Xtreme Vogue London Desk: Sarah Marshal
Star Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Oliver Richters, Ethann Isidore, Mads Mikkelsen
Director: James Mangold
What’s Good: Everything is ending for Indy & there won’t be any further milking unless Disney one day doesn’t decide to ruin this further with the help of AI
What’s Bad: What could’ve been three parts to remember forever would be discussed with two blots in the end
Loo Break: It’s one lengthy film, you’d need it
Watch or Not?: Only & only to bid adieu to the legendary Harrison Ford
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 2 hours 34 minutes
User Rating:
Before we jump into the life of 70-year-old Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford for the one last time), we’re taken through a flashback sequence set in approximately 1944 (during the ending phase of World War 2). A splendidly de-aged Indy (aged 45) is captured by German soldiers who are on their way back home retreating some precious historical artefacts for Hitler.
The artefacts included a ‘dial of destiny’ by Siceliote mathematician Archimedes, which can detect fissures in time (it can time travel) introduced by Dr Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). Indy manages to steal a part of it with his bud Basil Shaw (Toby Jones), cutting to the present day in 1969. The now Senior citizen Indy unites with Basil’s daughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) to collect the remaining pieces of dial not letting Voller go back in time to change the result of World War 2.
Script Analysis
Though the story advances over a decade from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it starts with a stylish flashback from 1944 which is just a few years after the Last Crusade (1938). The de-ageing portions of Harrison Ford are both impressive & scary at the same time. Scary because you know he’s not the same person & impressive also because of the same reason.
The technology could now bring back actors from the dead doing a film for y’all, but is that necessary? That’s a debate for some other time but the tech has improved a lot than what it was a couple of years earlier in The Irishman. Ford v Ferrari’s writers Butterworth brothers, Jez & John-Henry Butterworth have reworked the script initialised by Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull’s writer David Koepp.
The core of the Indiana Jones franchise has always been the MacGuffin each of the instalments has followed, apart from the last one which happened only because George Lucas wanted to do something around Aliens with Steven Spielberg. Despite this one revolves around Archimedes’ ‘Dial Of Destiny’, we, the audience, are the MacGuffin of it. This time around Indy is fighting Nazis to hunt for our attention more than anything else.
It’s always hard to make a comeback post an abysmal 4th part following an epic trilogy, and that reflects in how quickly the film slips from “Dafuq!” to “What The F*ck?” The de-aged portions showing a 45-year-old Indy retain the voice texture of the 80-year-old Harrison Ford, why? When you can optimally use the de-ageing tech for the best visual outcome to date, why can’t you use AI to do the same for the dialogues as well?
Despite all this discordance, the first 20 minutes remain the best chunk of the film. Because it retains the Indiana Jones flavour way better than the rest of the film. The chase sequences look more authentic because of the de-ageing process and we don’t have an 80-year-old Harrison Ford doing stunts insanely impossible for people of that age, which kind of creates a disconnect with the story in the later half.
Star Performance
The eternal excitement of being Indy is still alive in Harrison Ford, despite all the cracks in the wall he somehow manages to make us believe that he’ll always have it in him. The fact that you’re witnessing a man completing his 40-year journey with the same character makes all of this even more special.
Before talking about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena, we’ll need to have a word about Toby Jones’ Basil Shaw because he suddenly becomes this important person in Jones’ life naming him as the Godfather to his daughter. All these new connections just can’t build any personal connection with the characters or even the franchise. Phoebe’s performance ranges from annoying to amazing, the only positive being that she’s not used as just another prop.
Mads Mikkelsen yet again manages to play a scary character with finesse. He underplays Dr. Jürgen Voller so beautifully because as a mad scientist, anyone could’ve crossed the line to come across as impressive but Mikkelsen just stays Mikkelsen infusing fear effortlessly. Ethann Isidore’s Teddy is no Short Round, he’s just an attempt to sketch one more such character but failing at it badly.
Direction, Music
It seems Logan wasn’t enough pressure for James Mangold, he agreed to plan a farewell of yet another iconic character. To be fair, with Logan Mangold had Hugh Jackman at his peak physically & mentally. No offence to Harrison Ford, but you need to mentally prepare everyone to accept someone as elderly as him performing near-fatal stunts without even slipping for once. Yep, Jones does complain about his poor back in a scene but in the next scene, he’s back on the field beating the sh*t out of Nazis or whoever came in his way. Mangold had a tough nut to crack with this one which came with its limitations.
The Fedora, the Whip & John Williams’ score does more for Harrison Ford‘s swansong than its story & screenplay. Keeping the zest of yesterday alive, Williams as usual never fails to adapt with time delivering an orchestral masterpiece yet again.
The Last Word
All said and done, Harrison Ford’s last Indiana Jones may not be the best one of the franchise, but thankfully it’s also not the worst.
Two and a half stars!
