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Ep. 729 - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

🕑 Added 2023-07-04 12:00:00 +0000 UTC

Comments

Jeff Gibson

So, I'm a couple months behind and just catching up with this episode. The Last Crusade is my second favorite movie of all time partially because it IS a perfect sequel and was a great way to send off the character. I also think no more Indiana Jones movies should have been made. Having said that, this movie made me want to go back and watch Crystal Skull to see if it's better than I remember. And I did. And it isn't. Here's why Dial is better: there were no moments in Dial that caused me to roll my eyes or yell at the movie because of things that were dumb or didn't make sense. Crystal Skull is the worst, because it is the only one in the series that has MANY moments like that. The problem i have with Dial - and this was articulated well by Jeff - is there's no moments of absolute joy and thrills like I've had with the original trilogy - including Temple of Doom for all of its faults. Jeff articulated it as the set pieces being the cause of that and I think that's true. There isn't anything truly memorable until the final act. BUT ALSO... I think a big difference - and Crystal Skull suffers from this greatly - is I never feel like we're actually at this locations, on these vehicles, etc. during those action sequences. They all feel like CGI. There's nothing tangible about most of those sequences. That's what sets them apart from the original films. That's why Dial has a gulf between it and even Temple of Doom, because despite how dark and, as Kasdan now calls it, "mean spirited" it is, there's still moments like the mine cart sequence that brings joy and fun to the experience. So, I like Dial, it's a better film than Crystal Skull. But I don't LOVE it.