Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30th, 2023)

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Think I'd give it a 5/10, which is at least better than the 3/10 I'd give Crystal Skull.

Despite some iffy de-aging here and there, the opening sequence had lots of fun, clever moments and came closest to capturing the spirit of the original films. But once we jump to the 60s I found myself struggling to care about anything going on, what with the long, uninspired action sequences and lame villains. And much like the last movie it's just completely lacking in any of the fun, witty banter that defined the original trilogy.

Although I think the biggest problem is, that, much like with the crystal skulls, the dial is just never that compelling an artifact or macguffin, or something that really feels worth spending an entire movie chasing after and solving puzzles to find. It has none of the mystery, weight or "power of god" importance that the Ark and Grail had in abundance (and even the Sankara Stones to a degree), and ultimately I didn't give a flip about it.

I will say I had no problem with Phoebe's character though, like many here seem to, and thought her performance was perfectly fine. And the time travel ending worked much better than I expected too (and was nowhere near as cringe-inducing as that alien spaceship in the last movie). And there were some surprisingly touching moments here and there.

So yeah, nowhere near as cheesy or painful as Indy 4, but that's about the best I can really say about it. Lol
 
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LOL

LOLOLOL

Ask yourself this....why isnit always you and your 3 fan-club members who are all posting non stop about them?

Same guys, hating every modern hero thats not male, bashing any film thats not the great white hero trope.

We know who we are talking about.

I could cut and paste your typical replies to female film stars that do anything besides look like a sex object.
Dear god, what juvenile patronizing nonsense!. And please stop making up lies.🧐
 
Saw it yesterday.

The main question everyone keeps asking or wondering about, is it better than KOTCS?

YES it’s better than KOTCS.

By a little or a-lot?

By A-LOT that’s how bad KOTCS was and still remains.

Ok my thoughts.

Raiders was the way more grounded movie when it came to realistic human interactions while the others were way more pulpy with how characters interacted with each other or how scenes played out.

DOD joins Raiders and at many times surpasses Raiders in being grounded.

First time we’ve seen Indy actually respond to death in such a realistic real world grounded manner and not in that pulpy serial adventure manner.

Right off the top though I don’t buy there being a black female government operative with that much power and control back then…

AND…

I also don’t buy there being a sassy woman with a nick name globetrotting the world especially northern Africa and the middle east wheeling and dealing and flaunting such a strong personality like that during that era.

Just an observation not that it bugged me hence why I put it up here in my review and not under the things that bugged me down below.

Anyways, my thoughts on the movie:

There are 2 ways for us the audience to interact with this movie.

1. Hate it because all you see is a depressing grounded dirty and mean deconstruction of what once was a very knowledgeable and curious man in control of his life who very well understood what his existence and presence was worth.

OR

2. Embrace it because this is Logan but with Indy and you’re ok seeing your once iconic confident hero being dragged thru the mud in an attempt to tell a character story about a man who’s better days were behind him because the world rapidly evolved beyond his control into a chaotic rebellious society that no longer trusted their government and who were not going to come together to fight an enemy like they did in WW2.

So which did I go with, 1 or 2?

I went with 2!

Did I choose wisely lol

Look, if you were going to deconstruct Indy that was the perfect decade to do it because society and trust were already deep enough in chaos while also being close enough to WW2 where you could explore that clash of cultures and mindsets and once you add in his personal losses it all becomes very tragic for this once super confident Nazi fighting hero who was always trying to fill his father’s shoes but whose own fatherhood was failed by his own government that he had helped save many times before, think about that for a moment.

But if you are not accepting this deconstruction I totally get it some fans just want their heroes to remain strong and confident unwavering when confronted with challenges nothing wrong with that either.

I went in with rock bottom expectations so I was shocked SHOCKED when I realized that I wasn’t wincing or cringing during the supposed confident female treatment of Indy or during the supposedly big let down finale.

I was actually on the edge of my seat to see what would be revealed on the “other side” I haven’t felt that since Raiders or TLC 3rd act reveals!

Yes the movie is gray, dry and depressing.

But I was ok with that BECAUSE of how Indy would handle the situations he was presented with, he had no problem using a gun! :yess:

I like that he was unwavering at discovery in the service of preservation against her self serving wealth aspirations.

