This is why Old lndy in The Young Indy Chronicles is the only canon I accept. He is happily living out his retirement with his (not dead) children and grandchildren. Regaling everyone with his stories of past fortunes and glories.
I didn't mind ol' man Indy and it was a solid concept. Like a lot of things in the Chronicles series it just felt that it could've been executed a bit better had the series not been edutainment. It certainly fits much better post-Crusade that Indy would have achieved some kind of peace in life instead of misery.
@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I prefer the term "infotainment"... informative entertainment 😄. I'd have let a lot go in DoD if Indy had just lost an eye towards the end 😉
But Dial literally follows this. Indy at the end of Dial is reunited with friends and family and finds his self worth again. It’s obvious that he is in a better state with Marion living a happy life again in NYC. From there, you get old Indiana Jones from Young Indy chronicles
Thank you for this wonderful review. Your bit on Fate of Atlantis is easily the most tantalizing to me since I'm a huge fan of the game and always considered it to be the true canon 4th entry in the series. Would love to see some video retrospectives of the previous films. 😊
I really loved this film, and I thought they did a really great conclusion to the series. Felt more Indy than the last one, and I didn’t mind the length.
I was really happy with the film. Been a fan since 89 (watched Last Crusade with my father in theaters) and I was really interested to see what they would do with this one. Loved the intro, and it’s contrast to a modern Indy in the 60s, which was always going to feel different. That was not only an intention, but an obvious route to go towards if you want to make for good storytelling. Loved the contrast of Indys prime to his later years where the world is more focused on the future instead of the past. There’s a lot to dig in but I left pretty satisfied, more than I did crystal skull which felt was underwhelming. Sure it has a lot of Spielberg’s goofiness but that goofiness was so overdone that when you compare it to Raiders, it feels like a cheap imitation of the series (though I understand this series influences). Dial took the tone back to its roots and gave a proper closing for an aging character. And thank god they didn’t kill him off. He finally got to live with his loved ones and find his worth. Thought it was great
I really enjoyed your thoughts on the film, and would love to hear your full on spoiler thoughts regarding the film. I personally really liked Dial, but I went in with super low expectations. I knew it would be nowhere near as good as the original trilogy, but hoped at least it would be better than Crystal Skull, and I thought it was much better than that film. So, I was a happy camper, even though the film was far from perfect.
DFIC, I recently checked this out for the first time on 4k. Are you considering a spoiler follow up review to this video anytime soon? Curious to your thoughts concerning Mutt and the Short Round concept art that was making the rounds in Dec concerning scrapped concept plans with Indy 5……
I’ve been considering doing a video on my ideas for “how I would’ve done Indy 5” if I had to start from the same elements as Dial. I keep tinkering with it regardless in my head because I was so disappointed in the film. Shorty is a big part of any Indy idea I have.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader That would be great! Chronologically, since Temple/Doom with Short Round is the first cinematic adventure, it would have come full circle for Indy and Shorty to reunite for the last. *sigh*
@@jokertdk yep. And for Marion to actually do things, Indy to have an arc, Sallah to not just be reduced to being a cab driver, having a point to the story, a meaningful villain, no cgi, proper narrative focus and at least a tone somewhat Indy like…
I just didn’t feel like seeing it in theaters. I’ve been feeling a bit of a Lucasfilm fatigue lately - I wonder how this film would have gone over if it were released in 2016-2018 instead. They were showing Raiders in theaters in preparation for this movie. I went out and saw that to get my Indy fix. The chances of the new film even touching that greatness was slim. Though I do feel bad for Harrison Ford in response to his iconic character’s film underperforming.
Excellent review. I really wanted to enjoy the film but I felt very underwhelmed. The action scenes were overblown and felt cartoony with all the CGI, making it like a generic modern-day action film. Even the classic Indy punch sounds were strangely missing from this one. PWB's character wasn't particularly likeable and the teenager with her added nothing - he's certainly no Short Round. Harrison Ford was excellent, as always, but he seemed to be too much of a side character. Finally - and perhaps most controversially - the John Williams score (yes, I appreciate his age) was nothing special. Perhaps it's because I'm such a fan of his earlier work and therefore so familiar with it, but I found the copy and paste scoring of the opening scene jarring.
Oh gosh! The missing Indy foley effects didn’t even occur to me!!! Geez it’s so modernized that they didn’t even throw in a few iconic Indy punches!🤦🏻♂️ Underwhelmed is a perfect description. I think everyone wants to like it but it’s definitely without the classic Indy spark to it.
Appreciate the rational review for once, as these days they are often too inflamatory. I haven't seen it, but I wasn't really hyped for this one considering I feel like Indy and CGI just don't mesh at all. It's amazing Ford is still game for the role after all this time but his age sort of needs that digital touch to make the stuff possible, but at the cost of it looking as convincing as it once did and abandoning it's roots as a serial homage. Despite having not seen it, it was clear you were refering to Short Round not appearing and it sucks he seems to have been given the cold shoulder again.
Thanks, rational is what I aimed for! I could’ve done without the de-aging but if the CG were limited to just the age issue I wouldn’t have an issue. Its over usage everywhere else is disappointing. Yep you caught my inference. Why do they always short change Shorty?! (Especially when there’s a pointless character who repeats a lot of Shorty’s background…) Try it and see what you think. There’s some good flourishes and moments but as we figured it’s Ford who sells every scene and makes the ticket price worthwhile.
Too inflammatory? Not inflammatory enough. A 800 year old Indiana Jones running around doing action in green screen with a annoying as hell "feminist" as a partner with none of the soul of the Indiana Jones movies. Let's not get libertarian here, the movie stinks!
I need to go through the whole series again. The idea was great. I never got into it much because of the Edutainment approach making it feel more like classroom videos with actors instead of dramas. And it bothers me that the whole series was recut and restructured.
Hi There! Thank you for the great spoiler free review! Pacing seems to be the main issue for Mangold films… for some reason i almost always struggle with his films in that department… knight and day bored me into forgetting the film completely… walk the line and logan also could have been a bit tighter… now i am in doubt if i can tolerate his 2,5 hrs indiana jones movie… probably not… at least not in theatres… thanks for the heads up!
