Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

[PerceptiveCoot]

Yikes.

That $295M budget is going to make it impossible for this movie to be profitable. There's so many films with huge budgets out here flopping left and right this month alone with Elemental and The Flash both at around $200M, Indy at $295M, and Rise of the Beasts at $200M is pretty much definitely going to lose money and it's almost like no one cares because it's just becoming so regular.

Indy would have to make probably at least $700-$800M Worldwide (which isn't going to happen if it opens that low domestically) or so just to break even. Absolutely loony spending, but the budget did get run up far higher than Disney wanted due to COVID restrictions during filming so i'll give them that at least.

Box Office: ‘Indiana Jones 5’ to Lasso $65 Million Opening — a Decent Start Except for Its Huge $295 Million Budget

'Indiana Jones 5' is targeting at least $65 million from 4,500 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

variety.com

People shouldn't take the COVID budget excuse at face value, there's no reason why this movie should cost this much when movies can and have looked better at lower budgets.

 

[belloq87]

Ford's injury also resulted in some massive re-scheduling that wasn't cheap.

 

[Nick]

Ford's injury also resulted in some massive re-scheduling that wasn't cheap.

Ah yes, I forgot that was a big factor as well. The budget was going to be very high to begin with, but there was a lot of originally unaccounted for added costs along the way.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Most people I know didn't even realise there was a new Indy Movie. Whatever advertising there has been is not cutting through.

Agreed

My dad had nooooo idea it was coming out until I told him I was rewatching the films before this one.

 

[Nick]

Agreed

My dad had nooooo idea it was coming out until I told him I was rewatching the films before this one.

I do think that it can’t be understated how much the late night shows shutting down during the WGA Strike has impacted movies so far. Many see it as an antiquated way of promoting, but that’s not only a way to promote to an older demographic, but many clips from those shows tend to go viral.

 

[Brian G.]

It was fun. Pretty safe but enjoyable. Nothing special though. Wonder if his age or how the last one was received (or both!) had any impact on that… 3.5/5

 

[Nick]

Thought it was too long and it didn’t always feel like an Indy movie. I thought it was overall enjoyable and had some fun moments, but nothing to necessarily write home about.

If you saw Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the MacGuffin’s are literally the exact same thing pretty much and I think Rise of the Beasts does it better…

 

[Jake S]

I enjoyed it! It's more good than great but I had a lot of fun seeing it on the big screen. Like @Brian G. I'd also say it's a 3.5/5.

 

[belloq87]

I think it's a good adventure movie, but not necessarily a good Indiana Jones movie, if that makes sense.

Ford really gives it his all, but where Indy is at in life (and how he feels about it) is kind of a bummer without much of a satisfying pay-off. It wasn't fun to watch Indy feeling bad for so much of the movie.

 

[Nick]

I think it's a good adventure movie, but not necessarily a good Indiana Jones movie, if that makes sense.

Ford really gives it his all, but where Indy is at in life (and how he feels about it) is kind of a bummer without much of a satisfying pay-off. It wasn't fun to watch Indy feeling bad for so much of the movie.

Yeah, the best comparison I had was Uncharted and yes, I know it's made explicitly as an Indy-Style movie/video game franchise.

This movie is better than Uncharted, but that's a fun, yet mediocre action/adventure film trying to be a new-age Indy style franchise. I wish I had come out wondering if it was at least in the conversation with Temple of Doom though which I consider the worst of the trilogy.

 

[Jake S]

I wish I had come out wondering if it was at least in the conversation with Temple of Doom though which I consider the worst of the trilogy.

that's a bummer. I definitely enjoyed it more than both crystal skull and temple of doom, though nowhere near as much as raiders nor last crusade.

 

[Brian G.]

I will say - it wasn't as light-hearted as some of the other Indy films. It had moments, sure - but it was sitting right on the edge of taking itself "too seriously".

 

[belloq87]

I will say - it wasn't as light-hearted as some of the other Indy films. It had moments, sure - but it was sitting right on the edge of taking itself "too seriously".

A side effect of Indy's characterization, I think.

 

[Nick]

I will say - it wasn't as light-hearted as some of the other Indy films. It had moments, sure - but it was sitting right on the edge of taking itself "too seriously".

Yeah, I said the same to my friend who I saw the movie with. Movie felt almost too grounded after Crystal Skull went the opposite way. Could also be an effect of James Mangold's background in writing/directing more dramatic films.

that's a bummer. I definitely enjoyed it more than both crystal skull and temple of doom, though nowhere near as much as raiders nor last crusade.

It's not bad, just sort of like "eh, it was enjoyable enough".

But at 2.5 hours, I didn't feel like there was enough that actually felt like an Indiana Jones film and the villain just sort of dies unceremoniously. I'm glad the movie was made though to finish out Ford's run in the role.

I probably need to see it again, but i'll be waiting for streaming in all likelihood to see it again.

 

[HalfGlass]

The two biggest shots against it were that Harrison was just too old to be believable as a globe trotting adventurer at this point - and it was lacking that Spielberg flair. It was obvious Mangold was trying to emulate his tendencies from the previous movies, but the shot composition, reveals, etc were just not as well constructed.

While the ending is bonkers, there wasn’t anything egregious in this one like the fridge, Shia swinging with monkeys or aliens….but I still like Crystal Skull more overall. It captures the fun of the original trilogy more than this did.

I still liked Dial, but massively disappointing for some controllable (filmmaker decisions) and uncontrollable (age) reasons.

I also wish they used some AI for Harrison’s younger voice like they did for

Spoiler

Luke in Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett.

It was an awesome sequence, but definitely had uncanny valley vibes since he still had his old man grumble when he was supposed to be in his 40s.

 

[Nick]

So I was thinking about it. I unfortunately just didn't really feel too many laughs, close-call moments, or just generally didn't feel as engaged as I hoped with this movie.

I watched Jungle Cruise again for the first time since theaters last night as I was going to bed and honestly? I just felt like I got more enjoyment out of that movie than Dial of Destiny which is really all I want out of these fantastical, action-adventure treasure hunting movies.

 

[Jerroddragon]

lol

This poor film, I can't imagine getting such a great director and spending this much to make a film people like Crystal Skull more, lol

I'm seeing it on the 4th of July and have such low expectations from the reviews here and youtubers

 

[Jamesh22]

So I was thinking about it. I unfortunately just didn't really feel too many laughs, close-call moments, or just generally didn't feel as engaged as I hoped with this movie.

I watched Jungle Cruise again for the first time since theaters last night as I was going to bed and honestly? I just felt like I got more enjoyment out of that movie than Dial of Destiny which is really all I want out of these fantastical, action-adventure treasure hunting movies.

I agree, the fun definitely wasn't there as much as I wanted, but maybe that was the course correct from swinging with Monkeys.

I'm actually looking forward to the Jungle Cruise sequel, I very much enjoyed the first, in a similar way to how I enjoyed the first Mummy movie.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Because I don't see this discussion anywhere, I thought I'd ask: of the "big five" studios, who's doing the best right now? It does seem to be a very transitional time for Hollywood; IDK how it gets out of its current malaise.

 

[DK745]

I enjoyed the movie. Better than Crystal Skull. The highs aren't as high as the original trilogy, but the lows aren't as low as Crystal Skull (which I still enjoy! It just goes off the rails with digital/CGI everything about an hour into the movie once they reach the jungle and doesn't really recover from there.)
Maybe it was because I tried to temper my expecations of a film with an 80 year old Harrison Ford but it was fine! I can see how that third act is divisive. Can't wait to see it again though.