The end of great stories is always an event and high expectations. Often, however, the authors fail to maintain the right level of suspense and come up with a dignified farewell to the characters. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the final chapter of the famed archaeologist’s adventure. Harrison Ford is in his eighties and can’t entertain himself with a whip at the ready. But even with such a main character, you can come up with a lot of interesting things. What was it like saying goodbye to one of modern culture’s most iconic characters? All details in the article.
Ta-ta-da-ta, ta-ta-daaa
Filming began in 2016. Steven Spielberg personally oversaw the project, and Disney head Bob Iger (Robert A. Iger) said the picture will be a soft reboot. However, already in 2020, Spielberg left the position of director and remained only in the role of producer. David Koepp also returned to the role of screenwriter, who wrote “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” – the weakest part of the series from the plot side. From that moment on, the “Wheel of Fate” fell into a real production hell. The screenwriters were replaced one by one and the premiere was constantly postponed.
The final result was, to say the least, controversial. An elderly Indy is saddened by the American landing on the moon. Nobody needs history anymore, just like archaeological excavations (which is of course an exaggeration). The son, executed by the great and terrible Shia LaBeouf, died in the war, after which his wife left. The old man’s life is slowly going downhill.
Right from the start it becomes an embarrassment for Professor Jones. Such an outstanding person should age at least a little more interestingly than the average pensioner from the Russian outback. At the same time, the nature of the character has changed a lot. Instead of an inquiring mind – indifference and complete apathy, instead of charisma and caustic phrases – eternal dissatisfaction and moodiness. Even a new artifact, created by Archimedes himself, does not interest Indy at all. The thing lay in the university vault for more than twenty years, although the brave archaeologist did not calm down in the past until he found the second part of the mechanism.
The only thing that reminds Jones of the old gadget is the suddenly appeared goddaughter, the role of which was taken over by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The actress, as they say, is structured, with vivid facial expressions and great experience, but she has nothing special to play. Helena, or whatever Indiana calls her, the Wombat, is the most annoying character in existence for only two reasons.
The first, of course, is the agenda. A strong and self-sufficient woman replacing the stupid old man is the perfect move for Disney. The second reason is the same soft reboot. It is clear that the creators are carefully testing the way for further development without the main star.
However, Helena has another major problem: she is not Indy’s son or even a direct relative. With the ancient archaeologist, the girl lacks any trace of minimal chemistry, she seems superfluous and completely alien to this story. Most of the time, the heroine substitutes and deceives her beloved godfather.
Nothing out of the ordinary as Indy has had communication issues before, but Helena doesn’t at least have a cohesive story. At the right time, for no reason or reason, it just gets right, and that’s it. There is no rethinking or catharsis of the character. The same scenario with the son would obviously have looked more interesting, and the finale with a full family reunion and the solemn handover of that same hat is obviously more powerful and leads to a better reboot.
Questions arise for other scenario research. For example, Archimedes’ invention predicts where time differences arise, which means that with the right settings you can move to the desired past. Until the end it is not clear how exactly the device functions, which makes it suddenly related to the alethiometer from the book series by Philip Pullman (Philip Pullman) and the TV series His Dark Materials. At the same time, Indy flatly refuses to believe the device works. A man who has found the Grail and a host of other magical artifacts, including an alien skull, suddenly believes only in science.
In another scene, young Jones knocks out a Nazi and pushes the body out of the car. Literally in the next frame, two key agents get into the same car at once, completely ignoring the lifeless colleague a stone’s throw away. There are indecently many such unexpected turns in the picture, which greatly spoil the atmosphere and disrupt the immersion.
The villain also turned out to be suitable. Mads Mikkelsen is great as an antagonist, but he has a very questionable motivation, fit for kids cartoon bad guys. Frankly, Indiana’s previous opponents didn’t shine with originality either, but they didn’t sink into such absurdity there.
The brilliant scientist, who helped the Americans create the first rocket, not only could not solve the numerous numbers of Archimedes himself, but also made a mistake in using the gadget correctly. Jürgen Voller, as the character is called, does not have a well-thought-out strategy. We were supposed to wait for a showdown of spirits. In fact, it looks like a meme when the hero suddenly declares that he hasn’t gone that far yet, so he has absolutely no idea what to do next. More stupid villain is yet to watch.
Have you seen the Indiana Jones movies?
Ta-ta-da-ta, ta-ta-da-ta-ta
But in all other respects “Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fate” is a great movie. Good action and just a fantastic flashback with a young archaeologist deserve applause. In case you didn’t know, Ford personally played both the older and younger versions of the character. Only thanks to deepfakes and neural networks, his face was later changed. It turned out frighteningly realistic. Only in fast scenes do you notice some unnatural facial expressions and emotions. With static electricity, the replacement is practically not felt.
The creators have done a good job with references to previous parts, including the main musical theme, which sounds only at the right moments and is always in place. The coolest Easter egg, though, was the same scene with a whip and lots of guns, which they managed to spoil in the trailer.
The authors paid attention to Indy’s age restrictions, which is especially noticeable in dynamic scenes. The hero can no longer perform impetuous tricks, Helena has taken it upon herself, but Jones is still good at hand-to-hand combat.
However, the main feature of the film – time travel – was never realized. From a photo with a similar caption you would expect at least a few heady leaps into the past, but alas. The past is there, but only once – and then in the very last final. The unique device is no longer used in any way.
The long work on the film is only visible in the production and camera work. In all other respects, this is a faded and uninteresting project that immediately fades into obscurity after the credits.
Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fate illustrates all the major problems of modern filmmaking: a stupid and inappropriate agenda, creative impotence and parasitism on once-popular series. This is an empty film that evokes no emotion, and the nostalgic references seem rather forced, just to attract more old fans. Obviously, it’s better not to wait for a soft reboot, because without that same professor, no one needs pictures about Indiana Jones. For modern viewers there’s Lara Croft and Nathan Drake, and it’s high time to send the famed archaeologist to a well-earned rest.
What do you think of Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune?
Source: VG Times