The Strange Case of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

contain absolutely nothing of substance. There are two separate city action sequences in two different cities, they are completely the same visually and hardly advance the plot. This repetitive monotony permeates the film.

Does a film ever leave you speechless? Not necessarily in a stunned, amazed kind of way, more so in a “what on earth did I just watch?” kind of way. When I walked out of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” that surreal confusion was the only thing I could muster well after the credits rolled. By no means is “Dial of Destiny” a terrible film, but it sure is a baffling one.

If there’s one issue with this movie, it’s the runtime. Most Indiana Jones movies hardly scrape past 2 hours, yet “Dial of Destiny” decides to go for an outrageous 2 and a half hours. While 30 minutes may not feel like much, these 30 extra minutes

We go around and visit bland, yet somewhat fun locations for a massive portion of the film with no meaningful progress. While the story would have felt crisp and well-paced at 2 hours, the extra runtime ensures that each idea is properly beaten into the ground. Despite this, there are still droplets of condensed fun still lingering in the depths of this film. Halfway through a scene, Harrison Ford might do something fun, there might be something visually engaging, something that gives you the breath of adventure that the “Indiana Jones” franchise had in spades. For the most part. It’s a redundant, but watchable film.

I can already see some people assuming Phoebe Waller-Bridges and her character, Indie’s goddaughter, ruined the film. However, Phoebe was an excellent addition to the cast once they stopped trying to make her motives mysterious. She could easily carry her own action-adventure film and the outcome would have been much better. However, Phoebe’s chemistry was great with Harrison Ford. Speaking of which, Harrison Ford seems incredibly tired throughout most of the film, but shines in a few great scenes. I felt nervous seeing him on screen because it genuinely seems like one fall could take him out. This is where things get weird. With minimal spoilers, the final act of this film is absolutely off-the-walls insane. Does it work for an Indiana

Jones movie? Not in a million years, but the shock of seeing where the climax goes was one of the funniest experiences I’ve had with a movie in a long time. It’s silly and entertaining enough to elevate the movie in some strange way, after being deprived of any stimulation for roughly 2 hours.

All in all, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is a fine movie about fine characters doing fine things. It’s a whole, apathetic shrug of a film until it goes absolutely off the rails, giving Indiana Jones a bizarrely fitting last hurrah. Unfortunately, no ending could possibly have beaten Dr. Jones riding off into the sunset in “The Last Crusade.” entertainment.ed@ocolly.com