Film It would've worked better as a 20 minute short
Indiana Jones has always been the brassy, louder cousin in the LucasFilm showcase: While Star Wars itself never shied from its themes, its Bloodless Carnage, extremely chaste romantic moments, and overly dramatic nature made it suitable for all ages, whereas the violence of Indiana Jones always screamed more 13 and up.
After being purchased by Disney, LucasFilm decided to make a fifth movie, and in the first 20 minutes, it feels like an Indiana Jones movie: A fantastic action set piece as Indiana saves an artifact from the Nazis with some incredible CGI de-aging lead actor Harrison Ford. But after that, the good stuff ends: The story cuts forward ~25 years and now Jones is a Grumpy Old Man, a drunk, and all-around loser. It's been a bit of a theme to showcase former heroes as old, washed-up sad sacks in sequels. It never works, and just comes off as spiteful. His god-daughter, whom no one bothered to mention until now, comes out looking for the dial, only to steal it to sell for profit. Meanwhile, a Nazi recruited by America for scientific expertise is looking for the dial in a way to subvert Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act.
All in all, some of the action sequences are actually pretty good, several chase scenes are thrilling, and all of the plot elements echo the original trilogy. But the acting really brings it down: Ford is not the young man he once was, and the movie goes out of its way to showcase that. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Helena the god-daughter, and is by far the worst aspect of the movie. Her sarcastic quips and snotty behavior get old real fast. And the movie never stops trying to tell you how good she is and how everyone likes her: A chase scene starts because some mobster is in love with her. Some other guy keeps obsessing over her, he then dies and Helena thinks it's funny: Designated Hero to the extreme, and the worst consequences she ever experiences is that Indy chews her out mildly. The story then considers her to be heroic just because the writers seem to like her; and she feels more like the villain than the actual villain given how she leaves Indiana to die on multiple occasions. The real villain, played by Mads Mikkelsen never feels like a threat.
If this movie had just been the first 20 minutes as a showcase for de-aging technology, it would've been delightful. But here, the Troubled Production shows, the writers were cognitive enough to know what the original movies had, but not what made them memorable. The writers just thought the public could stick the franchise name on something and it would be loved. And it wasn't.
Save your time. Save your money.
Film An enjoyable adventure – as long as you don't compare it to the other Indy movies.
The thing about the Dial of Destiny is that everyone immediately wants to compare it to the classic films in the Indiana Jones franchise. And — fair is fair — it does not quite stand up to them (Crystal Skull always excepted).
But let's, just for a moment, do a thought experiment. Let's imagine that this film is not about Indiana Jones at all, but about some other, completely unrelated, Adventurer Archaeologist. Or, even better, imagine you have never seen any of the previous Indiana Jones movies, and in fact never heard of them at all. Imagine you are judging this film entirely on its own merits. And then, I have to say, it's pretty enjoyable, as far as adventure films go! It has all the ingredients a good adventure story needs: a hero, sidekick(s), a historical MacGuffin, exotic locations, an evil (ex-)Nazi baddie; there's mystery, there's suspense, there are exciting action sequences; there's a sci-fi element (time travel), and in the end we actually get to meet Archimedes himself. All in all, not too shabby!
Now, to return to the real world. Of course most of those who see this film will also have seen the previous Indiana Jones films. And, of course, comparisons are inevitable. And yes, it will certainly colour the perception of this film. Yes, this is not The Lost Ark nor The Last Crusade. But, let me just say this, don't be swayed by the comparisons: this film can certainly be enjoyed on its own.
TL;DR: An enjoyable adventure — as long as you accept it on its own merits.
Film A thoroughly enjoyable, if imperfect, Indiana Jones Entry
Indiana Jones has a well deserved reputation as being one of the most, if not the most, iconic adventure heroes of all time. The original three films of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade are still among the best films of the 80s and largely hold up to this day (Okay, maybe not Temple as much now). Crystal Skull is, unsurprisingly, the complete outlier of the saga and doesn't hold in my opinion. So going into Dial Of Destiny I was very cautiously optimistic with this one, fearing it would be another Crystal Skull.
But what I got was a really solid, enjoyable Indiana Jones entry that serves as a good send-off to the character. Is it perfect? No; there are a few legitimate problems with it. But overall it is a movie I wouldn't mind seeing again.
Harrison Ford has still got is as Indiana Jones, even in his 80s. It really does feel like a natural, if a tad cliched, progression for the character considering what he's been through. Sure, he's more grumpy, but Indy was never the most upbeat character to begin with; he was always cynical and a bit jaded, but he was still heroic when he needed to. And what impressed me on a technical level is how Ford still was willing to do many of his own actions like riding a horse or cracking the iconic whip even at this age.
Mads Mickelson's Voller really is a great villain for the Indiana Jones series. I fully believe he was a Nazi who was unhappy with how the war turned out, and his motivations & goals are actually interesting (no spoilers!). Even Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Helena is enjoyable in her own right. It's interesting to see her serve as a foil to Indy with how she pursues archeology. She's essentially Belloq from Raiders but is still an ally for Indy (for the most part, but I'll get to that).
And the story for the movie is interesting, where I was constantly wondering how things would turn out, even when (being Indiana Jones) is apparent Indy would come out on top. The titular Dial is a solid MacGuffin and an interesting, unique device that is suited for Indiana Jones (unlike the Crystal Skull).
Now, all that being said, the movie is not perfect. As enjoyable as Helena is, she is a bit of an acquired taste; her relationship with Indy is at first hostile as she's more interested in fortune & glory, and it takes a while for her to grow out of it. Also, there's a subplot in the film where Indy is framed, but it really doesn't go anywhere, so it feels like unnecessary padding. Also, the film can feel a bit clunky at time and some characters feel underutilized.
Overall, I found Dial of Destiny and enjoyable film. It's worth checking out if you're an Indiana Jones fan, or an Adventure film fan.