Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
After years of anticipation, Lucasfilm is bringing another Indiana Jones adventure to the big screen. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will arrive in theaters on June 30, 2023, with Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role as our favorite onscreen archaeologist.
Ford is joined by a rich cast, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Olivier Richters, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is directed by James Mangold, with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel producing. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serve as executive producers. John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, is once again composing the score.
Tuesday 20th June was the day, Cineworld on Leicester Square the location and 6.30pm the time as Fantha Tracks travelled into London for the Multimedia Screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Queues were very fittingly snaking around the front of the cinema as we arrived and soon our bags were checked, our names ticked off the list and blue bands slapped on our wrists as we headed up the stairs where the crowd was building. We had 45 minutes before the film began at 7.15pm, so we decided to take advantage of the photo ops available.
If you’ve seen the trailer then you’ll know one of the key sequences in Dial of Destiny is a Tuk-tuk chase through the streets of Tangiers, and while we didn’t quite manage to pick up a head of steam like Indy, Teddy and Helena did we still managed to get a few cool pics out of the photo opportunity.
Our second photo op was a different matter entirely. Unlike the press screening of Crystal Skull back in 2008, where attendees were given a press kit and a physical entry ticket, this time round the only takeaway was a photograph printed on the evening. A small set was set up, with a globe, chair, table and various antiquities set on it, with the Dial of Destiny logo on the wall behind. Matt immediately sat and I stood, which was the first mistake. I was blocking the all-important logo (I’m fairly confident Matt wouldn’t have had an issue) and so the photographer asked me to half-crouch and lean back. That’s why I look like I’m sitting on an invisible stool; just like Ahmed Best and Hayden Christensen before me, I was simply doing what my director told me to.
Awkward photographs over, we headed into the auditorium and after being handed green, sealable plastic bags to secure our phones we grabbed a drink from the free bar (Peroni, thank you very much) and took our seats. A bottle of water and a bag of sweet and salted popcorn was waiting for us, and soon the crowd began to cheer as Edith Bowman took to the stage to hype us for the film and do some housekeeping before showing trailers for Pixar’s Elemental and Gareth Edwards long-awaited epic The Creator, which got a very strong and positive reaction from the crowd.
Trailers over the lights dimmed and the IMAX screen began our first viewing of the final Indiana Jones adventure starring Harrison Ford. The Disney castle, the familiar Paramount mountain, the Lucasfilm logo and then the title of the film as we kick off in 1944, the Second World War nearing its final year as Indiana Jones embarks on another white-knuckle ride of an adventure.
We shall delve into the review in full deep-dive, nitty-gritty mode next week when the movie hits cinemas on Wednesday 28th June in a group review and a special episode of Making Tracks Reaction Chat, but for now it’s safe to say that if you’ve enjoyed Indiana Jones, be it as a new recruit or a long-time fan of his rip-roaring adventures then this film will put a big grin on your face. The opening 20 minutes are a marvel of modern VFX technology, and the movie is liberally dosed with impressive VFX to immerse us in the 1969 world of Henry Jones Jr., but Dial of Destiny has a lot – a lot – more going on than that. It has heart and sorrow, loss and discovery, all the while flinging us around the globe as Indy and Goddaughter Helena chases after the legendary Antikythera while trying to stay one step ahead of the villainous Voller and his minions. Sure, Indy is feeling the mileage and the years as he turns 70, but there’s not much that can stop him once he sets his mind to it.
After the film had ended we took the opportunity to chat with a number of staples of the UK Star Wars scene including Luke and Matt from Star Wars Sessions, Charlie from Imperial Senate and Phil and Carl from Future of the Force. While for many of us our daily bread and butter is the GFFA, our collective love of all things Lucasfilm meant an evening in the company of Dr. Jones was a pleasure and a treat, so be sure to head to all their respective sites and podcasts to read and hear their thoughts and reviews.
After a long chat outside Cineworld (it’ll always be the Empire to me) myself and Matt along with Luke and Matt from Star Wars Sessions turned right and right again, heading into Chinatown where we found a quiet area upstairs at Waxy’s on Wardour Street and recorded spoiler-free audio for Sessions and Making Tracks that you’ll be able to hear later this week. We certainly have a lot of opinions.
Huge thanks as always to Lucasfilm and Disney for the invite to the Multimedia Screening, and if you’re in any doubt whether you should book a ticket to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny then take our word for it when we say you’ll have a great time….time being the operative word.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Sean Patrick Flanery, George Hall, Ronny Coutteure (Actors)
- Carl Schultz (Director)