That is actually a HUGE DEAL today where all museums have FAKES while only the elite billionaires have access to the real pieces of history curated in their personal collections meant for investment only.

Real quick, the de-aging worked for me I had no problems with it but I also have poor vision so ymmv lol

Anyways few things bugged me:

Too many dark scenes in WW2 and under the ocean could’ve been lit better but I get why they did it especially during WW2.

The eels attacks scene was too dark and shaky cam to see what was happening to whom and it took way too long but I liked the reasons for it but the execution was murky.

Indy is reminded that everything he strives for is met with challenges this time water snakes, perfect use of his “snakes” dilema.

The A thru Z conveniences bugged me.

Every escape, every encounter, every eye line between characters, every interaction fell into place perfectly at all times.

3 examples:

1. Indy horse subway chase it ends and he went far jumping thru tunnels and tracks yet black lady operative there to see him at the train.

2. Villain’s car escaping thru complicated maze of streets in Tangiers, no problem the good guys perfectly see the car escaping.

3. Kid in Sicily just happens to take a path where the villains just happen to be on their boat to see him.

Stuff like that happens quite a-lot and it kept taking me out the movie the more it happened.

Anyways those are my quick thoughts.

Oh and I loved Taxi Sallah freaking perfect reminded me of my father when he arrived in the states lol

My dad was literally Sallah a middle eastern globe trotting businessman who worked from Tripoli to Casablanca!

Just remember that being Indy is all about being confronted head on with challenges.

This time the challenges came from within himself and I liked how it all ended up.

Speaking about ending as in the last important character moment.

PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT!!!


PERFECT!!!
 
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Saw it yesterday.

The main question everyone keeps asking or wondering about, is it better than KOTCS?

YES it’s better than KOTCS.

But a little or a-lot?

By A-LOT that’s how bad KOTCS was and still remains.

Ok my thoughts.

Raiders was the way more grounded movie when it came to realistic human interactions while the others were way more pulpy with how characters interacted with each other or how scenes played out.

DOD joins Raiders and at many times surpasses Raiders in being grounded.

First time we’ve seen Indy actually respond to death in such a realistic real world grounded manner and not in that pulpy serial adventure manner.

Right off the top though I don’t buy there being a black female government operative with that much power and control back then…

AND…

I also don’t buy there being a sassy woman with a nick name globetrotting the world especially northern Africa and the middle east wheeling and dealing and flaunting such a strong personality like that during that era.

Just an observation not that it bugged me hence why I put it up here in my review and not under the things that bugged me down below.

Anyways, my thoughts on the movie:

There are 2 ways for us the audience to interact with this movie.

1. Hate it because all you see is a depressing grounded dirty and mean deconstruction of what once was a very knowledgeable and curious man in control of his life who very well understood what his existence and presence was worth.

OR

2. Embrace it because this is Logan but with Indy and you’re ok seeing your once iconic confident hero being dragged thru the mud in an attempt to tell a character story about a man who’s better days were behind him because the world rapidly evolved beyond his control into a chaotic rebellious society that no longer trusted their government and who were not going to come together to fight an enemy like they did in WW2.

So which did I go with, 1 or 2?

I went with 2!

Did I choose wisely lol

Look, if you were going to deconstruct Indy that was the perfect decade to do it because society and trust were already deep enough in chaos while also being close enough to WW2 where you could explore that clash of cultures and mindsets and once you add in his personal losses it all becomes very tragic for this once super confident Nazi fighting hero who was always trying to fill his father’s shoes but whose own fatherhood was failed by his own government that he had helped save many times before, think about that for a moment.

But if you are not accepting this deconstruction I totally get it some fans just want their heroes to remain strong and confident unwavering when confronted with challenges nothing wrong with that either.

I went in with rock bottom expectations so I was shocked SHOCKED when I realized that I wasn’t wincing or cringing during the supposed confident female treatment of Indy or during the supposedly big let down finale.

I was actually on the edge of my seat to see what would be revealed on the “other side” I haven’t felt that since Raiders or TLC 3rd act reveals!

