That part was depressing. The movie had alot of small moments like that, but it doesn't harm the movie overall. I liked the ending. It was very happy.
I didn't feel there was anything "depressing" about it at all - quite the contrary. It feels like Helena just can't handle the thought of Indy staying behind to live a sad existence where he doesn't belong and is willing to do whatever it takes to rescue him from such a pitiful end.
I liked that they basically give away the ending halfway through by putting it in plain sight in a different context (the puppet show). But the ending is basically The Bootstrap Paradox, isn't it? One event (Indy returning the Antikythera to Archimedes) leads to a second (which causes Archimedes to use and develop the Antikythera and eventually to be buried with it), which was itself the cause of the first event.
Maybe this could have been made as a Helena Shaw film with Indy in a supporting role. To me, this film lacks the Indy spirit relatively speaking.
The opening segment is trademark Indy, but we have seen such before. Though we see a relatively young Indy, his voice sounds much older. Mads Mikkelsen as Voller is interesting. The opening segments highlights where the focus of the film would be.
Once an aged Indy wakes up, the film embarks on a journey of losing steam. Most of the segments are passable. The parade escape sequence has its moments when Indy rides a horse in the subway but is generally average. Then we get to see more of the same in Morocco, where Helena Shaw takes over as the key driver of action sequences. Banderas does a more or less pointless cameo as Renaldo, the diver, to help find the next clue in a mundane underwater sequence. For the finale, we move to Italy, which only prolongs the film. To remind us that the film is not to be taken too seriously, we are shown a kid flying a plane.
The next day, Indy wakes up with everyone that cares for him already assembled. Maybe the whole adventure was just a dream!
Will give it a generous 3/5, mainly for production value that captures the 60s atmosphere well. And may be for Mads Mikkelsen, who appears to be the only one serious about his goals.
The pattern of Indy films getting better in the reverse order holds! For many, this film could have been better as a direct to D+, Netflix, etc.
Harrison Ford is still great, but the movie not so much. I really don't know what else to say. The dialogue was terrible, there was no humor anywhere to be found, it was boring, zero chemistry between Indy and Helena at all (you almost got the idea they had choice words for each other between takes), no legit bad guy at all, The explanation of the Dial itself was laughable at best. I don't know... I'll give it a 5 out of 10. Grr... it was nice to see Karen Allen again though. This movie was just not fun!
Something about the cgi of the younger indy's face just put me off .. in some shots it looked really bad.
Yeah, but for most part they kind of pulled that off. What was odd though is they used the current voice of Harrison Ford. At least it sounded like they did and that made it seem weird...
While much of the attention regarding Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has been — understandably — on Harrison Ford, plus the franchise finale’s renowned and much-loved additions in Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelson, the film also welcomes a (very) fresh-faced newcomer into the globe-trotting historical adventure mix.
In his feature debut and first English-speaking role, French actor Ethann Isidore, 16, appears about halfway into the Lucasfilm movie as Teddy Kumar, the sneaky sidekick of Waller-Bridge’s relic-stealing Helena Shaw. From there on in, the teenager — who was just 14 years old when he was cast and turned 15 during the shoot — is a regular presence on screen, heavily involved in the film’s biggest action sequences, including tuk-tuk races, airborne pursuits and the Dial of Destiny‘s rather spectacular time-twisting climax.
Born on the outskirts of Paris and of Mauritian descent, Isidore was already a “huge fan” of Indiana Jones years before the long-awaited final movie came his way (and despite being more than two decades younger than the original trilogy). But he doesn’t appear to have been starstruck by its iconic whip-cracking lead, with Ford pulling faces at him as they filmed scenes together (on one occasion he was laughing so hard that director James Mangold kept having to tell him to concentrate). He and Waller-Bridge, he says, developed their own special handshake.
Such was the friendship he developed with his co-stars that at the end of the 8-month-shoot, the two presented their young companion with an electric guitar and wrote Isidor a letter saying how much they’d enjoyed working with him (“one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received”).
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter from his grandmother’s apartment in Paris while on school holiday, Isidore discusses his special audition tactic (one that may well have landed him his life-changing role), the nicknames given to him and Waller-Bridge on set, his upcoming appearance in another epic franchise, and juggling time-traveling, Nazi-bashing adventures with schoolwork.
At the Cannes premiere, you just looked like you were having an absolute blast. How was the Cannes experience for you?
Cannes was amazing. It feels like you’re in a dream. And everything is so fancy. I’ve never seen anything like it before. And there are all these stars around you. You feel like you’re on top of the world. And it also feels like there are all these fireworks going off when photographers are taking pictures of you.
Did you manage to chat with any other stars?
I didn’t really speak to anyone. I was staying at the Carlton, which was the same hotel as Leonardo DiCaprio. But I left the day he arrived at the hotel.
Have you been part of the Dial of Destiny‘s big global tour since then?
Well, I went to LA, but I didn’t go to Berlin with the other members of the cast, and I didn’t go to Italy. But that’s fine because I went to the Paris premiere. And I was really happy about it because I was the only member of the cast there, so everyone was asking me questions. I had to go on stage to speak to around 2,600 people — it feels like you’re God!
I’m sure you’ve been asked this question thousands of times already, but how did you get to be part of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny?
