Movie: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) Caution Spoiler Alerts

 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Came out; 2023

Time; 2 hr 34 min

Watched: Disney Plus

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

IMDB Rating; 6.6/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena

Antonio Banderas as Renaldo

Karen Allen as Marion

Shaunette Renee Wilson as Mason

John Rhys-Davies as Sallah

Toby Jones as Basil Shaw

Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Voller

Story Line.

Experience the return of legendary hero, Indiana Jones, in the fifth installment of this beloved swashbuckling series of films. Finding himself in a new era, approaching retirement, Indy wrestles with fitting into a world that seems to have outgrown him. But as the tentacles of an all-too-familiar evil return in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Thoughts:

This was ok. It was definitely better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but not the best.

I was rather confused on the story line with this. What year were we supposed to be in? Too many storylines within one storyline and I wasn't sure what was up or down.

It was typical Indiana Jones fashion where a strange object was thrown in the mix and needed to be found. The action was ok but the adventure was just right.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

The movie begins during WW2 on a train heading towards the French Alps and a young Indiana Jones and a British archaeologist called Basil Shaw are captured by a bunch of Nazi Germans who want to get their hands on the time dial, made by Archimedes. It is revealed that one of them, a man called Jurgen Voller has found half of the dial, but lacks the other. Indiana Jones eventually manages to escape after freeing Basil and the duo manages to get the half-dial and jump from the train just before it gets derailed.

In the future:

Indy is now retired and his wife, Marion has left him and their son died in the Vietnam war, which Indy grieves over. Soon after, the now deceased Basils daughter, Indys Goddaughter Helena Shaw pays him a visit and encourages him to find the other half of the dial as one last big adventure.

Some college architects hand Indy and Helena the half-dial, but they are chased down by Jurgens accomplices. Jurgen now works for NASA as "Dr Schmidt" and Helena is revealed to be an antiques dealer. Unfortunately, the CIA frame Indy for killing two of his colleagues. Indy escapes an apollo 11 parade and finds his old buddy Sallah, who now works as a taxi driver. Sallah tells Indy that he thinks Helena is likely to sell the dial in an auction and he should keep an eye on her.

In Tangier, it is revealed that Sallah was right, because Helena attempts to sell the half of the dial in a private auction. Indy stops Helena from illegally selling the dial, but Voller and his gang arrive at the hotel and steal it. The following day, Voller and his henchmen try to escape, but Indy, Helena and a teenage boy they are travelling with, named Teddy Kumar chase them down in a Tuk-tuk. The CIA rejects helping Voller, but he and the other Nazis kill the CIA agents and ransack their helicopter.

Now in Greece, the heroic trio meet up with a man named Renaldo (an old friend of Indys) and he helps them go underwater to search for the other half of the dial, helped by the plans of Basil Shaw. Indy and Helena dive into the Aegean Sea and find a wrecked ship and retrieve a tablet, which reveals clues as to where the second half is located. Unfortunately, Voller arrives at the boat and kills Renaldo and Indys group escape and head for Italy.

In Sicily, Indy and Helena head for the "Ear of Dinoysius", where Archimedes tomb is located. Once Indy and Helena have climbed up the rocks and find Archimedes tomb, they grab the second half of the dial, but notice a 20th century wristwatch on his skeleton. Suddenly, Jurgen and his henchmen appear and strike a blow on Indy, wounding him, before capturing him and Helena and Teddy go after him.

Voller reassembles the Dial, putting the two pieces together and tells Indy that he plans to travel back to 1939, Assassinate Hitler and lead Germany to WW2 victory. At an old airfield, Voller uses the dial to create a time fissure in the sky and Indy, who is tied up in the stolen plane, Helena is a stowaway and Teddy follows in behind, in another plane. Just before Voller, Indy and the henchmen fly through the fissure, Indy warns Voller about how continental drift could have an impact on time travel and instead of 1939, the plane flies into 212 BC, during the Siege of Syracuse. The armies on the ground believe the plane is a dragon and and start firing at it. Indy and Helena eventually parachute out of the plane, just before one of the gunshots hit the plane, causing it to come crashing to the ground, bursting into flames, melting the faces of Voller and the henchmen and killing them. Teddy then lands his plane safely on the ground.

All of a sudden, Archimedes comes across Vollers dead body and wristwatch in the flames and wreckage, before walking up to Indy and hands him the dial, telling him that he created it to bring people from the future back to the Siege of Syracuse to help them in the battle. As the fissure starts to close, Helena tells Indy that he has to go, but Indy wants to stay behind. Helena fears a paradox in time and doesn't want to give Indy up, so she knocks him unconscious.

Back in 1969, Indy wakes up in his bed, where he sees Helena, Teddy, Sallah as well as his wife, Marion and the two hug each other, for a happy ending.