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who takes the chances that a 40-something Indiana would have taken. Her semi-adopted son Teddy gives us the child-age co-star that the earlier films had.

2. It's All about History, Christianity, and the Nazis

For lovers of history and archaeology, there's a lot to embrace in Dial of Destiny . Indiana encounters Neil Armstrong and the other astronauts who flew to the moon. He battles Nazis, first in the 1940s (more on that below) and then in the 60s, when a group of ex-Nazis is trying to revive the old empire. ("You didn't win the war. Hitler lost it," one of them tells an American.) He teaches us about Archimedes, who – according to legend – created a giant mirror that could deflect the sun's rays and set enemy ships on fire. Those legends hold that the dial even has time travel powers. (Yes, there's a bit of time travel in his new film.)

Dial of Destiny also includes an echo back to the very first film with its reference to Christianity. As the new movie opens, the Nazis are on a quest to find the Lance of Longinus, the 2,000-year-old spear that allegedly pierced Christ's side.

3. It Includes Groundbreaking CGI "De-Aging"

A few years ago, Rogue One (2016) gave Star Wars fans a stunning surprise with a "de-aged" Carrie Fisher, who looked like the 20-something actress from the 1977 blockbuster. That was followed by Captain Marvel (2019) delivering a de-aged Samuel L. Jackson, and The Mandalorian , Season 2, giving us a younger-looking Mark Hamill. Other films have joined the de-aging trends.

None of those compare to the jaw-dropping near-perfection or the impressive time length that we see in Dial of Destiny , which offers an opening de-aging scene of a 40-something Harrison Ford that lasts more than 20 minutes. We watch him laugh and smirk. We see him scowl and eat. We watch as he punches and gets punched. We even see him swim. You can't tell it's fake.

4. It's Largely Family-Friendly

Dial of Destiny  includes the fights and violence you expect from an action film. We see a handful of people shot and killed at near-point-blank range. We see dozens of explosions. We see skeletons. Indiana and others are kidnapped.

But Dial of Destiny , well, "dials back" the language quite a bit, considering its PG-13 rating. (See details below.) It contains no "strong" language (a phrase that often means f-bombs in the rating industry). It also contains no sexuality.

It includes solid lessons about sacrifice, redemption , reconciliation, and finding purpose late in life. The ending is nearly perfect.

It may be the best action movie of the year.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, language and smoking. Language details: h-ll (7), s---t (1), d--n (5), misuse of "Jesus" (1), p-ss (1), misuse of "God" (2).

Entertainment rating : 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Family-friendly rating : 3 out of 5 stars.

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

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Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Review

28 Jun 2023

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

It’s not the years, as someone once put it — it’s the mileage. Indiana Jones was feeling that mileage from his very first adventure, 1981’s  Raiders Of The Lost Ark , and in  The Dial Of Destiny  — purportedly his last outing — he’s feeling the years, too. That seems to be the driving force behind this fifth instalment of this most beloved of adventure series: what happens when even the most indestructible hero runs out of road?

Of all the iconic characters Harrison Ford has dusted off in recent years, Indiana Jones, tenured professor of archaeology who never worried too much about getting his hands dirty, seems to be the one he has the most fun playing. There’s real, rugged, grinning affection in Ford’s now five performances, and a real joy in seeing him back in the fedora and leather jacket. Ford may also have been conscious, too, that the previous attempt at a swansong, 2008’s  Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull , didn’t quite hit the mark; enough good stuff in it to feel almost underrated, but enough silly stuff (the gophers, the aliens, the fridge) to feel the need for one last crack of the course-correcting whip.

For this first Spielberg -less outing, all the hallmarks of the series are there as you’d hope them to be, lovingly preserved like archaeological treasures: there is an ingenious and elaborate booby-trapped cave system, there is a throwback map sequence, and there are plenty of Nazis, ready for the punching. But there is also some sadness and regret, a man out of time, finally running out of time, and surveying the ruins of his life; a tone that sometimes feels unusually sombre for this kind of blockbuster.

Dial Of Destiny  has the kind of final showdown that almost makes the finale of  Crystal Skull  feel subtle.

That may be the hand of director James Mangold , a filmmaker who has some understanding of making a bittersweet genre pic about a beloved pop-culture icon in the twilight of his years (see also: Logan ). He moves confidently through action set-piece after action set-piece,  keeping up a frantic pace — but he is clearly at pains to keep track of the man under the hat.