That is true with his other films especially Logan. Knight and Day I think was screwy from the script development onward. It had a cute idea that could work but the tone and overzealous approach wore thin immediately for me. Dial moves along okay but there are times where the pace definitely lags and you shift in your seat a bit. The opening going on for 20m pushes it up to the nearly 2.5 hour runtime and should’ve been trimmed back a bit along with several other moments to get it closer to 2 hours and pick the pacing up when it sags. It could definitely be better and it could also be worse so there’s that. But it will make you look at the editing of Skull and go: I never realized how well the editing helps the film along even though its still a mess.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader absolutely… i recently rewatched skull and pacing is the least of it‘s problems… it‘s paced very efficiently… even when it goes off the rails in the second half it‘s still well put together in terms of editing…
Disney and Lucasfilm have this tendency like pretty much every studio where they take their legacy properties and bring them in a age where they are not only these simple commercial bottom of the barrel entertainment, they are post modern affairs that don't offer anything other than hostility towards fans of those franchises. When Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was first released, it was a movie that never should have been made. Harrison Ford was way too old. The script, the direction and the overall filmmaking techniques including the special effects felt so off and poorly conceived compared to the original trilogy that it delivered a significant blow to Indiana Jones fans and adventure fans in general. I may not love Last Crusade as much as others, but it was a true Indy movie. Now, we don't have the involvement of Spielberg, Lucas and Kasdan. Harrison Ford should just be put in a museum already. We have the same old horrendous batch of people working in the industry that have now decided that no legacy property deserves to be respected and thus they are thrown out there to be milked when the cow is already completely dried up and then decide to insult the audience on top of that, which taken for granted makes the process of milking the dry cow completely pointless. I have never paid to go to the theatres for at least two years, and i hope it stays that way. I hate this idea that all these properties that originated from the 60s,70s,80s and 90s have to be constantly brought back from the grave like zombies to make not only a soulless product, but thrown in elements that remind you of the modern established world designed to anger the right people. If people want nostalgia, just go back and watch the classics. That is all that anyone needs to do. Whatever you see in the cinemas does not count. All i wish for is gifted imaginative creators to come along and bring something exciting both in storytelling and aesthetics, with strong reminiscence of what motion pictures and the arts used to be. Don't rely on Hollywood or any other company, ever. Use the Internet. Because frankly in this climate, that is the only platform that allows for some interesting artistic potential. Not the best by any stretch, but it's at least something. People need to be careful of how they use A.I art as well.
The storytelling was awesome. It made a lot of sense to bookend the series with bringing it all back together and having our hero witness history with his own eyes. And of course, reuniting with loved ones at the end makes for a emotional ending for our character. Safe and at home with family. Loved it
Greetings from Brasil! Going to see this one on this sunday. But i have a feeling that they should have done this last one like The Shootist (1976), a "small" adventure. By the way, we just need Dalton comeback as Bond and plus Keaton as Batman and Ford as Indy, we could have a twisted version of 89!
And Sam Peckinpah’s own Westerns are also quite good with the “last ride” story, though on a more tragic and apocalyptic bent. UNFORGIVEN is also fantastic for this last stand of an old veteran type film, itself inspired by THE SHOOTIST (original novel).
I've tried with Dial. I saw it opening weekend It had decent moments, but it was so lackluster. Crystal Skull has it issues, but it was far better than Dial . For me i had so many issues with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character. And last James Mangold is a good filmmaker, but he's nowhere near Spielberg's level and it clearly shows in Dial.
Definitely agree with most of your thoughts. The pace issue is really the key for me. The first half just dragged a lot but thankfully we felt the second half was quite good. The new characters being forgettable is a big issue. No kidding I saw Antonio Banderas in the credits and I truly had a long moment of wondering who he was. And the whole cia thread which could have been interesting just kinda went nowhere for me and was just forgotten by the film after a point. Chop it out!
Poor Antonio is so horribly wasted. I had forgotten about his casting and perked up when he showed up. Then he got to do...nothing. Everything with the CIA subplot goes nowhere and explains nothing so that could've easily been lost. Pacing wise the film definitely goes in fits and spurts.
Yes! The presence of Mr. Round would've gone a long way in making DESTINY feel more authentic. I stayed till the very end, held out hope for even an after credits scene. Like 40 seconds of Indy and adult Shorty in some sort of a jam, bickering about the best way out of it. Still, there were more good moments in DESTINY than I expected. And I do think it's better than SKULL. Not as well directed/edited, but less of the hammy humor and terrible bits.
It's like everyone else in charge forgets Shorty or tries to ignore Temple out of some misguided thought process. I think both Dial and Skull are sort of side films that don't really add anything to the series after the end of Crusade. They have some similarities due to David Koepp's involvement but oppose each other in approaches. Skull is edited well and has some Indy spark or Spielberg flourishes but is drained of energy and has plenty of dumb stale moments. Dial goes on way too long and is way to dour with many undeveloped elements. both have far too much CGI in them. I hate to say it but I think Skull is the better Indy film even though it drives me up the wall and I never revisit it.
I consider the ending of Crystal Skull to be definitive. Like Return of the Jedi is for Star Wars. We never needed the Star Wars sequels, or Indiana Jones V. I did notice they way this way lit was off for an INDY movie, the cgi looked fake. And it looked flat because of it not being shot on film. Not to sound negative but it also has the weakest rendition of the Raiders March ever.
I realized I didn’t even mention the Williams score, and I think that says a lot for how nonexistent it feels throughout the film. When you notice it, it’s fine, but it’s usually only in the moments where he is putting in the original themes and you suddenly go: “Oh yeah, this is an Indy score.” I sat through the end credits, which I always do on these films anyway and as you’re sitting through the wall of digital effects credits and digital effects artists, the score is just kind of there. The CG doesn’t help the overall flatness of the visuals which is further not helped by it feeling a bit cramped in the framing and never getting the sense of spectacle or grand adventure I’d argue. They go to other parts of the world but it’s so drab you wonder why they did! Crusade’s ending shot is the topper or the endnote moment. More Indy adventures are always a good thing but they’ve got to have a reason or have confidence throughout to stand on their own. Skull’s ending tries to tie everything up and some of that is undone here it seems simply to setup this new story.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader , Douglas Slocombe doesn't get enough credit for those movies. The original 3. I'd love to see a documentary on how he did those.