Yes the movie is gray, dry and depressing.

But I was ok with that BECAUSE of how Indy would handle the situations he was presented with.

I like that he was unwavering at discovery in the service of preservation against her self serving wealth aspirations.

That is actually a HUGE DEAL today where all museums have FAKES while only the elite billionaires have access to the real pieces of history curated in their personal collections meant for investment only.

Real quick, the de-aging worked for me I had no problems with it but I also have poor vision so ymmv lol

Anyways few things bugged me:

Too many dark scenes in WW2 and under the ocean could’ve been lit better but I get why they did it especially during WW2.

The eels attacks scene was too dark and shaky cam to see what was happening to whom and it took way too long but I get why they did it and I liked the reasons for it but the execution was lacking.

Indy is reminded that everything he strives for is met with challenges this time water snakes, perfect use of his “snakes” dilema.

The A thru Z conveniences bugged me.

Every escape, every encounter, every eye line between characters, every interaction fell into place perfectly at all times.

3 examples:

1. Indy horse subway chase it ends and he went far jumping thru tunnels and tracks yet black lady operative there to see him at the train.

2. Villain’s car escaping thru complicated maze of streets in Tangiers, no problem the good guys perfectly see the car escaping.

3. Kid in Sicily just happens to take a path where the villains just happen to be on their boat to see him.

Stuff like that happens quite a-lot and it kept taking me out the movie the more it happened.

Anyways those are my quick thoughts.

Oh and I loved Taxi Sallah freaking perfect reminded me of my father when he arrived in the states lol

My dad was literally Sallah a middle eastern globe trotting businessman who worked from Tripoli to Casablanca!

Just remember that being Indy is all about being confronted head on with challenges.

This time the challenges came from within himself and I liked how it all ended up.

Speaking about ending as in the last important character moment.

PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT!!!


PERFECT!!!
One of my friends really enjoyed it also. So I have a little bit of hope with his and your feelings.

Funny thing. I watched KOTCS yesterday to help this be a better film lol

I actually enjoyed it more than I ever have.. Now that’s not saying much. Basically I didn’t hate it. I always enjoyed the first hour and I just tried to go with the stuff I really hated.

So instead of a 1/10 I would give it a 4/10 lol
 
One of my friends really enjoyed it also. So I have a little bit of hope with his and your feelings.

Funny thing. I watched KOTCS yesterday to help this be a better film lol

I actually enjoyed it more than I ever have.. Now that’s not saying much. Basically I didn’t hate it. I always enjoyed the first hour and I just tried to go with the stuff I really hated.

So instead of a 1/10 I would give it a 4/10 lol
Damn I hope I didn’t ruin anything in my review for you I wasn’t expecting you in here for another 2 weeks lol

I had the same experience recently with KOTCS but DOD is actually a REAL movie when compared to the shenanigans from KOTCS.

No vine swinging in DOD everything is more realistically mapped out.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was good action after being spoiled recently by JW4 and Extraction 2 so I was actually pleasantly surprised to be thrilled by the action set pieces!

Seriously they blow away KOTCS, miles better.

I also wasn’t expecting old Indy to be a bad ass in this because of his supposed emasculation but he seriously was!

Dude I went in expecting KOTCS part 2 but even WOKE worse!

It isn’t.

It just isn’t.
 
Saw it yesterday.

The main question everyone keeps asking or wondering about, is it better than KOTCS?

YES it’s better than KOTCS.

But a little or a-lot?

By A-LOT that’s how bad KOTCS was and still remains.

Ok my thoughts.

Raiders was the way more grounded movie when it came to realistic human interactions while the others were way more pulpy with how characters interacted with each other or how scenes played out.

DOD joins Raiders and at many times surpasses Raiders in being grounded.

First time we’ve seen Indy actually respond to death in such a realistic real world grounded manner and not in that pulpy serial adventure manner.

Right off the top though I don’t buy there being a black female government operative with that much power and control back then…

AND…

I also don’t buy there being a sassy woman with a nick name globetrotting the world especially northern Africa and the middle east wheeling and dealing and flaunting such a strong personality like that during that era.

Just an observation not that it bugged me hence why I put it up here in my review and not under the things that bugged me down below.

