‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’: A Tip of the Fedora to Harrison Ford

Indiana Jones dodges danger one last time in ‘The Dial of Destiny.’

Except for a climax dipping too deep into time travel, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is a whip-snapping banger. Then again, this is a story about a guy who was once possessed by voodoo magic and drank the blood of Kali. So, anything goes, I guess.

In taking over for Steven Spielberg, director James Mangold (“Logan”) is tasked with nothing less than sending off one of cinema’s most beloved heroes. Mangold winningly invokes the spirit of Spielberg to deliver an action-packed fifth, and probably final, adventure brimming with heart and humor. “Dial of Destiny” is not in a league with “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which solidified Harrison Ford’s superstar status, but it is certainly not the dumpster fire that was “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." (LUCASFILM LTD.) — *Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge* *in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” (LUCASFILM LTD.)*

The script – by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and Mangold – summons all the Indiana Jones lore and puts the pieces together, weaving in callbacks galore to its four predecessors. Legendary composer John Williams kicks things off with an updated score. And faster than Indy can punch a Nazi in the face while dangling from a train, we’re off. It is unapologetic fan service and it (mostly) works.

Once again, Indy is fighting another Nazi villain (Mads Mikkelsen) in exotic locales from Morocco to Italy to Greece. Jürgen Voller wants world domination, and he plans to achieve it by altering the outcome of World War II, almost 25 years later in 1969. All he needs is Archimedes Antikythera, aka the Dial of Destiny. The device is a machine with the power to open portals to the past. Whoever controls these “fissures in time” becomes a god among men. To save humanity, Indy must find the dial first.

Joining Indy is his goddaughter, Helena, whose father (Toby Jones) spent his life researching and chasing the dial. She has her own agenda, which she does not initially reveal to Indy. As Helena, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”) infuses a sarcastic edge that smooths out some of Ford’s gruffness. He has a funny “get off my lawn” moment, yelling at his younger neighbors for celebrating the moon landing too loudly. Indy is grumpy. The whiskey in the morning does not help, either. He is retiring from teaching at Hunter College. And he is feeling the weight of some personal issues, all of which raise the emotional stakes and make for a lovely ending that more than forgives the film’s veer into the preposterous.

*Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” (LUCASFILM LTD.)*

The film’s first scene is a jolt of action, opening at the tail end of WWII on a Nazi “plunder train” packed with stolen antiquities. Indy fights his way out, a one-man wrecking crew picking off swarms of German soldiers to narrowly escape, as Indy always does. The sequence recalls River Phoenix playing a young Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade.” But with Ford’s face de-aged, the scene is also a reminder of the sexy archeologist we all fell in love with 40 years ago. At age 80, he has lost some juice off his fastball, but Ford still has the same effortlessly crooked smile and swagger.

From the fedora to the bullwhip to the map sequences, all the hallmarks are here. Ethann Isidore is a new version of the Short Round character and snakes still suck, even if they’re sea snakes. Watching Indy and his old pal, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), is a pleasant dose of nostalgia. Ditto for the tuk-tuk chase through the narrow alleys of Tangiers and the horseback jaunt through the NYC subway. “Dial of Destiny” is just Indy being Indy and nobody does it better than Ford.