Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny: Harrison Ford’s man in the hat says a fitting farewell

Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny (M, 155mins) Directed by James Mangold ***½

Lately he hasn’t been kind to Professor Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford).

The death of his son has led to a divorce – and now a divorce is coming – from his wife Marion (Karen Allen) and he is struggling to get students to participate in his archeology course at New York’s Hunter College, as the late 1960s looms.

Of course he’s had some adventures, but after being shot six times, hearing voodoo and drinking Kali’s blood, “everything hurts” and he’s playing bowls on one knee and some bandages.

Now facing retirement with a mixture of relief and dread, Indiana’s self-singing self is thrown into disarray when goddaughter Helena “Wombat” Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) walks back into his life.

Claiming to be studying medicine, he asks “Indy” about the skills he and his late father Basil (Toby Jones) acquired at the hands of the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Believing others to have magical powers, Antikythera – or Archimedes’ call – became Basil’s obsession. At first, Helena tries to convince Indy to return to the French Alps where his father says he lost them.

“You can go out with a bang – the ultimate win,” he says.

“Why are you chasing the thing that drove your father crazy?” comes a quick, but useless answer.

However, they all know that Antikythera did not return to Europe. Instead, Indy took it away at Basil’s request – promising to destroy the half he had, lest it fall into the wrong hands.

He is the only one who didn’t follow and now not only Helena is looking for it, but a familiar face from 25 years ago, who believes that he knows how to find all the relics and use his powers to right the wrongs of the past.

What is one thing about this third is that it seems – this time – the final swansong of the “man with the hat” is getting better.

If The Last Crusade and the original Raiders of the Lost Ark are still the high points of the quintet, then this is a more appropriate send-off than the disappointing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (which debuted 15 years ago).

Although those who were intrigued by the film’s use of a refrigerator to survive a nuclear explosion should be warned that the best things await here, there is plenty of fun to be had in the gameplay, especially when Ford leans into danger. – and his old age.

Yes, it seems to be very successful, as Indy is an international company from America to North Africa and the Mediterranean participating in Fast and Furious Bond-ing with all kinds of transportation equipment from horses to tuktuks, boats, motorcycles. , planes, trains and cars. Sometimes, everything takes a break.

And for a film about mathematics (after using it to conquer space, one man now believes it will help solve another problem in humanity), Dial of Destiny feels very structured.

Naturally there’s the quest for the MacGuffin (the main one here looks suspiciously like the inner workings of a 20th Century artefact – a CD player – rather than a 3rd Century BC one), the boilerplate conflict between Indy and his great traveling companion (although thankfully it’s very different and well done on Raiders or the Temple of Doom), caves full of reptiles and a group of Nazis.

As was the case with the KGB queen of the Empire Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), at least here it is led by an unforgettable person as the scientist Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale). And while the plot is predictable, there are enough twists and turns to keep the audience hooked, as this rollercoaster ride heads into the Final Countdown.

Yes, the director James Mangold (who also works as one of the four writers) has no Steven Spielberg (who directed the previous four seasons) touch, there is no same touch or techniques that Mangold made with Logan and the events. -the big initial setup with a lot of use of Ford and less CGI makes you feel like the series has lost a little of the life that the original trilogy and all its “actions” had, but they give Indy a shot. Qualified shipping fans should be satisfied with it.

Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny is now showing in theaters nationwide.