@@matthewgaudet4064 oh goodness yes!! The newer films underline dramatically how people can’t emulate what he did. Temple is the most handsomely mounted from a visual sense and how he was able to find such beautiful imagery in Raiders being made fast and dirty is part of why the film was iconic from the get go. Which drives me nuts that they can’t leave them alone on the video releases…
What was ultimately missing from the production was the same thing that was missing from the Star Wars Sequel trilogy and that's Lucas. Lucas was the base and foundation of these series and each one of the older films germinated from his stories. With Disney continuing to ignore his treatments or advice Lucas film properties will continue to fall apart.
Oh absolutely Lucas’s presence is sorely missed. Even though like Spielberg and Ford I don’t agree with his insistence of pushing Indy into 50’s sci-fi, I completely understand his desire to do something new and keep the character fresh. People want to bash him over the prequels not being super effective but their story foundation is spot on and not a problem at all…they just needed more drafts, development time and others around to say no or maybe try it this way. It also seems like Lucas kept Indy from going super dark in tone like Spielberg and Kasdan pushed more for. It created a balance between light and dark that made the character work for everyone and now that balance has been totally upset in favor of constant grimness.
Lucas was an executive producer on the film and collaborated with James Mangolds on the story. He had involvement in this film as opposed to the sequels
Yeah, it's not a very brilliant movie, it feels endless, and people left the theater after 3/4 of the movie, but hey! I enjoyed it, and at least I can brag about having seen an Indiana Jones movie in the theater :) Although it should be clarified that in the center of the screen it had been burned by the light of the projector :v
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader Yes, the worst thing is that of the five rooms that the complex has, 2 screens are like this, I don't know how room 1 and 3 are, while room 5 only has a line in the middle of the screen as if that area had been replaced
It’s funny how so many people were against Spielberg not directing this film while simultaneously saying they did not enjoy his last Indiana film . I don’t think Spielberg gets enough blame for crystal skull. It was garbage. This was better but by no means good
I’m still bummed, Mangold has no stinkers so far, and a few great films IMO. On a more positive note, I saw Crystal Skull for the first time and it was better than expected. Third act fizzled out but overall a fun experience though clearly not as good as the trilogy
Did Dial make you feel bummed out? Skull at least plays a little bit better now than it did in 2007 because we’re more used to it and when compared with Dial you can more easily see it had a decent enough foundation and other elements to it that were more like the trilogy. This time around I really noticed how the editing helped to smooth over rougher patches. Interestingly the UHD transfer removes the 2007 orange and teal type color grading.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader haven’t seen it yet, just the amount of meh to negative vibes. I was hoping Mangold would nail it and I like most of his work. I’ll still see it but significantly less excited than when they announced he was directing. Ironic that he finally did work for Disney again after the Oliver and Co fiasco
@@markgroglio9922 I don’t have an opinion on it. I said I was initially excited when Mangold was announced as the director, because I love his work mostly. Then most people I have similar tastes with put a dent in my excitement. So instead of seeing it in theaters, I’ll get to it when I get to it. Hopefully this week. And I liked Crystal Skull way more than I expected, so maybe tempered expectations will be rewarded.
After seeing all three Spielberg directed films at the cinema in 1980's, and throughly enjoying all three, plus the rather ambitious The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on TV, it seemed like the perfect place to leave Indiana after the Last Crusade. Now with the advent of Dial in with CGI, I've totally lost interest with cinema's great adventurer. There's way too much agenda politics being added to films these days. Spielberg must be fuming privately about the way the character has been assassinated and deposed from being a masculine, alpha male character, to nothing more than a former shadow of himself in his own film. Many of these old order franchises have been nothing more than launch pads for pushing social change messaging. Destroy, reconstruct a social change message and deconstruct the main character to serve a different narrative that gets pushed out to the audience who are receptive to it. For me Last Crusade was the end of Indiana. The sunset scene was the perfect last moment.
I'm still ultra curious to read the original Koepp Indy 5 script that Spielberg would've directed before passing the reins and the script being rewritten by others. You get the basic premise in Dial so that is the factor along with Ford's grounding presence that keeps the bits of Indy feel alive. But nothing in either Skull or Dial have added ANYTHING to the series. The sunset shot of Crusade tied everything together and meant you'd have to work extra hard to make a satisfying fun adventure in a fourth film. That's what the games, novels and comics have tried to do and achieved some pretty good results.
@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader That's just it. What would've been Spielberg's and koepp's take on Indiana 5. How much agenda politics gets put into the mix via script. Would Spielberg get away from Kennedy and Lucasfilm's grip over what gets integrated into the mix. Spielberg had Lucas to deal with on Crystal Skull. The story was slightly better than Dial, which is marginally better, but not enough to truly feel like an Indiana Jones movie. I had to go and watch Dial of Destiny at my local cinema. The ending was like watching a horrific car crash super slow motion with agonising, twisted results. Only in my imagination will the story and the ending be unforgettable. What a crushing defeat....
Thanks I’m still processing and mulling over it. 😂 I think what got me most in the later trailers besides the CG was the changing of the iconic Indy logo font.
"Balanced"? You mean you're gonna take a 800 year old Indiana Jones running doing green screen action with a annoying "feminist" partner in a balanced manner? All right, here's a balanced matter: 0/10. On a good day.
Big fan of the first three, but I would be more likely to see DOD if it wasn’t a Disney production or didn’t have Kathleen Kennedy’s handprint all over it. I’ll watch it for free one day out of curiosity.
