Critics Torch James Mangold’s ‘Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny’

John F. Trent |

May 22, 2023

The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm took Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to Cannes Film Festival allowing film critics to see the movie over a month before it releases into theaters and they did not like what they saw.

Rotten Tomatoes

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rotten 49% on the Tomatometer with an average rating of 5.8 out of 10 from 35 reviews. There are 17 fresh reviews and 18 rotten reviews.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Rotten Tomatoes score

Looking at the Top Critics score, the film fares even worse with a 36% rating with an average review of 5.4 out of 10 from 22 reviews. There are 8 fresh reviews and 14 rotten reviews.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics score

Here’s what some of the critics are saying:

Stephen Garret at Observer gives the film a rotten score. He writes, “Fun isn’t the most accurate way to describe its excessive antics: there’s never a dull moment, but all the globe-trotting hullaballoo does verge on exhausting.”

James Mottram at South China Morning Post gives the film a positive 4 out of 5. He writes, “Director James Mangold, stepping in for Steven Spielberg, brings the character’s adventures to a satisfying close, while Ford revels in reprising the role for one last hurrah.”

Peter Howell at Toronto Star gives the film a rotten 2.5 out of 4. He writes, “It’s all pretty goofy and laborious over its 142-minute running time.”

(L-R): Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, standing), Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Rory Doherty at Flicks gives the film a rotten review. He writes, “A film that inherits the directing mantle from Steven Spielberg should know when to step up. It’s about time executives realise that franchises can’t be cleanly separated from the visions and talents of those who made them.”

Donald Clarke at Irish Times gives the film a positive 3 out of 5 review. He says, “It counts as a sort of compliment to say that James Mangold’s film – until a gleefully absurd ending – plays like just another episode in a creaky unpretentious romp.”

Jason Gorber at That Shelf gives the film a positive review. He states, “… fine fan fiction, employing much of what makes this character so special play out in new ways while very much embracing the past. When it works it’s excellent, when it doesn’t you still revel in companionship of old friends.”

Ben Rolph at AwardsWatch gives the film a B. He says, “Harrison Ford finds a fitting end to one of cinema’s greatest action heroes, and one of the most iconic roles of his career, with this film. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a thrilling, action-packed swan song for the iconic character.”

David Jenkins at Little White Lies gives the film a rotten review. He details, “It’s an improvement on the execrable Crystal Skull, but James Mangold’s exhumation of the Spielberg adventure serial is both tame and unnecessary.”

Nicholas Barber at BBC gives the film a rotten 2 out of 5. He explains, “The jokes, the zest and the exuberance just aren’t there, so instead of a joyous send-off for our beloved hero, we get a depressing reminder of how much livelier his past adventures were.”

Iana Murray at Polygon gives the film a rotten review. She writes, “It’s a disappointing facsimile of the much better Indiana Jones films that preceded it.”

Raphael Abraham at Financial Times gives the film a fresh 3 out of 5. He says, “What’s vexing is the nagging feeling that there’s a much better Indiana Jones film buried in there somewhere. But it would require a feat of archaeology — or at least a rewrite and some judicious editing — to excavate it.”

Ankit Jhunjhunwala at ScreenAnarchy gives the film a fresh review. He writes, “A MacGuffin is meant to be just that, an object that characters chase after in a story. What it is and what it does, doesn’t usually matter. Surprisingly, it does … and gives the movie its absolutely bonkers, jaw-dropping climax.”

Metacritic

On Metacritic the film currently has a Metascore of 53 from 22 reviews with 8 positive reviews and 14 mixed reviews.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Metacritic score

Here’s what some of the critics say:

Lex Briscuso at Slashfilm gives the film an 80. He writes, “All in all, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is an action-packed, high-octane super soaker of a film, while at the same time amounting to a beautiful final conquest and farewell to the world’s most famous adventurer.”

John Nugent at Empire also gives the movie an 80. He explains, “Indy’s final date with destiny has a barmy finale that might divide audiences — but if you join him for the ride, it feels like a fitting goodbye to cinema’s favourite grave-robber.”

Steve Pond at TheWrap gives the movie a 75. He says, “If this is the final Indiana Jones movie, as it most likely will be, it’s nice to see that they stuck the landing.”

Jason Gorber at Paste gives the movie a 70. He writes, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may be the least of the Indy films, but it’s still a worthy chapter that does more to expand than to stultify.”

Rory O’Connor at The Film Stage gives the movie a 67. He says, “It often fizzes as much as it lulls, but in Mikkelsen’s Dr. Schmidt the film can at least boast a worthy antagonist, and one with enough personality to cover some of those cracks.”

Dave Calhoun at TimeOut gives the movie a 60. He details, “Oddly, the comedy of this partnership is dialled down, and the film’s few wisecracks don’t really land. It’s adventure, though, that everyone really wants from an Indiana Jones movie, and on that front it delivers and then some by prising open the old box of tricks and performing them one-by-one with care and respect. Add to that the rousing familiarity of John Williams’s score, and it all amounts to a comforting if not especially challenging reboot.”

Stephanie Zacharek at Time gives the film a 50. She explains, “There are so many chase sequences in Dial of Destiny that the movie seems held together with slender bits of plot, rather than the other way around. Worse yet, they’re so heavily CGI’ed that they come off as grimly dutiful rather than thrilling or delightful.”

David Fear at Rolling Stone gives the movie a 50 as well. He says, “That remembrance of Saturday matinees past is there for a bit in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Until it very much isn’t, and you’re largely left with what you imagine you’d get if you programmed a 21st century A.I. program to write up nostalgia-bait for the children of the late 20th century.”

Robert Daniels at The Playlist gives the movie a 50 too. He states, “At every turn director James Mangold desperately wants to recapture the glory of old-school Hollywood filmmaking, but turns, painstakingly to the worn-out tools of present-day tentpole moviemaking.”

David Rooney at The Hollywood Reporter gives the movie a 40. He writes, “This is a big, bombastic movie that goes through the motions but never finds much joy in the process, despite John Williams’ hard-working score continuously pushing our nostalgia buttons and trying to convince us we’re on a wild ride.”

Robbie Collin at The Telegraph gives the film a 40 too. He explains, “It ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look.

Tim Grierson also gives the movie a 40 at ScreenDaily. He says, “This iconic archaeologist has spent his life digging for the treasures of the past — sadly, Dial Of Destiny does the same thing, pillaging our collective fond memories of a once-great franchise.”

What do you make of these poor reviews from critics for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny?

NEXT: Rumor: Disney+ Indiana Jones Series Scrapped So Lucasfilm Can Focus On Star Wars

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