Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

pixelburp · 30-08-2023 9:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121044973#Comment_121044973

Because it's you, I can't resist asking: how's the comedy? 🤭😂

I have it queued up here myself but it speaks to the unremarkable thud the film made that watching it feels more obligation than excitement. Rewatched Dune the other day and despite the familiarity, was excited to do so.

Tony EH · 30-08-2023 12:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121045505#Comment_121045505

There's not that much in it so far. Certainly no gibberish like shooting the tail off your own plane anyway. But seriously, it's just incredibly unexciting and uninteresting.

Best thing about it was the de-ageing on Ford at the beginning. From a purely technical POV it was quite impressive. But the uncanny valley is still inescapable. However everything looks so drenched in CGI that it's impossible to buy into any action sequence or scenario.

As the meme says. I went in with low expectations and even they weren't met. I'll finish it out tonight in the hopes that it'll pick up. But I've a feeling that this Indy flick is going to be a one and done for me.

johnny_ultimate · 30-08-2023 12:18pm

I actually think the final part is the most enjoyable, simply because it has a bit of pep in its step rather than the dulling lethargy of the rest of the film. But it's also by far the silliest part of the film (and arguably the series), so also the most divisive part of it 😅 It goes for broke though, which is something that absolutely cannot be said for the preceding 100 or so minutes.

pixelburp · 30-08-2023 12:44pm

I'll be honest: that I wanna watch this at all is purely for this last act that's supposedly divisive and a bit madcap. Sounds like there's at least something to talk about.

johnny_ultimate · 30-08-2023 1:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046424#Comment_121046424

I do admit I will be very, very surprised if @Tony EH is on the positive side of the divide 😆

Tony EH · 30-08-2023 1:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046496#Comment_121046496

Oh dear...

~Rebel~ · 30-08-2023 2:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046424#Comment_121046424

tbh I thought it was grand. I'm not sure I saw much actually divisive stuff in there really, beyond the stuff that people invented for themselves long before it ever came out. It's fine... it drags at times, is a bit of fun at times, and probably won't last too long in the memory, but not too much to be upset about either. A 6/10 sort of deal that passes a Sunday afternoon easily enough.

B.A._Baracus · 30-08-2023 2:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121044973#Comment_121044973

Lol.. :p

Tony EH · 30-08-2023 4:46pm

Arrrrgh, Jim m'lad, we set sail!

pixelburp · 30-08-2023 7:28pm

Have it a go anyway, given it had appeared on digital; I had a day off so why not.

Well then. Ultimately this was deeply baggy while the script was an absolute fúcking jumbled mess; but crucially it was a superfluous coda to a story we had already been given the finale to, a script contriving a story reset so "the movie can happen". Like it or loathe it, Crystal Skull was the ending and so this film kept feeling like a Greatest Hits of tropes and iconography for no other reason than shallow nostalgia dopamine hits. They said the thing, they did the thing.

James Mangold did his level best to emulate Spielberg and TBH most of the time he did a commendable job. When it wasn't lathered in shíte CGI - somehow worse than Crystal Skull in places - the film was enjoyable & verging on fun; highlights being the Tangier chase and the few "tomb" scenes with indy simply exploring (and trashing ancient ruins, lol). But in a year where Mission Impossible crashed a real train for our entertainment, this film's own train was a fairground ride while broadly, too much of the action was plastic and unconvincing - backgrounds in vehicles particularly dreadful.

And bloodless, again worse than Crystal Skull: it was quite cynical how the one trope of the Indy franchise that was dropped to placate the Four Quadrant Gods; no gore, no blood, CGI dummies swept off screen lest we see too much. It wasn't a key pillar but the Spielberg films had an edge. We all remember the end of Raiders precisely because of the horror of it.

The de-ageing was impressive, mostly. Clearly they didn't use Harrison Ford himself and a younger stand-in instead, so there were no regrettable moments of a doddery man playing 40 (see The Irishman); but they didn't adjust the voice, so old man Ford growling through slightly deepfake lips kept breaking the spell. Shooting everything at night was a smart move, drenching the face with shadows a smart way to reduce the obvious digital texture.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121046301#Comment_121046301

Jesus you're not kidding. Thematically it kinda worked, if you squint, but again it felt like the long road back to a point Crystal Skull arrived at years ago. I didn't feel what I think the script and movie wanted me to feel.

Tony EH · 30-08-2023 10:05pm

So me and herself finished this out after work...and, well...it certainly improves after the 1 hour 20 mark, that's for sure, and probably the best section of the whole movie is the "quiet" middle, where Jones, herself and that monobrow kid escape Mads on the boat and head off to Syracuse to Dionysus' tomb.

The end though, fuck me. I'll agree with Johnny in that it goes balls to the wall and says "feck it, this is what we're doing". But by that stage of the movie I was like, "sure go on". And while it was absolutely absurd, it kinda looked great.

It is a bit of an odd fish this film, I think most people would agree, and it's definitely never going to do any damage to 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' in terms of vying for top spot in the series. It has its moments, for sure, but it's terribly over long and extremely muddled.

The whole film, though, is just unpleasant to look at. It's so soft looking and without definition, probably to offset the softness of the overtly CGI sections. It never feels like it was shot on film. A comparison between the 1981 movies and Dial of Destiny would be interesting.

I'll say this, however, the ending in New York was very nicely done indeed.

Is it worth a watch? Over all I would say yes. But then every film in the series is worth a watch. Will it reach anywhere near to being a fondly remembered and often viewed classic like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' or 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' or even, dare I say it, 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'?

Not a chance.

pixelburp · 31-08-2023 8:35am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121049151#Comment_121049151

I'll say this, however, the ending in New York was very nicely done indeed.

Definitely. I'd maintain that it returned to a place Crystal Skull had arrived at, the reconciliation not as impactful as the script wanted me to feel - but it was nice all the same. A surprisingly quiet, domestic, heartfelt ending after the utter lunacy of that final act. Or indeed the complete mess that was all acts prior (seriously, the thing was just all over the place)

Harrison Ford's acting when he makes the

Continental Drift

realisation was actually rather great. His acting can sometimes be a bit inscrutable, being hard to know if the gruffness is Ford's impatience or the character written that way. So here he was often a bit autopilot, gruff without trying too hard; but his manic "you silly bastàrd, you're so fúcked" energy during that finale's scene was fun.

Sad Professor · 03-09-2023 10:00am

I thought this was fine, pretty good even, definitely something I'll revisit without too much hesitation which I can't say for Crystal Skull. However Mangold is no Spielberg and doesn't have anything to add to this franchise unfortunately. It's a shame that we didn't get more of these movies when Ford was younger and Spielberg still knew how to make them.