I noticed you have the Indy movies making of book by Bouzerau and Rinzler there. That's a very nice making of book. A tad light on Temple and Last Crusade, but very informative on Raiders. Oddly enough, they did the same thing with the special features for Temple and Crusade on the DVDs and later on the Blurays. People always devote too much attention to Raiders, (maybe because it was the first one), than the sequels, and my favorite one happens to be Temple of Doom. Not so with Crystal Skull which got a very nice and substantive special features package when it first came out on Bluray. Special features that were not all ported over to the 4K bluray box set, I might add. Going to see it this afternoon, and based on this review, I'm ready for anything.
I’m doing a bunch of other Indy reviews and videos including the essential Rinzler book which I reread. In the intro he mentions having to go lighter and focus more on Raiders which also was due to having to cram all four into one book. Sadly he never got to revisit them as possible individual expanded volumes. We usually get some focus on Crusade but as you say never as detailed and poor Temple always gets short changed. I will never understand people bashing it. I think they don’t like it because it’s even more of a 30’s film than Raiders and people just don’t have the frame of reference. I hope to find the Raiders making of paperback someday at an affordable price!
I have too much respect for the legacy of Indiana Jones to watch any of this film. I was lucky enough to see the original trilogy in theatres which were just sublime, and I have no patience for post-modernist garbage like this and Crystal Skull. Films like this are why I stopped watching all new films and the second Star Wars prequel.
If you at least liked Ford’s performance in Skull you’ll get something out of Dial but both films really don’t fully connect to the original three in spirit or design.
@richardfuchs3690 I think you are 100% spot on. This complete utter hatred for true cinema enthusiasts and casual viewers in general is so overwhelming that it's no wonder why people don't go to see them anymore. You would think that after the political tyranny and fearmongering of the past 3 years that people would go back to the cinemas for more escapism. Well they're not. Because people didn't care about the movies themselves anyways. It was the social experience, not the movies. Everything that has happened proves it. The only time i would ever be excited to go to the theatres again is if a classic movie i like is being shown in one of the major cities on a original 35mm print. Otherwise, i am not interested.
Like your in-depth reviews, no offense but you are always wearing that same black T-shirt in all your videos, any particular reason? Or just not much of a wardrobe?
No, I could never figure out which shirts to wear for videos and started doing it as a sort of joke about a “review uniform”. So every review I do, I just have a plain black polo shirt.
I’ll never forgive James Mangold and Harrison Ford for what they did to Indy in this film. Making him a side character to an insufferable feminist lead (who was being positioned to take over the Indy role until the plot was leaked to RUclipsrs) is such a tired and played out trope. They gave him the Luke Skywalker treatment for sure.
That is why I will never pay to watch this film. Maybe one day out of morbid curiosity I’ll check it out, but I LOVE Indiana Jones and I will not watch them destroy him like they did Luke Skywalker and Star Wars
@@Possum880They don’t destroy him like they did Luke. If Indy was “destroyed” like Luke’s character was, he would hate archaeology and would’ve died at the end. The film is about Indy finding his self worth after losing Marion (not foreign to the series). By the end, he finds his worth again. Nothing of his legacy was destroyed and you should watch the film before taking anyone word for it. Watch the film before having an opinion on it
You loved a 1000 year old Indiana Jones doing green screen action with a obnoxious "feminist" partner? Jeez, is Battlefield Earth the greatest movie ever made or what? Plus, the Indiana Jones movies are action adventure movies inspired by serials, not serials in of themselves.
Watching this sequel just made me keep thinking it should have been made twenty-five or thirty years ago I mean they even spend a half hour using special effects to make Harrison Ford look younger I just kept thinking he's 80 years old the sequel should have been made a long time ago 📼🎟️
Everyone comments on Indiana Jones being based on old serials is nonsense. We can now regularly watch Secret of the Incas and Hong Kong. There isn't an idea that they haven't stolen from those films. Crew working on Raiders have said they were sat down and made to watch Secret of the Incas and don't know why Lucas or Spielberg have never mentioned it. They are also both Paramount films. Which is also odd as neither have made films for Paramount save the Jones films. That individual things might have been taken from serials is possible but what exactly? Action set pieces? The fact Indy rides a horse? The fact is the people who made the movie were avid 50s movie watchers at a time in their lives where these films would be burned into their heads. The serials not so much.
I think they use it as shorthand because Lucas’s initial thought was specifically moments from Republic serials and Don Winslow of the Navy. The serials were run in theaters years later and especially on TV in the cutdown feature versions which both Lucas and Spielberg talk about being obsessed with. The influences go far beyond that from Bond to pulp magazines to comics to classic Warner films to I’d argue even some Universal Horror films. Secret of the Incas was absolutely on their minds and a chief influence but so were The Mummy’s Hand and Invisible Agent. The usage of the Amazing stories font for the Indy logo is wearing the influences on its sleeve.
This is why Old lndy in The Young Indy Chronicles is the only canon I accept. He is happily living out his retirement with his (not dead) children and grandchildren. Regaling everyone with his stories of past fortunes and glories.
I didn't mind ol' man Indy and it was a solid concept. Like a lot of things in the Chronicles series it just felt that it could've been executed a bit better had the series not been edutainment. It certainly fits much better post-Crusade that Indy would have achieved some kind of peace in life instead of misery.
@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I prefer the term "infotainment"... informative entertainment 😄. I'd have let a lot go in DoD if Indy had just lost an eye towards the end 😉
@@TroyUlysses I’m reading Dance of the Giants right now and chuckled at the eyepatch reference included.
@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I have not read it, but I am eagerly awaiting your excellent review 😀
But Dial literally follows this. Indy at the end of Dial is reunited with friends and family and finds his self worth again. It’s obvious that he is in a better state with Marion living a happy life again in NYC. From there, you get old Indiana Jones from Young Indy chronicles
Say what you may about Skull, it did not leave me depressed when it ended. Dial managed that.
Thank you for this wonderful review. Your bit on Fate of Atlantis is easily the most tantalizing to me since I'm a huge fan of the game and always considered it to be the true canon 4th entry in the series.
Would love to see some video retrospectives of the previous films. 😊
Thank you, sir. I enjoy your work. Best, Rich
Thank you!!!!