First, though, we flash back to a younger, more self-assured Indy. The film begins, as all good Indiana Jones movies should, in barnstorming fashion: in 1944, at the close of World War II, with an (only mildly uncanny) de-aged Harrison Ford battling the Nazis. He’s aided by fellow academic Basil Shaw ( Toby Jones , filling in the bumbling Brit role previously occupied by Denholm Elliott) as they attempt to retrieve the Lance of Longinus, the blade that pierced Jesus. But another, more intriguing artefact catches their eye: the Antikythera, which the Nazis are particularly interested in for its godlike powers. (Sound familiar?)

That opening salvo is terrific, and moves at a frantic lick, which makes the timeline jump to 1969 all the more impactful. Dr Jones now lives in a dirt-cheap New York apartment, on the verge of retirement and self-medicating with booze. He is still a lecturing professor, but only just; in a neat contrast to the enamoured doe-eyed students of  Raiders  and  Last Crusade , his students are bored and uninterested.

Into this unhappy tableau comes his goddaughter (and Basil’s daughter), Phoebe Waller-Bridge ’s Helena, who sets him off on One Last Quest to find the other half of the Antikythera, and maybe find the spark of adventure he once had. (“This is not an adventure!” Jones actually insists at one point). Waller-Bridge is superb, for her part. If Ford is the cranky, ill-tempered hero, she is the witty, sharp-tongued cynic; like Karen Allen ’s Marion in the first film, a Howard Hawksian woman.

Naturally, the Nazis are also on the case. As Jürgen Voller, Mads Mikkelsen is enjoyably hissable — he is, of course, Hollywood’s favourite accent-for-hire, but this is a thoroughly nasty Nazi, one whose racism and arrogance isn’t downplayed, still bitter about past conflicts. “You didn’t win the war,” he snarls at an American at one point. “Hitler  lost .”

It doesn’t escape the sometimes-wobbly politics that the series has sometimes been accused of; the return of John Rhys-Davies , a white Welshman, as the Egyptian character Sallah, feels a needlessly thoughtless choice in 2023. And the globe-trotting can occasionally feel a bit MacGuffin-by-numbers: we must find the thing, which leads us to the map, which will help find the other thing.

But then it reaches its final act, and suddenly all bets are off. The script hints at something wild from the off, but you’re never quite sure it’s going to go  that  wild. Believe us when we say: it goes that wild. It is a true swing for the fences.  Dial Of Destiny  has the kind of final showdown that almost makes the finale of  Crystal Skull  feel subtle.

Does it work, though — in a way that  Crystal Skull ’s climax didn’t? Sort of! It depends if you are willing to go with it. This is a series that has always gestured towards fantasy. It was conceived by Spielberg and Lucas as a homage to their beloved 1940s serials, cinema as pulp, and this bold-as-brass ending fits comfortably into that tradition. Importantly, it feels true to Indy as a character. In the end, it seems to suggest, it wasn’t about fortune and glory at all, but finding your own little corner of history. And Indy, one way or another, has found it.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny reminds you how much Hollywood has changed

The new Indiana Jones movie hits different in the IP age.

by Alissa Wilkinson

In 1981’s Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark , the mercenary archaeologist René Belloq looks his friend-turned-foe Indiana Jones square in the eye and tells him the absolute truth. “Indiana,” he says, “we are simply passing through history.” They’re discussing the treasure they seek: the Ark of the Covenant, which might be just a valuable old artifact or might be the home of the Hebrew God, who knows. “This — this is history.”

Humans die. Civilizations pass away. Artifacts, however, remain. They tell us who we were, and who we still are.

History — the pursuit of it, the commodification of it, our universal fate to live inside of it — is Indiana Jones’s obsession, and that theme bleeds right off the screen and onto us. After all, Raiders was released 42 years ago, before I was born, and the fifth and final film (or so we’re told anyhow ), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, due to arrive in theaters this summer. Watch it at this moment in time, and you’re reminded that you, too, are passing through history. Those movie stars are looking a lot older.

This is a series preoccupied with time and its cousin, mortality, from the characters’ relentless pursuit of the ancient world’s secrets to the poignancy of Jones’s relationships. His adventures are frequently preceded by the revelation that someone or something in his life has died — a friend, a family member, a relationship. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , released in 1989, makes the fact of death especially moving, with its plot point turning on immortality and the Holy Grail. More humorously, cobweb-draped skeletons are strewn liberally throughout the series, reminding us that other explorers and other civilizations have attempted what Indiana is trying to do. He’s just another in a string of adventurers, one who happens to be really good at throwing a punch.

