It’s been a long time since the archeology students of
Dr. Henry (Indiana) Jones, Jr., reprised by Harrison Ford, paid so much
attention to him in the lecture hall. In the first movie of this now-five film
franchise, one of them even wrote “love you” on her eyelids. That was in the
1940s, and we get a flashback to that time with Indiana kidnapped by his old
enemies, the Nazis, and then his exciting escape with his friend, Basil Shaw,
played by Toby Jones. Just like in the first film, they were looking for the
Ark of the Covenant because Hitler wanted its power, in this flashback, they
are looking for something almost as epic, a compass-like dial from the Ancient
Greek scientist/mathematician Archimedes.
However, now this movie takes place in the summer of
the first moon landing, 1969, and Indy is grumpy at his retirement party
(which, strangely, happens before the end of the semester, despite his just
having told his bored students what will be on their final, but fine).
Basil’s daughter Helena, played by Phoebe
Waller-Bridge, surprises Indy, who has not seen her since she was a child. Her father’s
obsession with Archimedes’ dial ended his life. However, Helena is now looking
for it too, as is a Nazi officer, played by Mads Mikkelsen, who, like Werhner
von Bron, was brought to America instead of tried for war crimes, because his
scientific knowledge was important to the development of the space program.
Just like the third and fourth films, we get just
enough about what is going on with Indiana to add some emotional moments to
every action scene. We learn why he separated from Marion, played by Karen
Allen. We learn about his relationship with Basil and Helena and some regrets
he may feel about all three of them. We also reunite with some characters from the
previous films, including the favorite Sallah, reprised by John Rhys-Davies,
and his family. There are some callbacks to the previous films, and of course
one of the fall-time classic John Williams movie scores, guaranteed to excite
everyone. Are there snakes? Just watch the film to see.
There are lots of action. Nell Minow said in her
review, “The opening chase scene on and on top of a train is everything we hope
for in an Indiana Jones movie, witty, exciting, well-paced. Director James
Mangold (“Logan,” “Walk the Line”) ably takes over for Steven Spielberg, with
inventive stunts making the most of the props and settings. One under-water
section is not as effective as the high-speed chases. There are some poor and
tonally inconsistent choices about outcomes for some characters and a switch of
allegiance that is not adequately supported by the storyline. There is an
un-earned death of a character that takes us out of the film and it takes a
leap near the end that did not always work for me. But we’re there to see
Harrison Ford, with hat and whip, dazzle us with his action scenes and pure
star power, and that is more valuable than an ancient treasure.”
I’ll let everyone know that the film has extended danger
and action-style violence, with characters injured and killed. There are
references to the sad death of an adult son in the military due to a
preoccupation that took over his life. Characters use strong language and drink
alcohol.
I know that people may not think very highly of this
movie, but I think this movie will be liked better than “Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull.” I might think this is better than that and “Temple of Doom.” Just see
the movie and judge for yourself. If you’re a fan of Indiana Jones, then you
should give this one a chance. Don’t listen to what people are saying. You
should see the movie because I think it is good and people should like this
one. Antonio Banderas is in this movie and Ethann Isidore is also in here as another Short Round type character. As the final film of the franchise, this is a fitting end.
Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay
tuned tomorrow for the continuation of “Disney Month 2023.”
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