Interesting wonder if the traditional editor would make a difference.
I really loved this film, and I thought they did a really great conclusion to the series. Felt more Indy than the last one, and I didn’t mind the length.
I actually remember seeing kingdom of the crystal skull opening weekend at age 6, it went okay for me but not everyone else in the audience
I was really happy with the film. Been a fan since 89 (watched Last Crusade with my father in theaters) and I was really interested to see what they would do with this one.
Loved the intro, and it’s contrast to a modern Indy in the 60s, which was always going to feel different. That was not only an intention, but an obvious route to go towards if you want to make for good storytelling. Loved the contrast of Indys prime to his later years where the world is more focused on the future instead of the past. There’s a lot to dig in but I left pretty
satisfied, more than I did crystal skull which felt was underwhelming. Sure it has a lot of Spielberg’s goofiness but that goofiness was so overdone that when you compare it to Raiders, it feels like a cheap imitation of the series (though I understand this series influences). Dial took the tone back to its roots and gave a proper closing for an aging character. And thank god they didn’t kill him off. He finally got to live with his loved ones and find his worth. Thought it was great
I really enjoyed your thoughts on the film, and would love to hear your full on spoiler thoughts regarding the film. I personally really liked Dial, but I went in with super low expectations. I knew it would be nowhere near as good as the original trilogy, but hoped at least it would be better than Crystal Skull, and I thought it was much better than that film. So, I was a happy camper, even though the film was far from perfect.
DFIC, I recently checked this out for the first time on 4k. Are you considering a spoiler follow up review to this video anytime soon? Curious to your thoughts concerning Mutt and the Short Round concept art that was making the rounds in Dec concerning scrapped concept plans with Indy 5……
I’ve been considering doing a video on my ideas for “how I would’ve done Indy 5” if I had to start from the same elements as Dial.
I keep tinkering with it regardless in my head because I was so disappointed in the film.
Shorty is a big part of any Indy idea I have.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader That would be great! Chronologically, since Temple/Doom with Short Round is the first cinematic adventure, it would have come full circle for Indy and Shorty to reunite for the last. *sigh*
@@jokertdk yep. And for Marion to actually do things, Indy to have an arc, Sallah to not just be reduced to being a cab driver, having a point to the story, a meaningful villain, no cgi, proper narrative focus and at least a tone somewhat Indy like…
I just didn’t feel like seeing it in theaters. I’ve been feeling a bit of a Lucasfilm fatigue lately - I wonder how this film would have gone over if it were released in 2016-2018 instead.
They were showing Raiders in theaters in preparation for this movie. I went out and saw that to get my Indy fix. The chances of the new film even touching that greatness was slim. Though I do feel bad for Harrison Ford in response to his iconic character’s film underperforming.
Excellent review.
I really wanted to enjoy the film but I felt very underwhelmed. The action scenes were overblown and felt cartoony with all the CGI, making it like a generic modern-day action film. Even the classic Indy punch sounds were strangely missing from this one. PWB's character wasn't particularly likeable and the teenager with her added nothing - he's certainly no Short Round.
Harrison Ford was excellent, as always, but he seemed to be too much of a side character.
Finally - and perhaps most controversially - the John Williams score (yes, I appreciate his age) was nothing special. Perhaps it's because I'm such a fan of his earlier work and therefore so familiar with it, but I found the copy and paste scoring of the opening scene jarring.
Oh gosh! The missing Indy foley effects didn’t even occur to me!!! Geez it’s so modernized that they didn’t even throw in a few iconic Indy punches!🤦🏻♂️
Underwhelmed is a perfect description. I think everyone wants to like it but it’s definitely without the classic Indy spark to it.
Appreciate the rational review for once, as these days they are often too inflamatory. I haven't seen it, but I wasn't really hyped for this one considering I feel like Indy and CGI just don't mesh at all. It's amazing Ford is still game for the role after all this time but his age sort of needs that digital touch to make the stuff possible, but at the cost of it looking as convincing as it once did and abandoning it's roots as a serial homage.
Despite having not seen it, it was clear you were refering to Short Round not appearing and it sucks he seems to have been given the cold shoulder again.
Thanks, rational is what I aimed for! I could’ve done without the de-aging but if the CG were limited to just the age issue I wouldn’t have an issue. Its over usage everywhere else is disappointing.
Yep you caught my inference. Why do they always short change Shorty?! (Especially when there’s a pointless character who repeats a lot of Shorty’s background…)
Try it and see what you think. There’s some good flourishes and moments but as we figured it’s Ford who sells every scene and makes the ticket price worthwhile.
Too inflammatory? Not inflammatory enough. A 800 year old Indiana Jones running around doing action in green screen with a annoying as hell "feminist" as a partner with none of the soul of the Indiana Jones movies. Let's not get libertarian here, the movie stinks!
Thoughts on the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles?
I need to go through the whole series again. The idea was great. I never got into it much because of the Edutainment approach making it feel more like classroom videos with actors instead of dramas. And it bothers me that the whole series was recut and restructured.
Time for Indiana Jones and the Comfortable Bed
@@sub-vibesThat has more thrills than this movie !
Greetings Tom Belgium.
Hi There! Thank you for the great spoiler free review!
Pacing seems to be the main issue for Mangold films… for some reason i almost always struggle with his films in that department…
knight and day bored me into forgetting the film completely…
walk the line and logan also could have been a bit tighter…
now i am in doubt if i can tolerate his 2,5 hrs indiana jones movie… probably not… at least not in theatres…
thanks for the heads up!
That is true with his other films especially Logan. Knight and Day I think was screwy from the script development onward. It had a cute idea that could work but the tone and overzealous approach wore thin immediately for me.
Dial moves along okay but there are times where the pace definitely lags and you shift in your seat a bit. The opening going on for 20m pushes it up to the nearly 2.5 hour runtime and should’ve been trimmed back a bit along with several other moments to get it closer to 2 hours and pick the pacing up when it sags.