Anyways, my thoughts on the movie:

There are 2 ways for us the audience to interact with this movie.

1. Hate it because all you see is a depressing grounded dirty and mean deconstruction of what once was a very knowledgeable and curious man in control of his life who very well understood what his existence and presence was worth.

OR

2. Embrace it because this is Logan but with Indy and you’re ok seeing your once iconic confident hero being dragged thru the mud in an attempt to tell a character story about a man who’s better days were behind him because the world rapidly evolved beyond his control into a chaotic rebellious society that no longer trusted their government and who were not going to come together to fight an enemy like they did in WW2.

So which did I go with, 1 or 2?

I went with 2!

Did I choose wisely lol

Look, if you were going to deconstruct Indy that was the perfect decade to do it because society and trust were already deep enough in chaos while also being close enough to WW2 where you could explore that clash of cultures and mindsets and once you add in his personal losses it all becomes very tragic for this once super confident Nazi fighting hero who was always trying to fill his father’s shoes but whose own fatherhood was failed by his own government that he had helped save many times before, think about that for a moment.

But if you are not accepting this deconstruction I totally get it some fans just want their heroes to remain strong and confident unwavering when confronted with challenges nothing wrong with that either.

I went in with rock bottom expectations so I was shocked SHOCKED when I realized that I wasn’t wincing or cringing during the supposed confident female treatment of Indy or during the supposedly big let down finale.

I was actually on the edge of my seat to see what would be revealed on the “other side” I haven’t felt that since Raiders or TLC 3rd act reveals!

Yes the movie is gray, dry and depressing.

But I was ok with that BECAUSE of how Indy would handle the situations he was presented with.

I like that he was unwavering at discovery in the service of preservation against her self serving wealth aspirations.

That is actually a HUGE DEAL today where all museums have FAKES while only the elite billionaires have access to the real pieces of history curated in their personal collections meant for investment only.

Real quick, the de-aging worked for me I had no problems with it but I also have poor vision so ymmv lol

Anyways few things bugged me:

Too many dark scenes in WW2 and under the ocean could’ve been lit better but I get why they did it especially during WW2.

The eels attacks scene was too dark and shaky cam to see what was happening to whom and it took way too long but I get why they did it and I liked the reasons for it but the execution was lacking.

Indy is reminded that everything he strives for is met with challenges this time water snakes, perfect use of his “snakes” dilema.

The A thru Z conveniences bugged me.

Every escape, every encounter, every eye line between characters, every interaction fell into place perfectly at all times.

3 examples:

1. Indy horse subway chase it ends and he went far jumping thru tunnels and tracks yet black lady operative there to see him at the train.

2. Villain’s car escaping thru complicated maze of streets in Tangiers, no problem the good guys perfectly see the car escaping.

3. Kid in Sicily just happens to take a path where the villains just happen to be on their boat to see him.

Stuff like that happens quite a-lot and it kept taking me out the movie the more it happened.

Anyways those are my quick thoughts.

Oh and I loved Taxi Sallah freaking perfect reminded me of my father when he arrived in the states lol

My dad was literally Sallah a middle eastern globe trotting businessman who worked from Tripoli to Casablanca!

Just remember that being Indy is all about being confronted head on with challenges.

This time the challenges came from within himself and I liked how it all ended up.

Speaking about ending as in the last important character moment.

PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT!!!


PERFECT!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!

I never thought of Raiders as grounded in any way but compared to ToD, TLC and KoTCS I guess it was lol. I definitely think they made the right choice in making DoD more grounded. With Ford's age and corresponding physical limitations, there really was no alternative than to lean into that fully.

While you're probably correct about the likelihood of a sassy, globetrotting woman like Helena existing in that time period, I don't think it's any less likely than a white woman running her own bar at some remote Himalayan outpost in Nepal back in the 1930s lol. Plus Helena could have accompanied her father on some of his travels or at the very least had a list of his contacts, so it's not inconceivable that she'd know her way around places like Tangiers & Casablanca by the time she was 30.

I too was on the edge of my seat before they reached "the other side" and was gobsmacked (in a good way) when they got there. I found it to be an inspired, fun choice and the perfect setting given Indy's lifelong pursuits.

