The only major problem with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is that the iconic Harrison Ford character has been relegated to a sidekick role. It might have been necessary. At 80 years old, Ford may not have the ability to play the lead. However, it’s known that Disney is using its films to push an agenda, and it is through this lens that we must - regrettably - evaluate this movie.
Archeologist Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) is obsessed with Archimedes’ dial - a device invented by the ancient mathematician that aids in time travel. Basil dies before finishing his research but his daughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), continues it. However, she is motivated by fame and fortune. She steals a piece of the dial from Basil’s friend and her godfather, Indiana Jones, with the intent to auction it on the black market. Meanwhile, former Nazis also want the dial. They would travel back in time to change the outcome of World War II.
Notice this is Helena’s story. Had her father bequeathed the dial piece to her; or, had she stolen it from a John or Jane Doe character much of the plot would have proceeded just the same. Indiana Jones need not make an appearance. Sure, Jones participates but mostly in the action sequences, which calls into question whether the character was indeed relegated to the sidekick role because of Ford’s advanced age. In any case, he contributes little to the plot. There is one particular scene that exemplifies this.
The Nazis have one half of the dial. Jones and Helena decide the best course of action is to find the other. To do this they first must recover an encrypted “graphikos” from an ancient shipwreck. Indy points out that without Basil’s notebook they’ll never find the wreck. No matter. Helena has the text memorized. He next says she can’t decipher the encryption. But wait, she totally can. Still, Indy says, there could be a second encryption code that surly Helena doesn’t know … right? Not so. Helena knows all the codes. Clever Helena! Finally, Indy says she will need a boat and a diver. Ah-ha, got her. Helena never thought of that.
But chartering a boat isn’t the most difficult thing in the world. Helena didn’t really need Jones or his captain friend for that. At least he got to contribute something.
We can also compare this scene to the one in the Napali bar in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indy needs a special medallion to find the titular artifact. Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) has it but won’t just give it to him. She declares herself his partner. Here, Marion is the sidekick, but she’s not just tagging along. Rather, she offers something unique, useful and otherwise unobtainable - the medallion.
The Dial of Destiny scene is easily fixed. Helena could know the location while only Indiana can decipher the graphikos. In this scenario both leads contribute equally; they actually need each other. So why didn’t the writers or director (James Mangold, et. al.) do that?
There is a trend in Hollywood - and Disney in particular - of deconstruction. This is a philosophical and literary mode of thought attributed to French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It is defined by Britannica as “a critical dismantling of tradition and traditional modes of thought.” A recent example includes Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. The former hero is now a bitter recluse. He is further degraded when he drinks green milk from an alien bird’s teat.
Indiana Jones is the latest dismantled hero. After the prologue, he’s found asleep in a chair with the TV on. He’s a divorcee and a cranky old man who harasses the neighbors for their loud music.
Director James Mangold told Entertainment Weekly:
I'm always interested in this idea of a hero at sunset. What does the hero do when the world no longer has a place for him? I find it really interesting to try to look at classical heroes through the prism of our jaundiced contemporary attitudes.
Translation: deconstructionism.
The so-called “hero at sunset” could work with a proper redemption arc. However, there is no such arc in The Dial of Destiny. For much of the finale Jones is wounded and captured. He relies on Helena to save him, once again putting him securely in the sidekick role. He, like Luke, is further degraded when he makes the ludicrous choice to remain in the past, and Helena must knock him out and drag him home to preserve the timeline. A better finale would have had Jones rediscovering his vim and vigor, saving Helena and defeating the villains.
In the final scene, when Marion returns to reconcile with her ex, she says, “Someone told me you were back. Are you back, Indy?” We are forced to conclude, No. Disney would not allow Indiana Jones to come back, not in any meaningful sense, anyway. He is, like Luke Skywalker and Superman and others, a deconstructed hero, which is to say no hero at all.
There is a movie theater near where I live with a variety of classic film stars/characters painted on its exterior walls. Among them are Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland as Dorothy and Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo. There is also Indiana Jones. It’s a Mount Rushmore of cinema.
Hollywood’s “jaundiced contemporary attitudes” are tearing down these titans of the silver screen. Rather than reverence, I instead look upon that Rushmore with a sentimental longing - a longing for a time when we were allowed to watch good men overcoming insurmountable odds and through their struggles be inspired ourselves. As it goes today, there are no more heroes only an emasculated corpse.