So yes, my son and I went to see the new, and last movie in the Indiana Jones franchise: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Of course, like many other people my age, I grew up with the Indiana Jones movies. Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first movie in the franchise, was one of the very first movies I ever saw in the theaters. It was either that, Popeye, or Annie. Those were the very first movie in theater experiences of my then young life. I remember enjoying the movie, even though the scene where they all melt after opening the Ark scared me enough that I felt the need to cover my eyes, until my mom told me it was okay to open them again.
Then there were the other two movies which came out in the eighties, which solidified - some might suggest immortalized - Indiana Jones as a hero. I enjoyed those movies as well, obviously. And like many other kids, I collected some of the comics (not many, admittedly), and toys (at least the Kenner line from the first movie), although these were relatively rare, and not particularly popular (I got mine at the Odd Lot, which as a discount chain, generally did not offer prominent name brands for things as a general rule.
In any case, yes, I was a fan. Still am. So it was a given that I would make every effort to go ad see tis particular movie. Frankly, it still seems amazing to me that I could go and take my son to see an actual Indiana Jones movie in the summer of 2023, over forty years after my parents took me to see that first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
So of course, the question is how is :The Dial of Destiny"?
Having read and watched videos of many of the reviews, it is clear that there is a very wide and diverse range of opinions about the movie. More or less, they are split between positive and negative.
The thing is, it seems to me that many of these people see only the good, or only the bad, which itself seems like a reflection of our society these days. For me, it was kind of a mixture of both good and bad. There were things that I liked, and some things which I definitely did not like. That said, I will not get into details just yet, since this is my spoiler-free review.
Without getting into details, let me just say this: the de-aging part was the most action-packed, as it marked a return for a younger Indiana Jones, who is in Germany at the end of World War II. Yes, I enjoyed this part, although it felt...well, very dark. I know, I know, they kind of had to keep it all in the shadows, to make the de-aging process work better. But the dark did not fully work for me, and admittedly, knowing about the de-aging process ahead of time - this was something that they clearly made a big deal about - was actually a distraction from what was going on up on the screen. It should have been exciting, but somehow, I was too focused on how convincing (or not) this de-aged Harrison Ford looked. It is doubtful that I was the only one.
After that, well....okay, I will admit to finding it a little depressing. Yeah, I know, that's not exactly a review in any real sense. And I also cannot go into any details. But what I will say is that this version of Indiana Jones bore little resemblance to the one I grew up on. No, I'm not going to suggest that this movie "ruined my childhood," which is a common refrain from fans who really need to get out more. That said, this also did not feel like the old Indiana Jones. It was not as fun and easy to enjoy a movie as the old installments of Indiana Jones.
That said, it is not a horrible movie. In fact, it has some strengths. Some people may very well enjoy it, possibly all of it. But it has some flaws, and some major ones, at that. And yes, these detract from the movie, in all honesty.
Yet, it is not the disaster that some say it is, either. It is an Indiana Jones movie, and there are some fun parts to it. Just don't expect a movie on the level of the classic installments of the eighties. It has some of the same problems that the movies in the new Star Wars trilogy had, and my guess is that fans will (and have) had the same kind of mixed reaction that those movies evoked. It will probably be more or less put alongside the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" as the older Indiana Jones movies, the ones that were not nearly as good. Again, though, this movie is not a complete disaster. Just go into it with measured expectations, and realize that the "old magic" was a thing that the original movies had, but which this one does not quite get.
So again, not a horrific catastrophe, but also not easily one of the great Indiana Jones movies. It will serve some fan nostalgia, and detract from others. A movie very much of these times.
Indiana Jones 5’ Underwhelms With $70 Million at International Box Office, ‘Spider-Verse’ Hits $600 Million Globally by Rebecca Rubin, Jul 2, 2023:
https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/indiana-jones-dial-of-destiny-international-box-office-misfire-1235660093/?fbclid=IwAR28GioUq0XErPgpFy7VAZXIaHoI3f453QdgkFnUJZR3l76Pz3Fj5t4bEDQ
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY - Movie Review deepfocuslens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_HIIxbcGaM
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Spoiler-Free Movie Review
No comments:
Post a Comment