Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was released some weeks ago and I must say that some of us were looking forward to the return of Indiana Jones. This film is the last one of the Indiana Jones saga which started with Raiders of the Lost Ark. I´m very fond of the character of Indiana Jones because it is related to my earliest cinema experiences and watching Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my most special memories, a film that I watched twice at the cinema. The saga went on with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – the film that I enjoyed the least – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The release of the new adventures of the archaeology professor – Henry Jones Junior, Indiana – caught us unawares, who would have thought of a new chapter after so long? The new film hasn´t been directed by Steven Spielberg, unlike the previous ones but I feel that it lives up to the expectations of someone who was a cinemagoer when they were first released. The film manages to pay tribute to the whole saga of the irreverent and charismatic archaeologist created by Steven Spielberg, an adventurer who is always caught in the fight between good and evil at some of the most dramatic periods of history. The film also pays attention to the concepts of friendship and family, reminding us that not only blood ties make family members but obviously, the strength of the film is its action-driven plot, full of amazing scenes which not only grab your attention but make you feel you are part of the story as if you were with Indi and the rest of the characters, facing the same dangers, risking your life in the same way they do, and that´s only possible thanks to the magic of the cinema and that´s probably why many members of the audience were clapping at the end of the performance at the cinema.
Here I cannot but remember the importance of the role played by the music created by John Williams, that wonderful soundtrack which is as much part of the plot as the script itself.
I have also loved the fact that the character of Marion Ravenwood played by Karen Allen appears at the end of the story – sorry, I hope I won´t be spoiling it – just a cameo, some would say, o rather, a reference to her performance in the first film as well as the fourth one.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge proves to be on a par with Harrison Ford in her outstanding performance as her goddaughter Helena Shaw – the daughter of Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), a close friend of Indiana – and the role of Teddy (Ethann Isidore ), the sidekick of Helena, reminds us of Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a character played by Ke Huy Quan, an actor who has won the Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actor in this year´s edition thanks to his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The recurrent presence of John Rhys-Davies as Sallah through most of the films of the saga is also a reminder that good friends are always there when you need them and you get the message because you can see that time has really gone by and that Indi and Sallah have grown old.
The making of this film contributes to the heated debate which is going on right now in relation to IA – artificial intelligence – and its use in the cinema as well in other industries or spheres of our 21st-century society. At the beginning of the story, Harrison Ford appears as the young actor of the first films, images which have been created by IA but in the rest of the film we see Harrison Ford as he really is today, and the viewer assumes that that part of the story, a flashback, is necessary to trigger the plot of the film. It was really comforting for me to discover that especially after I had read in an interview that IA had been used to create the character of Indiana Jones in this new film.
James Mangold is the director of the new Indiana Jones film but Steven Spielberg is also one of the producers of the film.
The premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny took place in the Cannes Film Festival in
May. The film may be a perfect
opportunity to rejoice in our sense of nostalgia but even if you haven´t
watched the other films of the saga, why not give it a chance?