It could definitely be better and it could also be worse so there’s that. But it will make you look at the editing of Skull and go: I never realized how well the editing helps the film along even though its still a mess.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader absolutely… i recently rewatched skull and pacing is the least of it‘s problems… it‘s paced very efficiently… even when it goes off the rails in the second half it‘s still well put together in terms of editing…
Disney and Lucasfilm have this tendency like pretty much every studio where they take their legacy properties and bring them in a age where they are not only these simple commercial bottom of the barrel entertainment, they are post modern affairs that don't offer anything other than hostility towards fans of those franchises. When Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was first released, it was a movie that never should have been made. Harrison Ford was way too old. The script, the direction and the overall filmmaking techniques including the special effects felt so off and poorly conceived compared to the original trilogy that it delivered a significant blow to Indiana Jones fans and adventure fans in general. I may not love Last Crusade as much as others, but it was a true Indy movie.
Now, we don't have the involvement of Spielberg, Lucas and Kasdan. Harrison Ford should just be put in a museum already. We have the same old horrendous batch of people working in the industry that have now decided that no legacy property deserves to be respected and thus they are thrown out there to be milked when the cow is already completely dried up and then decide to insult the audience on top of that, which taken for granted makes the process of milking the dry cow completely pointless.
I have never paid to go to the theatres for at least two years, and i hope it stays that way. I hate this idea that all these properties that originated from the 60s,70s,80s and 90s have to be constantly brought back from the grave like zombies to make not only a soulless product, but thrown in elements that remind you of the modern established world designed to anger the right people. If people want nostalgia, just go back and watch the classics. That is all that anyone needs to do. Whatever you see in the cinemas does not count.
All i wish for is gifted imaginative creators to come along and bring something exciting both in storytelling and aesthetics, with strong reminiscence of what motion pictures and the arts used to be. Don't rely on Hollywood or any other company, ever. Use the Internet. Because frankly in this climate, that is the only platform that allows for some interesting artistic potential. Not the best by any stretch, but it's at least something. People need to be careful of how they use A.I art as well.
The storytelling was awesome. It made a lot of sense to bookend the series with bringing it all back together and having our hero witness history with his own eyes. And of course, reuniting with loved ones at the end makes for a emotional ending for our character. Safe and at home with family. Loved it
Greetings from Brasil!
Going to see this one on this sunday. But i have a feeling that they should have done this last one like The Shootist (1976), a "small" adventure. By the way, we just need Dalton comeback as Bond and plus Keaton as Batman and Ford as Indy, we could have a twisted version of 89!
The Shootist is a good inspiration for a one last ride type story.
And Sam Peckinpah’s own Westerns are also quite good with the “last ride” story, though on a more tragic and apocalyptic bent.
UNFORGIVEN is also fantastic for this last stand of an old veteran type film, itself inspired by THE SHOOTIST (original novel).
Any plans for recoridng feature legnth commentaries for Indy, like you did for Bond?
I've been thinking about it. I'd like to put something together along with reading some of the various older script drafts.
I've tried with Dial. I saw it opening weekend It had decent moments, but it was so lackluster. Crystal Skull has it issues, but it was far better than Dial . For me i had so many issues with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character. And last James Mangold is a good filmmaker, but he's nowhere near Spielberg's level and it clearly shows in Dial.
Definitely agree with most of your thoughts. The pace issue is really the key for me.
The first half just dragged a lot but thankfully we felt the second half was quite good. The new characters being forgettable is a big issue. No kidding I saw Antonio Banderas in the credits and I truly had a long moment of wondering who he was.
And the whole cia thread which could have been interesting just kinda went nowhere for me and was just forgotten by the film after a point. Chop it out!
Poor Antonio is so horribly wasted. I had forgotten about his casting and perked up when he showed up. Then he got to do...nothing. Everything with the CIA subplot goes nowhere and explains nothing so that could've easily been lost. Pacing wise the film definitely goes in fits and spurts.
Yes! The presence of Mr. Round would've gone a long way in making DESTINY feel more authentic. I stayed till the very end, held out hope for even an after credits scene. Like 40 seconds of Indy and adult Shorty in some sort of a jam, bickering about the best way out of it.
Still, there were more good moments in DESTINY than I expected. And I do think it's better than SKULL. Not as well directed/edited, but less of the hammy humor and terrible bits.
It's like everyone else in charge forgets Shorty or tries to ignore Temple out of some misguided thought process.
I think both Dial and Skull are sort of side films that don't really add anything to the series after the end of Crusade. They have some similarities due to David Koepp's involvement but oppose each other in approaches. Skull is edited well and has some Indy spark or Spielberg flourishes but is drained of energy and has plenty of dumb stale moments. Dial goes on way too long and is way to dour with many undeveloped elements. both have far too much CGI in them.
I hate to say it but I think Skull is the better Indy film even though it drives me up the wall and I never revisit it.
I consider the ending of Crystal Skull to be definitive. Like Return of the Jedi is for Star Wars. We never needed the Star Wars sequels, or Indiana Jones V. I did notice they way this way lit was off for an INDY movie, the cgi looked fake. And it looked flat because of it not being shot on film. Not to sound negative but it also has the weakest rendition of the Raiders March ever.
I realized I didn’t even mention the Williams score, and I think that says a lot for how nonexistent it feels throughout the film. When you notice it, it’s fine, but it’s usually only in the moments where he is putting in the original themes and you suddenly go: “Oh yeah, this is an Indy score.” I sat through the end credits, which I always do on these films anyway and as you’re sitting through the wall of digital effects credits and digital effects artists, the score is just kind of there.
The CG doesn’t help the overall flatness of the visuals which is further not helped by it feeling a bit cramped in the framing and never getting the sense of spectacle or grand adventure I’d argue. They go to other parts of the world but it’s so drab you wonder why they did!
Crusade’s ending shot is the topper or the endnote moment. More Indy adventures are always a good thing but they’ve got to have a reason or have confidence throughout to stand on their own. Skull’s ending tries to tie everything up and some of that is undone here it seems simply to setup this new story.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader , Douglas Slocombe doesn't get enough credit for those movies. The original 3. I'd love to see a documentary on how he did those.