Dial of Destiny feels like an emphatic period at the end of a very long sentence, a sequel making its own case against some future further resurrection — not unlike last year’s Cannes blockbuster premiere, Top Gun: Maverick , or 2021’s fourth installment of The Matrix . That’s not just because Harrison Ford is turning 81 this summer. It’s in the text; Dial of Destiny argues, explicitly, that you have to leave the past in the past, that the only way to ensure the world continues is to put one foot down and then another, moving into the future.

Ironic, yes, for a movie built on giant piles of nostalgia and made by a company that proudly spends most of its money nibbling its own tail . In fact, the entire Indiana Jones concept was nostalgia-driven even before the fedora made its big-screen debut. Harrison Ford’s whip-cracking adventurer descends from swashbuckling heroes of pulp stories and matinee serials that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg loved as kids; like that other franchise Ford launched, the Indy series is both original and pastiche, both contemporary-feeling and set in another time, another place, a world that’s far, far away.

Dial of Destiny is loaded with related ironies, though they’re mostly extratextual. On the screen, it’s fairly straightforward: a sentimental vehicle, one that hits familiar beats and tells familiar jokes, comfort food to make you feel like a kid again for a little while. The Indiana Jones movies , even the bad ones, have always been pretty fun to watch in a cartoon-movie kind of way, while also being aggressively just fine as films — I mean that with fond enthusiasm — and Dial of Destiny fits the bill perfectly.

This installment turns on pieces of a dial created by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, which, like most of the relics that pop up in Indy’s universe, may or may not bestow godlike powers on its wielder. Naturally, the Nazis want it, especially Hitler. So the film opens in 1944, with Indy (a de-aged Ford, though unfortunately nobody thought to sufficiently de-age his voice) fighting Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) to nab it while getting out of one of his signature high-octane scrapes via a familiar combo of costume changes, well-aimed punches, acrobatics, and dumb luck. Then we jump forward to 1969, to discover a very much not de-aged Indy collapsed into his armchair in front of the TV, shirtless and in boxers, snoozing and clutching the dregs of a beer. This is a movie about getting old, after all.

You can deduce the rest — old friends and new, tricks and turns, mysteries, maybe some time travel, the question of whether the magic is real. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is in this movie as Helena Shaw, Jones’s archaeologist goddaughter, and injects it with some much-needed joie de vivre. There are some fun chase scenes, though director James Mangold’s visual sense (richly demonstrated in previous films like Logan and Ford v Ferrari ) falls a little flat next to the memory of Steven Spielberg’s direction. But for the most part, it’s all here again. I don’t want to spoil your fun.

Yet a thread that’s run through the whole four-decade series, with heightened irony every time it comes up, is the battle between Indy — who firmly believes that history’s relics ought to be in a museum for everyone to enjoy — and fortune-seeking mercenaries or power-seeking Nazis, who want to privately acquire those artifacts for their own reasons. (Leaving the artifact where it is, perhaps even among its people, still doesn’t really seem to be an option.) It’s a mirror for the very real theft of artifacts throughout history by invading or colonizing forces, the taking of someone else’s culture for your own use or to assert your own dominance. That battle crops up again in this installment, with both mercenaries and Nazis on offer. Shaw, voicing a darker archaeological aim, wryly insists that thieving is just capitalism, and that cash is the only thing worth believing in; Voller’s aims are much darker.

It’s all very fitting in a movie about an archaeologist set in the midcentury. But you have to notice the weird Hollywood resonance. When Raiders first hit the big screen, it was always intended to be the first in a series, much like Lucas and Spielberg’s beloved childhood serials. (The pair in fact made their initial Indiana Jones deal with Paramount for five movies.) But while some bits (and chunks) of the 1980s films have aged pretty badly, they endure in part because they’re remixes that are alive with imagination and even whimsy, the product so clearly of some guys who wanted to play around with the kinds of stories they loved as children.

Now, in the IP era , remixing is a fraught endeavor. The gatekeepers, owners and fans alike, are often very cranky. The producers bank on more of the same, not the risk of a new idea. The artifacts belong to them , and they call the shots, and tell you when you can have access or not. (The evening Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opened at Cannes, Disney — already infamously known for locking its animation away in a vault and burying the work of companies it acquires — announced it would start removing dozens of its own series from its streamers.) Rather than move into the future and support some new sandboxes, the Hollywood of today mostly maniacally rehashes what it’s already done. It envisions a future where what’s on offer is mostly what we’ve already had before.

