So I don’t go to a lot of actual movies, in case you haven’t noticed. I did decide to try this one, though, because I like the franchise and enjoyed most of the movies (although a couple have been just silly).
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny starts out in the past, with Indy captured by Nazis as he and a hitherto unknown companion called Basil try to “rescue” the lance that stabbed Christ so they can put it into a museum. There is the usual high-action escape scene, with Indy not realizing Basil has been captured also and trying to find the lance on the Nazi train. Then, a Nazi scientists shows up with half of something called Archimedes’ Dial. Basil manages to grab that during the chaos of Indy’s escape, and the two head for the American soldiers who have stopped the Nazi train.
Then, we cut to the “present,” the day of the first moon landing in 1969. Indy is retiring and a young woman attends his final class, then introduces herself as his god-daughter, Helena, Basil’s daughter. She is in search of the Dial and Indy pulls it from its hiding place and shows it to her. Unfortunately, another group is also following Helena, and when she grabs the dial and escapes, Indy has no choice but to follow her.
The ensuing chase, as in all Indy movies, moves from one country to another, and they eventually end up in Greece, where good guys and bad guys meet up and fate is met all around. We get to see John Rhys-Davies as Salah, Karen Allen as Marian, and Antonio Banderas as a Spanish diver, so there are plenty of familiar faces to enjoy. Helena is not what she seems, and that complicates Indy’s attempt to find the rest of the Dial.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie, even if it was more of a trip down memory lane instead of a straight-up action flick. Harrison Ford, after all, is too old for the original Indiana Jones shenanigans, and the movie seemed to try (mostly) to remain true to his age. The ending was satisfying, which is important in an action movie, and even if this is the first Indy film not conceived by George Lucas or directed by Steven Spielberg, I think it was pretty darn good. You should see it if you get the chance, even if the price of popcorn is ridiculous.