Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Early Buzz: A Fitting Farewell For Indy

For over four decades, Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones has served as the greatest adventurer in all of American cinema. The time has now come for ol' Indy to hang up his pinch-front fedora, but not before one last adventure. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year, with the fifth film in the franchise posed to be the swan song for the pop culture icon. The film follows Indiana Jones in a race against time to obtain a fabled dial that can change history.

Indy is joined by his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) on his mission, as their quest to retrieve the dial puts them in the crosshairs of Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi working for NASA who has his own plans for the dial. Lest we forget: "Indiana Jones" movies are about action and adventure, but most importantly, they're about kicking Nazi ass.

The film takes place around the time of the return of Apollo 11 from the moon landing, which means "Dial of Destiny" takes place roughly 12 years since the events of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (a movie that we all have collectively chosen to forget happened). This final film will also feature flashback scenes from previous timelines, with Ford de-aged to look like the spry hero of yesteryear as well as the grizzled old veteran he is today.

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" just had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and based on what those in attendance are saying, director James Mangold has given our beloved hero a fitting farewell.

Clayton Davis, Senior Awards Editor at Variety, gave an enthusiastic reaction to the film, tweeting out, "Redemption! James Mangold redeems Indiana Jones with 'Dial Of Destiny'" — a gentle reminder that "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was less than well-received. Davis called the film "a farewell to one of the greatest movie characters in cinema history," and says it features everything that makes the character great. Alex Ritman of The Hollywood Reporter kept it simple, saying "Well, I really liked 'Indiana Jones.'" 

The Radio Times has already published their full review of the film, describing it as "a little safe," but noting that "it's an enjoyable, old-school action-adventure with more weight than 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.'" Harrison Ford was apparently given a six-minute standing ovation following the film's premiere, but as we've stated on /Film before, that's not necessarily a reflection of quality.

Total Films James Mottram gave "Dial of Destiny," 4 out of 5 stars, with the capsule judgment of "a highly satisfying blend of action, [humor], and emotion." The link to their review is here, but be warned, there seem to be major spoilers. IndieWire chief film critic David Ehrlich tweeted out, "'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny:' At long last I know what became of Mutt Williams. I can finally be at peace." He's obviously having a bit of fun mentioning Shia LaBeouf's character from "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," but maybe he's serious. Maybe there's a "Poochie died on the way back to his home planet" throwaway line about him somewhere?

The reviews haven't been universally positive, with Irish Times Culture writing, "Nobody with a brain in their heads will compare 'Dial of Destiny' [favorably] to the first three films" in their review. Harsh. Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post says, "With some throwbacks, 'Dial of Destiny' feels like an old-school Indy romp [...] as it tries to capture the rollicking spirit of the originals. Full disclosure, I chopped out some information from that quote, because their review is also filled with spoilers. Click through at your own risk.

Feedback seems to be varied across the board, which is honestly exciting for a film of this caliber. Ultimately, it seems like your mileage will vary with "Dial of Destiny" depending on your love of the franchise, but the news out of Cannes is that Harrison Ford was choking back tears as the audience delivered their thunderous applause. If a movie is powerful enough to make the man who played both Han Solo and Indiana Jones cry, that's a movie worth seeing.

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" slides into theaters on June 30, 2023.