I'm not an enormous Indiana Jones fan. It's always been a second-rate James Bond helmed by a first-rate director. Raiders, the first and unquestionably most beloved entry in the franchise, struck me as two thirds of a great film, and then a dull third act where Indy gets captured and the villains kill themselves. Last Crusade was the same, but better. Crystal Skull was the same, but far worse. Temple of Doom was the most unique, a dark descent into a vivid and rather racist hell climaxing in a symphony of violent thrills, and it stands as my favourite. I didn't come into Dial of Destiny with stratospheric expectations, and neither should you, except maybe the hope that it's an improvement over Skull.
On that front I am happy to report that it is. Yet Mangold is no Spielberg, regardless of how good Logan was, and the blocking and camera work of the latter is terribly missed, especially in the opening action scene that on paper reads so much like classic Indiana Jones adventure but in reality plays like a Captain America set piece. Mangold often needs three shots to communicate what Spielberg could do in one. That isn't so bad when the action is brightly lit and well photographed, like with two exciting chase scenes in New York and Tangier, but it's a bigger problem during the opening and climatic action set pieces where so much of what is happening can only be glimpsed through night and fog. Otherwise, a clear step up from the last film. Compared to the original trilogy, Dial of Destiny is cast in a less flattering light.
The biggest problem is the script. It has vestigial, necrotic plot elements from earlier drafts in its narrative body that put one in mind of the Disney Star Wars trilogy. Shaunette Renée Wilson's character, the Lance of Longinus, a certain character surviving a virtually unsurvivable injury in the prologue, the Moroccan baddies... all strangely superfluous. There's also a sense of missed opportunity. I know many will hate the climax for its outlandish nature, but personally I didn't think it went far enough. It's such a mesmerizing left turn it feels insulting when the writers put the car in reverse.
In the end, it's fine. I like that Indiana's age is acknowledged beyond wry dialogue, incorporating his vulnerabilities into the action. I like Mads Mikkelsen. I like Helena Shaw's kid sidekick and that the story acknowledges the existence of tourists for I think the first time in the whole saga.
It's fine.
On that front I am happy to report that it is. Yet Mangold is no Spielberg, regardless of how good Logan was, and the blocking and camera work of the latter is terribly missed, especially in the opening action scene that on paper reads so much like classic Indiana Jones adventure but in reality plays like a Captain America set piece. Mangold often needs three shots to communicate what Spielberg could do in one. That isn't so bad when the action is brightly lit and well photographed, like with two exciting chase scenes in New York and Tangier, but it's a bigger problem during the opening and climatic action set pieces where so much of what is happening can only be glimpsed through night and fog. Otherwise, a clear step up from the last film. Compared to the original trilogy, Dial of Destiny is cast in a less flattering light.
The biggest problem is the script. It has vestigial, necrotic plot elements from earlier drafts in its narrative body that put one in mind of the Disney Star Wars trilogy. Shaunette Renée Wilson's character, the Lance of Longinus, a certain character surviving a virtually unsurvivable injury in the prologue, the Moroccan baddies... all strangely superfluous. There's also a sense of missed opportunity. I know many will hate the climax for its outlandish nature, but personally I didn't think it went far enough. It's such a mesmerizing left turn it feels insulting when the writers put the car in reverse.
In the end, it's fine. I like that Indiana's age is acknowledged beyond wry dialogue, incorporating his vulnerabilities into the action. I like Mads Mikkelsen. I like Helena Shaw's kid sidekick and that the story acknowledges the existence of tourists for I think the first time in the whole saga.
It's fine.
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