I'm envious of your poor vision with respect to the de-aging. Unfortunately I only need glasses for reading, so taking them off for my next screening of this won't help lol.

The A to Z conveniences bugged me a bit too but surprisingly Teddy's getting nabbed in Sicily wasn't one of them. I suppose it was because Voller saw them heading west so I knew he and his thugs weren't too far behind.


Oh and YES, you chose wisely!
 
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Which brings me to my rant for the day.

Look as a white mostly conservative male living in a conservative founded nation whose foundation of freedom my parents respected and cherished enough that they moved around the world for i’m going to go and say this.

I’m all for the protection and proper education of children and for them to be competitive in this world they need way more mathematics and way less social engineering by powerful educators while i’m at work.

BUT please understand that these YouTubers railing against the social engineering of pop culture NEED YOUR views that is their entire livelihood they need to be loud and angry about WOKE GOING BROKE!

While I agree with their core mission statement of the risks of indoctrination thru pop culture what they’re doing though is in their supposed telling of the facts they are distorting the reality.

They need to distort that reality because if they come out and even say 10% something positive about the movie or TV series from Disney they will be attacked for being spineless and lose viewers and they are afraid of that happening so they will forge ahead purposely ignoring the positives while focusing all on the negatives.

Let me tell you this firmly.

Indy is NOT emasculated by this woman he even yells at her to “Stop talking to me and climb!” :rotfl

Indy shoots a freaking gun again!

Indy is freaking anti-government for crying out loud that’s not something those Youtubers will inform you about because oh no you might actually agree and support that!

Listen do yourselves a favor stop allowing these Youtubers from your own side of the aisle to tell you how to feel because they’re only telling you what they need to say to get those views which is fist pumping WOKE GO BROKE narrative they NEED your support the Youtube algorithm demands it on them!

One reviewer had a title of:

“DISGRACE!”

:rotfl

They are hurting the movie for you and they don’t care…they just need you to CLICK CLICK CLICK!

What’s next Chocolate ice cream is woke!

I love chocolate ice cream lol
 
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Glad you enjoyed it!

I never thought of Raiders as grounded in any way but I compared to ToD, TLC and KoTCS I guess it was lol. I definitely think they made the right choice in making DoD more grounded. With Ford's age and corresponding physical limitations, there really was no alternative than to lean into that fully.

While you're probably correct about the likelihood of a sassy, globetrotting woman like Helena existing in that time period, I don't think it's any less likely than a white woman running her own bar at some remote Himalayan outpost in Nepal back in the 1930s lol. Plus Helena could have accompanied her father on some of his travels or at the very least had a list of his contacts, so it's not inconceivable that she'd know her way around places like Tangiers & Casablanca by the time she was 30.

I too was on the edge of my seat before they reached "the other side" and was gobsmacked (in a good way) when they got there. I found it to be an inspired, fun choice and the perfect setting given Indy's lifelong pursuits.

I'm envious of your poor vision with respect to the de-aging. Unfortunately I only need glasses for reading, so taking them off for my next screening of this won't help lol.

The A to Z conveniences bugged me a bit too but surprisingly Teddy's getting nabbed in Sicily wasn't one of them. I suppose it was because Voller saw them heading west so I knew he and his thugs weren't too far behind.


Oh and YES, you chose wisely!

I love it that Indy in Raiders is very trusting and naive about government in the beginning when he’s talking with Marcus at his home packing for the trip he says to Marcus, “And the museum gets the ark when we’re finished?”

lol

He says it in this giddy excited child like manner.

Compare that to DOD where he’s seen and experienced enough all the way up to personal loss at the hands of his own government that he now seriously contemplates getting the hell out of dodge and becoming a lost relic himself.

My wife has that same effect on me btw lol
 
Absolutely epic review from top to bottom jye, glad you liked it! :rock

I think the "Unforgiven/Logan but with a happy ending" was literally the absolutely perfect way for them to approach this film. Grounding it and making Indy more world weary makes him as a character less fodder for ridicule at his age but then also had the added effect of making him *more* badass for all the stuff that he does accomplish.

