Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

EXT. INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF THE LOST DIALS SKULL – DAY Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is more closely related to its recent sequel than its distant cousins of the original trilogy. It attempts to take the franchise's formula and shake it up; it throws in cameos, call-backs and references but suffers the same issue every recent Lucasfilm movie has. It's another modern Disney reboot sequel with legacy characters left in the dirt, and a 'quirky & quippy' new character is presented to us. You know this character type when in the face of fear, they will make fun of the villain's Lactose Intolerance or something random because this character is flawlessly confident. They are knowledgeable on every subject relevant to the plot, smartasses because they are always correct, sassy when held hostage and always have an escape plan. This is Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridges), and she might be the only consistent character in the film. For the rest of the ensemble, Boyd Holbrooks Klaber speaks once in the movie and then chases after Jones in each scene; Mads Mikkelsens Jürgen Voller is the most forgettable antagonist of the franchise, Antonio Banderas is out of the film faster than he's in it and finally, Harrison Ford as Dr Jones is unfortunately back for what seems like a pretty good paycheck. I have nothing against the performances themselves. The cast is incredibly talented, but this skilled team cannot hide the terrible dialogue reinforcing the rather forgettable story. Ultimately, Indiana Jones has one of the greatest trilogies of films with a distance spin-off universe of sequels. Lucasfilm, post-2008, has not been your era. FADE OUT.