In this I hear echoes of thinkers like Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer — two men who fled the Nazis, incidentally — who proposed the culture industry was giving people the illusion of choice, but only the freedom to choose what they said was on offer. You can have infinite variations on the same thing.

It’s a sentiment strangely echoed in Dial of Destiny . One night, Shaw is doing a card trick for some sailors, who are astounded that when they call out the seven of clubs, that’s what they pull out of the deck. But she shows Indy how she does it — by forcing the card on them, without them realizing. “I offer the feeling of choice, but I ultimately make you pick the one I want,” she explains, with a wry grin.

After 40 years and change, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny releases into a world where there’s more stuff than ever to watch, but somehow it feels like we have less choice, less chance of discovery. It is our moment in history — an artifact of what it was to be alive right now. When the historians of the future look back, I have to wonder what they’ll see, and thus who, in the end, they’ll think we really were.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is playing in theaters worldwide.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

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Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, director James Mangold and more from the cast of 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' discuss favorite memories from the set. Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, director James Mangold and more from the cast of 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' discuss favorite memories from the set. Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, director James Mangold and more from the cast of 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' discuss favorite memories from the set.

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You Can Now Preorder All of the Indiana Jones Scores on Vinyl

Don't miss out on this incredible john williams collection..

John Williams' Indiana Jones scores are some of the most memorable in film history, and now you can own the music from all five movies on vinyl. It's available as one limited-edition box set (with a steep price tag of $299.98), or you can pick and choose from the individual movies (though you'll miss out on some of the fancy extras in the box set). Let's dive in.

Indiana Jones Vinyl Soundtracks Are Up for Preorder

Indiana Jones: The Complete Collection

• Raiders of the Lost Ark - $29.99
• Temple of Doom - $29.99
• The Last Crusade - $29.99
• The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $29.99

The box set is the coolest package, if you can absorb the cost. Alongside the vinyls – there are 2 for each film, complete with cover art on the jacket representing their respective films – this collection also comes with a poster for each movie, a collectible map, and a collectible filing case to keep everything stored in. It's set to release on September 6 this year, so you don't have to wait too long for it.

If you'd rather pick and choose which vinyls to get – let's say, hypothetically, you just want the first three – you can buy the soundtracks for the first four Indy movies individually. Curiously, the stand-alone vinyl soundtrack for The Dial of Destiny is not available at the time of this writing.

If you're a film buff, this is a fantastic investment for your record collection. You can never go wrong with music from John Williams. And if you want even more Indy, the release of the Indiana Jones game is still to come this year! While Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn't have a release date yet , it appears it's still aiming for a 2024 launch, so fingers crossed we don't have to wait too long for it. And hopefully its music is just as good as it is in the films.

If you're looking to get your hands on even more vinyl, we've got a couple of great picks available to preorder right now from the IGN Store. Releasing sometime in October is the Metal Gear Solid vinyl collection , which features 53 tracks from the series, including absolute banger "Snake Eater". There's also two Hitman original soundtrack vinyls available to preorder - Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money - from the IGN Store, which are estimated to release in November.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

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32 Great Movies John Williams Composed The Score For

John Williams is a national treasure.

What do all-time great sci-fi movies like Star Wars and Jurassic Park , the Harry Potter film franchise, and quite a few Best Picture winners have in common? If you guessed they are all considered some of the best films of all time, you’d technically be correct, but that’s not the answer we’re looking for. If you guessed they all feature tremendous scores composed by John Williams , you’re in for a real treat. Below is a list of 32 great movies featuring the work of the Academy Award-winning composer, including several of his collaborations with Steven Spielberg .

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

It is hard to imagine a world in which anyone but John Williams composed the Star Wars score, and luckily, we don’t have to experience that dark reality. His score, which won him an Oscar, brings so much pomp and circumstance to George Lucas ’ epic space opera, and it all starts with the brilliant and iconic “Main Title” sequence. But the real crown jewel is the “Binary Sunset” moment as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) ponders his future.

Jaws (1975)

Steven Spielberg ’s Jaws is still considered one of the best movies of all time nearly 50 years after its release, and the legendary blockbuster is made even better thanks to John Williams’ score, which earned the composer an Oscar. The simple yet effective opening theme, with its pounding piano and orchestration, sets the stage for what’s to come spectacularly in addition to providing one of cinema’s scariest moments .