@@matthewgaudet4064 oh goodness yes!! The newer films underline dramatically how people can’t emulate what he did. Temple is the most handsomely mounted from a visual sense and how he was able to find such beautiful imagery in Raiders being made fast and dirty is part of why the film was iconic from the get go.
Which drives me nuts that they can’t leave them alone on the video releases…
He was a sidekick... the only time Indy is proactive is when he's chasing Shaw, and the water displacement scene, otherwise it's the Shaw Show
He wasn’t a sidekick. Indy had the most screen time with the story revolving around him. You didn’t even see the film
@@markgroglio9922 What fucking movie did you watch
What was ultimately missing from the production was the same thing that was missing from the Star Wars Sequel trilogy and that's Lucas. Lucas was the base and foundation of these series and each one of the older films germinated from his stories. With Disney continuing to ignore his treatments or advice Lucas film properties will continue to fall apart.
Oh absolutely Lucas’s presence is sorely missed. Even though like Spielberg and Ford I don’t agree with his insistence of pushing Indy into 50’s sci-fi, I completely understand his desire to do something new and keep the character fresh. People want to bash him over the prequels not being super effective but their story foundation is spot on and not a problem at all…they just needed more drafts, development time and others around to say no or maybe try it this way.
It also seems like Lucas kept Indy from going super dark in tone like Spielberg and Kasdan pushed more for. It created a balance between light and dark that made the character work for everyone and now that balance has been totally upset in favor of constant grimness.
Lucas was an executive producer on the film and collaborated with James Mangolds on the story. He had involvement in this film as opposed to the sequels
@@olivaresolivar4679 Really? Where does it say this i would like to know.
Yeah, it's not a very brilliant movie, it feels endless, and people left the theater after 3/4 of the movie, but hey!
I enjoyed it, and at least I can brag about having seen an Indiana Jones movie in the theater :)
Although it should be clarified that in the center of the screen it had been burned by the light of the projector :v
Oh gosh I haven’t seen one of those experiences in a long while with a spot or burn in area. They can be majorly distracting.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader Yes, the worst thing is that of the five rooms that the complex has, 2 screens are like this, I don't know how room 1 and 3 are, while room 5 only has a line in the middle of the screen as if that area had been replaced
I really enjoyed the film the first time I watched it and I'm keep on enjoying it!.
Indy 5 wasent long enough,i wanted the movie would never end!
It’s funny how so many people were against Spielberg not directing this film while simultaneously saying they did not enjoy his last Indiana film . I don’t think Spielberg gets enough blame for crystal skull. It was garbage. This was better but by no means good
I’m still bummed, Mangold has no stinkers so far, and a few great films IMO.
On a more positive note, I saw Crystal Skull for the first time and it was better than expected. Third act fizzled out but overall a fun experience though clearly not as good as the trilogy
Did Dial make you feel bummed out?
Skull at least plays a little bit better now than it did in 2007 because we’re more used to it and when compared with Dial you can more easily see it had a decent enough foundation and other elements to it that were more like the trilogy. This time around I really noticed how the editing helped to smooth over rougher patches. Interestingly the UHD transfer removes the 2007 orange and teal type color grading.
@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader haven’t seen it yet, just the amount of meh to negative vibes. I was hoping Mangold would nail it and I like most of his work.
I’ll still see it but significantly less excited than when they announced he was directing. Ironic that he finally did work for Disney again after the Oliver and Co fiasco
@@thedukeoffunkIf you haven’t seen it, how could you have an opinion on it?
@@markgroglio9922 I don’t have an opinion on it. I said I was initially excited when Mangold was announced as the director, because I love his work mostly.
Then most people I have similar tastes with put a dent in my excitement. So instead of seeing it in theaters, I’ll get to it when I get to it. Hopefully this week.
And I liked Crystal Skull way more than I expected, so maybe tempered expectations will be rewarded.
After seeing all three Spielberg directed films at the cinema in 1980's, and throughly enjoying all three, plus the rather ambitious The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on TV, it seemed like the perfect place to leave Indiana after the Last Crusade. Now with the advent of Dial in with CGI, I've totally lost interest with cinema's great adventurer. There's way too much agenda politics being added to films these days. Spielberg must be fuming privately about the way the character has been assassinated and deposed from being a masculine, alpha male character, to nothing more than a former shadow of himself in his own film. Many of these old order franchises have been nothing more than launch pads for pushing social change messaging. Destroy, reconstruct a social change message and deconstruct the main character to serve a different narrative that gets pushed out to the audience who are receptive to it. For me Last Crusade was the end of Indiana. The sunset scene was the perfect last moment.
I'm still ultra curious to read the original Koepp Indy 5 script that Spielberg would've directed before passing the reins and the script being rewritten by others. You get the basic premise in Dial so that is the factor along with Ford's grounding presence that keeps the bits of Indy feel alive. But nothing in either Skull or Dial have added ANYTHING to the series. The sunset shot of Crusade tied everything together and meant you'd have to work extra hard to make a satisfying fun adventure in a fourth film. That's what the games, novels and comics have tried to do and achieved some pretty good results.
@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader That's just it. What would've been Spielberg's and koepp's take on Indiana 5. How much agenda politics gets put into the mix via script. Would Spielberg get away from Kennedy and Lucasfilm's grip over what gets integrated into the mix. Spielberg had Lucas to deal with on Crystal Skull. The story was slightly better than Dial, which is marginally better, but not enough to truly feel like an Indiana Jones movie. I had to go and watch Dial of Destiny at my local cinema. The ending was like watching a horrific car crash super slow motion with agonising, twisted results. Only in my imagination will the story and the ending be unforgettable. What a crushing defeat....
I loved it. Dial of Destiny was a great film ❤
Thank you for this balanced, non-sensational review. The movie looked like it was going to be pretty meh from the trailers as is.
Thanks I’m still processing and mulling over it. 😂
I think what got me most in the later trailers besides the CG was the changing of the iconic Indy logo font.
