The Lost Cowboy
One Too Many
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Saw "Dial of Destiny" yesterday and it was not a failure by any means. It was definitely fun for a one-time watch, and I might actually view it again when it finally streams.
I almost didn't go see it at all. I was truly concerned that I was going to hate it; that I would be seriously disappointed with how the character was handled; that I was going to be very uncomfortable with the female lead; that it was going to be nostalgia-heavy with a stupid story and I was going to end up in endless social media arguments because Disney ruined Indiana Jones for me.
I made up my mind a few months ago to not even watch it.
But some close family members saw it and they assured me that it was not any of those things, so I decided to try for myself.
None of my fears were realized. Instead, I had a SUPER fun first twenty minutes that truly felt like Indiana Jones. I was completely sold by the de-aging CGI and was able to really get caught up in the adventure. IMO, the first 20 minutes are some of the best Indiana Jones we have on film.
Too bad they were unable to harness that charm for the rest of the move and, unfortunately, by the 2 hour mark I was looking at my watch. The rest of it doesn't drag but it is bloated. Each location sequence could have been 3-4 minutes shorter and the whole movie would have been MUCH improved. There just wasn't enough substance or magic to justify the length. This is an ongoing criticism of Disney for me: they don't take enough time to fine tune their productions, and Indy 5 is worse because of it.
Harrison Ford was FANTASTIC and, as one expects, he completely carries the film. There are two missteps with his character for me, but they are small and overall he feels very much like Indiana Jones and (importantly) this feels very much like it is his movie.
While I like the lead actress, she lacks the physical ability to be an action star. Her acting skills definitely sell the part, but you can't fake physical coordination or the ability to sneak up on bad guys or run away or even ride a speeding motorcycle, etc. and she just doesn't have any "chi" at all. The role wanted Sigourney Weaver or Jennifer Garner and instead it got Carol Burnet (although that might be selling Carol Burnet short). But again, her acting is top-notch otherwise.
The hat's fine but they do use it as nostalgia bait rather than as an actual useful uniform item. Indy never tips it down over his face to sleep or even really messes with it much and it's also obviously a brand new hat - handsome enough but in the end not very inspiring as an action accessory.
And that kind of sums up the film for me - handsome enough but not very inspiring. If they had trimmed 20 minutes off, I would have probably been pumped up leaving the theater. But I was honestly more pumped at the end of the new Wes Anderson movie; and if you know Wes Anderson, then you know that's saying a lot.
Here's the Stetson 20 that I wore to the film. Not a dimensional brim but it definitely feels to me like the Indiana Jones fedora.
I almost didn't go see it at all. I was truly concerned that I was going to hate it; that I would be seriously disappointed with how the character was handled; that I was going to be very uncomfortable with the female lead; that it was going to be nostalgia-heavy with a stupid story and I was going to end up in endless social media arguments because Disney ruined Indiana Jones for me.
I made up my mind a few months ago to not even watch it.
But some close family members saw it and they assured me that it was not any of those things, so I decided to try for myself.
None of my fears were realized. Instead, I had a SUPER fun first twenty minutes that truly felt like Indiana Jones. I was completely sold by the de-aging CGI and was able to really get caught up in the adventure. IMO, the first 20 minutes are some of the best Indiana Jones we have on film.
Too bad they were unable to harness that charm for the rest of the move and, unfortunately, by the 2 hour mark I was looking at my watch. The rest of it doesn't drag but it is bloated. Each location sequence could have been 3-4 minutes shorter and the whole movie would have been MUCH improved. There just wasn't enough substance or magic to justify the length. This is an ongoing criticism of Disney for me: they don't take enough time to fine tune their productions, and Indy 5 is worse because of it.
Harrison Ford was FANTASTIC and, as one expects, he completely carries the film. There are two missteps with his character for me, but they are small and overall he feels very much like Indiana Jones and (importantly) this feels very much like it is his movie.
While I like the lead actress, she lacks the physical ability to be an action star. Her acting skills definitely sell the part, but you can't fake physical coordination or the ability to sneak up on bad guys or run away or even ride a speeding motorcycle, etc. and she just doesn't have any "chi" at all. The role wanted Sigourney Weaver or Jennifer Garner and instead it got Carol Burnet (although that might be selling Carol Burnet short). But again, her acting is top-notch otherwise.
The hat's fine but they do use it as nostalgia bait rather than as an actual useful uniform item. Indy never tips it down over his face to sleep or even really messes with it much and it's also obviously a brand new hat - handsome enough but in the end not very inspiring as an action accessory.
And that kind of sums up the film for me - handsome enough but not very inspiring. If they had trimmed 20 minutes off, I would have probably been pumped up leaving the theater. But I was honestly more pumped at the end of the new Wes Anderson movie; and if you know Wes Anderson, then you know that's saying a lot.
Here's the Stetson 20 that I wore to the film. Not a dimensional brim but it definitely feels to me like the Indiana Jones fedora.