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

In addition to kicking off the Indiana Jones franchise , Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark also features one of John Williams’ most well-known tracks: the “Raiders March.” It’s hard not to see Harrison Ford ’s beloved character swinging, swashbuckling, and fighting Nazis whenever this composition comes on.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Though composers like Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat would go on to provide the music for later films in the franchise,  John Williams kicked things off with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone . Several of the songs featured in Chris Columbus ’ 2001 fantasy film have gone on to become some of Williams’ most popular tracks, including “Hedwig’s Theme.”

Jurassic Park (1993)

The Jurassic Park score, which features some of John Williams' best work, is a tour de force that captures a range of feelings, much like the 1993 dinosaur movie it accompanies. Essentially every track is noteworthy, especially the triumphant main theme and the more subdued “Welcome to Jurassic Park,” which plays during the movie’s more emotional moments.

Schindler's List (1993)

Just like director Steven Spielberg, John Williams pulled double-duty in 1993 with the releases of the huge movies Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List , which would go on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The violin in the score’s main theme adds a great deal of weight and emotion to this brilliant yet harrowing Holocaust drama.

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Home Alone (1990)

In 1990, John Williams got the opportunity to write a score for one of the best Christmas movies of all time, Home Alone , which allowed him to create some of the best tracks of his career. From the outstanding title sequence to the poignant “Somewhere in My Memory,” the compositions hit you right in the heart. Oh, and let’s not forget the epic “Setting the Traps” sequence.

Superman (1978)

The main title march in Richard Donner’s Superman is not only one of John Williams’ best creations, but it’s also in the running for one of the best superhero movie songs ever. It’s so triumphant, pure, and magical. Not even kryptonite could slow this track down. 

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace may not be high up in our S tar Wars rankings , but George Lucas’ 1999 prequel did give us the epic “ Duel of the Fates ” track that plays during the film’s final lightsaber fight. The instrumentals are one thing, but the resounding performance from the London Voices is so good you have to let the Sequel Trilogy’s transgressions go.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

A movie that should have won Best Picture , Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan featured another superb collaboration between the director and John Williams. The beloved composer starts with the wonderfully constructed “Hymn to the Fallen,” which carries weight and sounds similar to Aaron Copland’s iconic “ Fanfare for the Common Man .”

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Few movies capture the awe and innocence of childhood better than Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and a lot of that has to do with John Williams’ lights-out score. Like, can you imagine the bicycle escape sequence without his composition blaring in the background as Elliott (Henry Thomas) and E.T. fly past the moon?

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

In addition to being considered the best sequel of all time, The Empire Strikes Back also gave the universe one of the franchise’s most recognizable and menacing tracks, “The Imperial March.” In the 40-plus years since the film’s release, John Williams’ additions to the Star Wars score, including “Yoda’s Theme,” have become major parts of the beloved series.

Born Of The Fourth Of July (1989)

Oliver Stone ’s heartbreaking chronicling of the life of Ron Kovic ( Tom Cruise ) in Born on the Fourth of July is made all the more impactful by John Williams’ masterful score. At times beautiful and others gutting, the compositions, like the movie they accompany, perfectly capture the emotions of an idealistic man reborn after being discarded by his country.

Lincoln (2012)

The subtle, somber, and sentimental tones of John Williams’ Lincoln score helped make the 2012 drama about the passage of the 13th Amendment all the more impactful. There are some loud moments, but the soundtrack is carried by those slower and quiet segments, which make the film one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies .

Oliver Stone’s 1991 conspiracy/legal drama, JFK , gave us one of John Williams’ best scores up to that point in his career, which is saying a lot considering everything he had done up to that point. There’s a combination of genres featured throughout the soundtrack that add weight and prestige to this twist-filled thriller.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

John Williams’ score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind , a movie that came six months after Star Wars changed the industry, features a lot of the composer’s touchstones, including increasingly intricate anticipatory tracks that build to loud and triumphant orchestrations that hit with so much weight. And then there’s the “Wild Signals” moment when humans and aliens interact.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

One of the best 2000s movies , Catch Me If You Can also features some of John Williams’ finest work of the 21st century. This is especially true when it comes to the enchanting title sequence with its mid-century animations and an almost jazz-infused orchestration. The rest of the movie about con artist Frank Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) is great, but this opening number is the stuff of art.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

In the early 1970s, John William provided the score for The Poseidon Adventure , an incredible disaster film about a capsized ship and a group of passengers as they attempt to reach safety. Just like Gene Hackman’s performance, Williams’ compositions are outstanding throughout the movie.