"Balanced"? You mean you're gonna take a 800 year old Indiana Jones running doing green screen action with a annoying "feminist" partner in a balanced manner? All right, here's a balanced matter: 0/10. On a good day.
I dont see any feminist agenda!Indys wife drunk a lot of strong men under the table in hes first Adventure!
@@Pete-eb3voNothing is indicated that Helena is a feminist. Wtf are you talking about?
Yes i loved it a lot,will watch it soon again!
Big fan of the first three, but I would be more likely to see DOD if it wasn’t a Disney production or didn’t have Kathleen Kennedy’s handprint all over it. I’ll watch it for free one day out of curiosity.
Ford's performance is the only real reason to see it.
I noticed you have the Indy movies making of book by Bouzerau and Rinzler there. That's a very nice making of book. A tad light on Temple and Last Crusade, but very informative on Raiders. Oddly enough, they did the same thing with the special features for Temple and Crusade on the DVDs and later on the Blurays. People always devote too much attention to Raiders, (maybe because it was the first one), than the sequels, and my favorite one happens to be Temple of Doom. Not so with Crystal Skull which got a very nice and substantive special features package when it first came out on Bluray. Special features that were not all ported over to the 4K bluray box set, I might add. Going to see it this afternoon, and based on this review, I'm ready for anything.
I’m doing a bunch of other Indy reviews and videos including the essential Rinzler book which I reread. In the intro he mentions having to go lighter and focus more on Raiders which also was due to having to cram all four into one book. Sadly he never got to revisit them as possible individual expanded volumes.
We usually get some focus on Crusade but as you say never as detailed and poor Temple always gets short changed. I will never understand people bashing it. I think they don’t like it because it’s even more of a 30’s film than Raiders and people just don’t have the frame of reference.
I hope to find the Raiders making of paperback someday at an affordable price!
Great review.Not sure I will see this, it sounds depressing
I’d say definitely give it a shot since it’s Indy’s last hurrah and Ford is outstanding as always. There’s enough reason to give it a go.
I have too much respect for the legacy of Indiana Jones to watch any of this film. I was lucky enough to see the original trilogy in theatres which were just sublime, and I have no patience for post-modernist garbage like this and Crystal Skull. Films like this are why I stopped watching all new films and the second Star Wars prequel.
If you at least liked Ford’s performance in Skull you’ll get something out of Dial but both films really don’t fully connect to the original three in spirit or design.
@richardfuchs3690 I think you are 100% spot on. This complete utter hatred for true cinema enthusiasts and casual viewers in general is so overwhelming that it's no wonder why people don't go to see them anymore. You would think that after the political tyranny and fearmongering of the past 3 years that people would go back to the cinemas for more escapism. Well they're not. Because people didn't care about the movies themselves anyways. It was the social experience, not the movies. Everything that has happened proves it. The only time i would ever be excited to go to the theatres again is if a classic movie i like is being shown in one of the major cities on a original 35mm print. Otherwise, i am not interested.
Like your in-depth reviews, no offense but you are always wearing that same black T-shirt in all your videos, any particular reason? Or just not much of a wardrobe?
No, I could never figure out which shirts to wear for videos and started doing it as a sort of joke about a “review uniform”. So every review I do, I just have a plain black polo shirt.
I’ll never forgive James Mangold and Harrison Ford for what they did to Indy in this film. Making him a side character to an insufferable feminist lead (who was being positioned to take over the Indy role until the plot was leaked to RUclipsrs) is such a tired and played out trope. They gave him the Luke Skywalker treatment for sure.
That is why I will never pay to watch this film. Maybe one day out of morbid curiosity I’ll check it out, but I LOVE Indiana Jones and I will not watch them destroy him like they did Luke Skywalker and Star Wars
@@Possum880They don’t destroy him like they did Luke. If Indy was “destroyed” like Luke’s character was, he would hate archaeology and would’ve died at the end.
The film is about Indy finding his self worth after losing Marion (not foreign to the series). By the end, he finds his worth again. Nothing of his legacy was destroyed and you should watch the film before taking anyone word for it. Watch the film before having an opinion on it
I dont plan to see it.
Thats wrong!
I wish I had more to recommend other than Ford's performance but that's the one major draw along with two all too brief cameos.
50 minute review?
I agree it's more an action film than a serial, but I loved it
You loved a 1000 year old Indiana Jones doing green screen action with a obnoxious "feminist" partner? Jeez, is Battlefield Earth the greatest movie ever made or what? Plus, the Indiana Jones movies are action adventure movies inspired by serials, not serials in of themselves.
Watching this sequel just made me keep thinking it should have been made twenty-five or thirty years ago I mean they even spend a half hour using special effects to make Harrison Ford look younger I just kept thinking he's 80 years old the sequel should have been made a long time ago 📼🎟️
Everyone comments on Indiana Jones being based on old serials is nonsense. We can now regularly watch Secret of the Incas and Hong Kong. There isn't an idea that they haven't stolen from those films. Crew working on Raiders have said they were sat down and made to watch Secret of the Incas and don't know why Lucas or Spielberg have never mentioned it. They are also both Paramount films. Which is also odd as neither have made films for Paramount save the Jones films. That individual things might have been taken from serials is possible but what exactly? Action set pieces? The fact Indy rides a horse? The fact is the people who made the movie were avid 50s movie watchers at a time in their lives where these films would be burned into their heads. The serials not so much.
I think they use it as shorthand because Lucas’s initial thought was specifically moments from Republic serials and Don Winslow of the Navy. The serials were run in theaters years later and especially on TV in the cutdown feature versions which both Lucas and Spielberg talk about being obsessed with. The influences go far beyond that from Bond to pulp magazines to comics to classic Warner films to I’d argue even some Universal Horror films. Secret of the Incas was absolutely on their minds and a chief influence but so were The Mummy’s Hand and Invisible Agent. The usage of the Amazing stories font for the Indy logo is wearing the influences on its sleeve.
Great review and much appreciated. I think I’ll stick with my RoLA 4K Steelbook and leave it there. 🪦