Credit: LucasfilmLet’s face it: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was pretty disappointing.
It feels harsh to say that, particularly as it is all-but-certain to be Harrison Ford‘s last foray as the two-fisted archaeologist, and he has been pretty clear that he intends that no one else but him (plus River Phoenix, Sean Patrick Flanery, Corey Carrier, and George Hall, of course) will ever play the role.
But it is what it is. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was commercially a disappointment (beaten by a Jim Caviezel “based on a true story” thriller, of all things), critically underwhelming, and just exhausted. No shade to director James Mangold or his co-writers Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp, but there was just very little gas to keep that vehicle moving.
Except in one regard: despite its undeniable flaws as a narrative and an action film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny took more risks than any other film starring the adventurer ever had before and landed them to a shocking degree.
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MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ‘INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY’ TO FOLLOW BELOW
At first, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny trod familiar territory, in the most literal way possible. The instantly-infamous CGI de-aging of Harrison Ford allowed us to see a young Indiana Jones once more fighting Nazis and saving the day, while the following adventure to figure out an artifact of the ancient world catapulted us right back to the glory days of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
Much has already been made of how the de-aging technology made the opening scenes feel more like a video game than a movie. Though he is a fine filmmaker in his own right, I think even James Mangold would admit that he is no Steven Spielberg when it comes to an action scene, and it showed.
But once the time jump to 1969 occurs and we leave behind Toby Jones and World War II in favor of New York City and a depressed, borderline-alcoholic elderly man, we finally get something different. And that’s where the movie actually does something oddly profound.
‘The Dial of Destiny’ Allowed Indiana Jones Change
The Indiana Jones movies were never intended to be commentaries on society or life or the changing nature of a man’s relationship with his own actions. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas came up with them as a way to beat James Bond at his own game (plus a bit of Scrooge McDuck) and to pay homage to the beloved adventure movie serials of their own youth, hence all the uncomfortable racial stereotypes.
By the time of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Harrison Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas were all too aware of their increasing age and tried to incorporate it into the plot, introducing Shia LaBeouf as Mutt Williams as a potential heir and successor to the doctor.
It was a feint at change, but nothing concrete. He had sidekicks before, but no one ever expected Marion Ravenswood (Karen Allen), Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), or Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) to take over for Indy; it was clear they were there for support, but not to lead.
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Mutt Williams (who was eventually revealed as the illegitimate son of Marion and Indy) was different… until he wasn’t. For all the discussion about whether he would become the new face of the series or a spinoff, Crystal Skull ended with Indy grabbing the fedora away and basically winking at the camera that he wasn’t done yet.
At the end of the movie, Marion Ravenswood and Indiana Jones were back together, he had a son, but ultimately nothing had changed. He was still the hero. He was still cocky. He was still fun.
Dial of Destiny stripped this away. Now Indiana Jones was alone. He didn’t want to be a hero. He was sad.
Something different, at last.
Indiana Jones Had Never Truly Faced Tragedy Before
The second act of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny revealed what had gone wrong in Indy’s life and with his marriage to Marion Ravenswood: Mutt Williams had died in the Vietnam War, basically to annoy his father.
The death of their child shattered Indy and Marion’s relationship. It drove them apart, drove him to drink, and gave the archaeologist something he had never faced before, the death of a loved one. That’s not a Nazi you can punch or a historical clue to unravel.
It was established in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) that his mother had died at some point in the past, driving a similar wedge between him and his father (Sean Connery). She was later featured (portrayed by Ruth de Sosa) in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which established she had died of either influenza or scarlet fever.
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But the death of his mother does not have the same resonance to audiences, because we never truly saw her as a character or were affected by her passing. By the time we meet Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), he was already fully formed. There was no change there, just an occasional reference to something in his past.
R.I.P. Mutt Williams
In contrast, the death of Mutt Williams irrevocably changes Indiana Jones from a character who always manages to snatch a victory from the clutching, heart-ripping hand of defeat and always manages to solve the puzzle before the end of the adventure.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny humanized Harrison Ford in the most tragic and elemental way possible, finally showing him having been deeply hurt by discovering that he could not win them all.
For all of the iconic, eternal adventures of the early Indiana Jones adventures, those movies never took a risk on something as fundamentally changing to the character as Dial of Destiny. Even if the movie is not all that successful, memorable, or even all that fun, it has to be commended for daring to do that.