I liked TFA but I totally get the complaints of noob Rey defeating Kylo Ren at the peak of his power and fitness. But in DOD Indy was clearly like 30% of the man he used to be and yet Helena could still just *barely* keep up with him. Him not being a superhero at this stage of his life doesn't make him emasculated any more than Roger Murtaugh, William Munny, Logan, Rocky in Rocky Balboa, etc., were emasculated in their respective films.

And speaking of TFA of course I noticed the obvious correlation between Indy in this movie and Han in TFA (right down to them repeating the same "go talk to Marion/she doesn't want to talk to me" exchange) but I feel like DOD simply presented that same scenario *correctly.*
His situation was similarly tragic but IMO necessary due to the cards Mangold was dealt with needing to get rid of dumb Shia and also having an excuse for Indy to be free to go on another adventure. But instead of going the Unforgiven/Rocky/Logan route and just saying that Marion had died they kept her around in order to deliver that super satisfying warm and fuzzy reunion, with Sala too! :yess:

Dude I so agree with both you and Buffinator that I was LITERALLY ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT WONDERING WHERE THEIR PLANE WAS GOING TO END UP. I seriously have not been so riveted with excitement and anticipation at a movie in I don't know how long and it was in an Indiana Jones movie no less!!!! :rock :thud:
 
I do agree with JAWS though regarding KOTCS.

In my DOD review I had some harsh words for KOTCS and while I still place it dead last it did improve on my last viewing which was years removed from the last time I dared watch it.

But DOD is WAY WAY BETTER than KOTCS.

KOTCS is actually boring and flat looking most of the time.

Indy seemed bored in KOTCS.

I HATE the dumb snake scene in KOTCS now that’s a super cringey and eye rolling call back, DOD did it right with the eels!

DOD was gorgeous looking most of the time!
 
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Ive seen it twice now (Friday & Saturday)

Fridays viewing was a pleasant surprise. Much more heart than I anticipated. Big JM fan so I originally had high expectations but they were lowered with all the lead in bad buzz. No spoilers for me prior so I saw it only knowing of that buzz. But over all it was a pleasant surprise. The ending was great and put a nice bow in things.

Saturday.. 2nd time around with the nostalgia of seeing a new Indy film and hearing a new Williams score not leading my emotions.. how did it hold up? Well its VERY fantastical but I still enjoyed it. Much less so than the day before but it is entertaining enough. Doubt I’ll see it again until its on Disney+ but even then I’ll probably be skipping through it. In a nut shell it feels like a 2hr chase movie with about 20 min of dialogue driven drama. But some good stuff in there for sure. Just go in with lowered expectations and dont see it more than twice. Not sure how well it will hold up to repeat viewings honestly. Was originally excited that it might but.. ?

Raiders for me is untouchable. ToD and LC are a distant 2nd/3rd to that film. KotCS is miles behind. DoD is closer to ToD. It didn’t ruin Indy for me (it actually enriched the character) and it’s far from awful. Forgive the sports analogy.. It’s certainly not a home run but it is a sliding 2nd.
 
Oh oh oh I forgot 2 things!

I have a tendency to go on about my character arc obsessions that were never meant to pan out, just ask buffinator about my Armorer being a spy theory in Mando S3 lol.

I was fully expecting and yes hoping that the big reveal at the end would be them
arriving at the Raiders Ark island during the ceremony and that’s how we would see de-aged Marion and the Nazi outcome and I actually thought it was that island when I first saw the clouds clearing up and the island appearing.

Maybe an adult short round cameo just to explain his whereabouts but honestly I wasn’t expecting that but was ready for it just incase it did happen but that probably would’ve been one too many remember berries to swallow.

C’mon admit it you probably thought it was THAT particular and iconic location to end their story.

Was I disappointed it wasn’t?

No…no I wasn’t.

Ok maybe just a small tad admit it you were too lol
 
But, but... I want to see those better days. :(
You will and not just in the prologue!

I should’ve added this to my review:

“I can’t believe old Indy kicked ass and convincingly so!

Only 1 quick moment I saw the dreaded “old man walk”

Believe me Wor i’m in total shock how much I loved old Indy.
 
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