War Of The Worlds (2005)

When it came time for Steven Spielberg to adapt War of the Worlds into a terrifying big-budget sci-fi thriller, it had to be John Williams sitting in the composer’s chair. The film’s terrifying moments, as well as its more emotional sequences, are made all the better thanks to Williams’ touch.

The Fabelmans (2022)

One of the best movies of 2022 , Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, The Fabelmans , was an outstanding addition to the filmmaker’s rich filmography, and his most personal film in years. And who accompanied Spielberg on this journey through his formative years? Well, none other than John Williams.

Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005)

Rob Marshall’s 2005 period drama, Memoirs of a Geisha , may not be the first movie to come to mind when discussing John Williams scores, but this Academy Award winner does feature some great compositions from the legendary composer. The opening track, “Sayuri’s Theme,” named after Zhang Ziyi’s character, combines the East and West to create a unique and sonically pleasing experience.

Fiddler On The Roof (1972)

Considered one of the best movie musicals , Fiddler on the Roof is an epic everyone should enjoy at least once in their life. The story, performances, and production design are all incredible, as is John Williams’ adaptation of the Broadway hit’s wonderful score.

Munich (2005)

Steven Spielberg’s 2005 historical drama, Munich , which dramatized the Mossad assassinations in the fallout of the 1972 Munich Massacre, was another one of the filmmaker’s movies to feature the work of John Williams. The orchestrations, combined with the use of the “wailing woman” singing technique added a heightened sense of drama and urgency to the film’s more intense moments.

Amistad (1997)

John Williams’ work on Steven Spielberg’s 1997 drama, Amistad , a movie that centered on a legal battle after a group of slaves take control of a ship before being recaptured, was enough to earn him another Oscar nomination. However, he would lose out to the powerhouse that was Titanic .

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)

Goodbye, Mr. Chips , Herbert Ross’ 1969 musical starring Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark, is one of John Williams’ earlier films, as well as one that would serve as a taste of what was to come for the composer in the decades that followed.

The Adventures Of Tintin (2011)

In 2011, Steven Spielberg gave the world The Adventures of Tintin , an animated adventure film based on the long-running comic series of the same name. There to help add to the sense of wonder and action found throughout this gem of a movie was John Williams, whose score elevates the story to the next level.

War Horse (2011)

Just like they did in 1993, Steven Spielberg and John Williams teamed up twice in 2011, a collaboration that included War Horse . This remarkable World War I movie has a little bit of everything, including moving instrumentals from the famed composer.

Far And Away (1992)

Ron Howard’s epic drama, Far and Away , follows a couple (played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) as they leave their native Ireland behind for a chance at a better life in America. The journey is made all the more emotional and adventurous thanks to John Williams and his unforgettable score, one filled with all types of music and movements. 

Empire Of The Sun (1987)

An ‘80s movie that doesn’t get enough love , Empire of the Sun has everything that makes a Steven Spielberg movie great: a wonderful cast led by a young Christian Bale, epic action, emotional drama, and a phenomenal John Williams score. It’s really worth seeking out.

The Long Goodbye (1973)

In 1973, John Williams worked with Robert Altman on the satirical neo-noir crime film, The Long Goodbye , a movie starring Elliott Gould as a private detective who gets wrapped up in the murder of a friend’s wife. Adding intrigue and mystery to this film is Williams’ impressive score.

The Sugarland Express (1974)

The Sugarland Express features a great dramatic turn from Goldie Hawn as a woman who convinces her husband to break out of prison so they can find and retrieve their young son before he can be placed in foster care. The movie was Steven Spielberg’s feature film directorial debut, as well as his first time working with John Williams.

Minority Report (2002)

In 2002, John Williams worked with both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise on the sci-fi thriller, Minority Report . This dark yet fun score features some great work by the Oscar-winning composer, including the optimistic closing number, “A New Beginning.”

Though we don’t know if we’ll ever hear another new John Williams soundtrack after the composer hinted that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may be his final film score , at least we have decades and dozens of movies to revisit for years to come.

Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop barking at the mailman, or chatting about professional wrestling to his wife. Writing gigs with school newspapers, multiple daily newspapers, and other varied job experiences led him to this point where he actually gets to write about movies, shows, wrestling, and documentaries (which is a huge win in his eyes). If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.

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