The 548th film I have seen in theaters…

The last Indy movie gets a longer break down than usual. Some spoilers will follow.

It is July 1969 and Indiana Jones is nearing retirement. Man has just landed on the moon and “former” Nazi scientists were the geniuses that put them there. Indy is a bit lost, wondering what his place in the world is anymore. Then his goddaughter, Helena, visits him at the bar and he is dragged into one last adventure to find a long lost relic which could change the fate of the world!

This might actually be one of Ford’s best performances as Indy. However, this is not the Indy we knew, even in Crystal Skull. This time, he plays Jones as an old man. He can’t do all the physical things we knew him for. The movie leans into this and it was the right move for the character. On a personal level, he is radically changed. He and Marion are divorcing and Indy seems to have sunken into depression, perhaps alcoholism. His son, Mutt, was killed in Vietnam. This was an unexpected plot development for me and it gave a tremendous emotion to Indy’s character. Ford really put a lot into this one and I strongly disagree with those that claim he hated the movie and phoned it in.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Helena Shaw, Indy’s goddaughter. The scuttlebutt is that Kennedy hopes to create spin offs with her character, this role being written specifically for Waller-Bridge. I would be 100% down for those adventures. We first meet Helena in a similar situation to Indy in Temple of Doom. She, and her young sidekick, are seeking not archaeological discoveries but FORTUNE and GLORY! Hehe. Indy sees through her façade, though, and makes note of the fac that she wouldn’t know so much about her late father’s work if she only cared about the money. She was, as is the actress, quick witted and sharp tongued. This is absolutely a character that could shine on her own. In fact, She carries much of the physical action in this and we find her being to one to save Indy a couple times!

Mads Mikkelsen is good in everything. I am hard pressed to find a bad performance the man has made, even in shitty movies. He plays Voller, Nazi scientist that is recruited to NASA. It’s basically Wernher Von Braun as an Indy Villain.

Ethann Isidore is Teddy, Helena’s short round. This kid did pretty good. I enjoyed his interplay with Helena and he was a non-annoying child sidekick. This itself is worthy of praise.

Toby Jones appears in flashbacks as Basil Shaw, Helena’s father. He is the befuddled professor tagging along for one of Indy’s adventures during WW. He later becomes obsessed with the “Dial of Destiny”, leading to the main action in 1969. Jones was great casting.

Antonio Banderas is Renaldo, a boat Captain/diver friend of Indy. Another small role, but Banderas’ charm brings a lot to the role.

John Rhys-Davies returns as Sallah. A very small role, but wonderful nonetheless. His character represents nostalgia for the “good old days” and Rhys-Davies plays him perfectly, as always.

Cameoing at the very end, Karen Allen returns as Marion Ravenwood. I won’t lie, seeing her with Indy and hearing her old theme song, especially with the emotional weight of this movie, made me cry.

Was it as good as Raiders or Last Crusade? No. Better than Crystal Skull? Yeah, it actually improved that movie in retrospective. Better than Temple of Doom? Yeah, it is.

I enjoy James Mangold’s work and I think he did a fine job here. He went back to basics and avoided the aliens.

While they did not go full magical relics this time, despite a cameo by the Spear of Destiny, they did use the Antikythera Mechanism as the “Macguffin”. This is one of the cooler IRL discoveries as was centuries ahead of its time. It was a sort of clock thing, with moving gears and was essentially a mechanical computer, capable of calculating regular astronomical events like eclipses. The movie embraces one of the theories, although unlikely, that it was made by the Archimedes school in Syracuse. The real device is not as well preserved as the one in the film, but I can forgive this. It was a good relic to chase.

I was quite surprised as how much I was enjoying this movie. I did not hate Indy 4, but it was obviously a lesser entry when compared to the originals. The WW2 opening felt like classic Indy and I loved it, but there was a point, during a horse chase in NYC, that I just sort of melted into my chair and realized this was a good Indy movie on it’s own right. The Tangiers scenes were fantastic, the deep sea diving fun, and the tomb raiding perfect. That 3^rd act though. Holy shit was that ballsy. When I realized where this movie was taking us I buckled up and enjoyed the ride. Pure pulp awesomeness.

6/10

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