Rent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Highly Entertaining Final Indiana Jones films with great de-aged Nazi opening scenes but OTT CGI - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review by PV

This starts brilliantly - the way they de-age the 79-year old Harrison Ford and other characters is amazing really. The great Mads Mikkelsen is much younger of course.

This is a return to form for the final film after the dreadful Crystal Skull. The only one with no direct Spielberg involvement though the first script was written by David Koepp who adapted Jurassic Park for the screen in 1993, then British Butterworths and the US director reviewed/rewrote it. And it is well-written - with some great gags.

Some class British actors here, Toby Jones and John Rhys-David - Welsh-born English-raised Brit who plays an Egyptian as in the first Indian films - so glad they ignored the usual woke squealing demands for 'authentic casting. Glad they TRIED ACTING instead. These Indians films are full of British talent always. Alexei Sayle is in The LAst Crusade as is Mr Bronson from 1980s TV kids show Grange Hill, as Adolf Hitler (Michael Sheard).

The weak point is Phoebe WB whose face and manner just makes me cringe always - thanks to a very posh privileged background and no doubt top connections, she's managed to use a mediocre sitcom (i watched 10 minutes then switched off) into a launching pad to cowrite the last (dreadful) Bond movie and now a starring role in this. Metoo has a lot to answer for...

It is all exciting, fast-paced - sometimes too much, I had to rewind and watch again to catch dialogue (even with subtitles on).

And to be honest, I yearn for the pre-CGI days when movies were made with REAL things, not in digital - some scenes here are pure computer game, which is shame, BUT at least they do film on location, with Glasgow standing in for New York...

The story if riddled with of plot holes and unlikely coincidences BUT so was The Third Man - and so what? It is utter hokum and knows it!

The Archimedes thing is pure fiction too BUT now the artefact - one was found in a shipwreck around 1901 off Greece. "The Antikythera mechanism is an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery (model of the Solar System), described as the oldest known example of an analogue computer[1][2][3] used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance." HOWEVER, in real life it does not offer a time slip feature...

I enjoyed this and sort of wish I'd seen in in the cinema on a big screen - it is that kind of ride. And I loved the nasty Nazis!

SO 4 stars, despite the down sides - better than I thought after seeing some negative sniffy reviews, and Harrison Ford does FINE even at almost 80!

Entertaining If Average Adventure - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review by GI

The fifth film in this popular series is one of those that you can sit back in your seat and be entertained by seeing something familiar and yet once you've left the cinema you realise it's all rather forgettable and lightweight. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is back fighting the Nazis, firstly in a lengthy prologue where Ford is de-aged (rather well I thought) as he attempts to grab the film's 'macguffin', a clockwork thingamajig that was made by the ancient philosopher Archimedes and can predict time portals or something or other! Anyway there's the big baddie played with menace by Mads Mikkelsen who wants it for his own nefarious purposes. After some extended action sequences that go on just a tad too long we jump to 1969 and Jones is now a grumpy 80 year old who is forced by his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to go hunting for the other half of this device before the baddie gets it. This cues some globe trotting, fist fights, chases and eventually we get some dark mysterious cave adventures that is true 'Raiders', you know with creepy crawlies and signs made by ancients that only Indy can read etc etc, and what we've all been waiting for but it's too little too late. The ending is way over the top and, if you're like me, you'll will probably mutter OFFS or similar, because it's utter nonsense. Overall, it's a big, fast paced adventure film certainly better than the previous one but nowhere near the first or the third and Ford, who carries the film, does a good job. It was particularly lovely to see Karen Allen make a short comeback too. Not the best Indy film and certainly not the worst but an OK one.

Great Fun - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny review by sb

FILM & REWATCH Really enjoyed this in the cinema but since then it seems to have fallen out of favour. Although it made several hundred million dollars it cost so much plus all the marketing meant Disney took a $100m loss - and a lot of the reviews were quite sniffy. But watching it again I still really enjoyed it. Loved the opening sequence where Mangold takes you straight into the action and the de?-aging is much better than other examples. Liked the jump to July 1969 with Ford as the embittered retired prof with nothing to live for and energised by PWB as Helena with her more grafting take on events . Sure Ford is way too old for the part but he brings a quiet dignity to role and does acknowledge all the aches and pains. The central two are very good together with PWB bringing a freshness to the franchise. It’s got more than enough thrills’n’spills and globe trotting to keep it rattling along and Mads avoids too much scenery chewing as the obligatory mad Nazi. Ok the film does flag a bit towards the end and the whole Archimedes bit is the films weakest element but as the final entry it’s loads better than the awful Crystal Skull and does give Indy a final rousing send off - 4/5