I was coming back from school and my mom told me that my agent had received a call from a casting director asking me to do an audition for a “very famous adventure franchise.” This was in Paris. So I went there and I didn’t think I was going to be chosen. Because there were so many kids in the waiting room — about 20 other kids. I thought, “yup, not me.” Then I went to the audition. And they called me back, asking for me to meet with James Mangold in London two weeks later. I met him and he told me he liked what I did. And then, two days later, they called me and said I was going to play in Indiana Jones.
Wow, that was it? Can you remember what you did in the audition?
I did the same in Paris and in London. I had lines to learn, but there’s something I do for every casting audition, which is I learn my lines at the last minute, like the night before, so it’s more natural in the audition and to take away the pressure. And it kind of works!
It clearly does. Where were you when you got the call and what did you do?
I was actually on London Bridge in front of Big Ben. I was with my family as we were in London for a week. But we called my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, my grandma, my grandfather, my entire family from Mauritius, where we’re originally from. I think even the neighbors got a call.
The original Indiana Jones films were already getting quite old when I was your age, a very, very long time ago. Did you know them or did you have to quickly watch them before the audition?
Oh, I definitely knew them — I used to watch all these movies with my family when was I younger. I had the DVD collector pack. And I also had the Lego Indiana Jones game on Xbox. And I used to make Indiana Jones short films with my cousins when I was about four. I’d play a kid Indiana Jones who was looking for animals. I don’t know why. I was a big fan!
Most of your scenes are with Phoebe Waller-Bridge. How was it working with her?
She’s really nice and very funny. She kept making jokes with me and the entire cast. We even had a personal handshake! They would call us Bonnie and Clyde on set. I had a line in the original script, where I say we’re Bonnie and Clyde. It didn’t make it into the movie, but it stayed in people’s minds, and on set that’s what we were called.
Harrison Ford doesn’t seem like an easy guy to amuse. Did you manage to make him laugh? Was he good fun to be around?
When you make Harrison laugh, you do feel really proud of yourself, basically like you could make anyone laugh. But I had the time of my life making jokes with him and we’d make fun of each other. I remember James Mangold kept telling me to concentrate because I was laughing too much during one scene, but it was just because Harrison was making faces. So it was all Harrison’s fault.
There’s so much going on in the film — tuk-tuk races, adventures on boats and that spectacular climax. How much of it was real and not done in a studio in front of a green screen?
Actually, most of it was real — we traveled to Sicily and Morocco, and the New York scenes were shot in Glasgow. And even on the boat — we were actually out in the ocean.
Do you have a favorite moment from the entire production?
I think it was the last week because Harrison and Phoebe bought me an electric guitar. They also gave me a letter and they signed it, telling me that I was doing a great job and that it was awesome working with me. I was so happy — I cried when got it. It was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received. I’ve got the letter on the wall in my room.
Why did they get you a guitar?
Because I used to talk about music with Harrison and Phoebe, and about rock and roll, which I love. And also they know I’m a musician. I play the piano. So they knew I was going to play it.
Did you manage to take home any other souvenirs from the set?
Yeah, I have a rope. There was a scene way where I have to tie a rope on a boat — it was really brief, like two seconds. But I kept it because I just wanted to have something from the film.
What were you doing with schoolwork during the shoot?
I had teachers on set on Zoom. I had at least three hours of school every day. And every Friday I’d have an exam — it’s one that all 14 and 15-year-olds in France have to do. And it was quite complicated because I’d be on set and like “Yeah, I’m gonna fight Nazis. And then: Math.”
Are you back at school now?
Well, it’s the holidays now, but yeah, I’ve been back to school.
How was returning to post-Indy normality?
It felt really weird like you were in a dream and someone smacked you and told you to wake up. And you see your math teacher again, and you’re like, well, so this is reality.
And what do your friends and classmates think about the fact you’re in Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford?
At first, they didn’t believe me. I was really proud of it, but first when I told them they were like ‘yeah, yeah, yeah.’ So I had to show them photos to prove I wasn’t lying. But my friends have been amazing and they haven’t changed since they found out. So I’m happy about that because I was scared people would going to change. So life is good!
Besides school, what’s next for you?
I have a role in the Walking Dead spin-off about Daryl Dixon. We filmed that last year — it was really fun to see zombies everywhere. I can’t say much about that though.
So do you now have agents in the U.S.?
Not yet, but my French agents are working on it. We’re going to have some meetings. We’re also waiting for the release to see what’s going to happen next.
And now you’ve starred in a major film series that you were already a fan of yourself, is there anything else that you’d love to do?
I’d love to be involved in a Spider-Man movie. I have a lot of Spider-Man comic books in my room. I’d love to play Miles Morales (the star of Sony’s animated Spider-Verse franchise) That would be a dream.
Posted the same in the other thread, but I'll post here too with a bit more in-depth
Saw it last night and quite enjoyed it. I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of any of the Indy films (I know, I know- poor excuse for a person, banned for life, etc.) They're fun enough adventure flicks, but I don't know- they always seem like they're just missing one or two ingredients for me. I don't dislike any of them, but they're missing something.
That said, I liked Dial of Destiny, at least as much as the others. Being in an auditorium full of fans who were having a great time also helped. I know it's a big point of contention for some, but I liked that Indy was old and not as capable- it made him more interesting to me. Having lost everything- his father, his wife, his son, etc., I can see how he wouldn't be at his best, but also why he'd get swept up in another big adventure.
I liked Helena quite a lot- her chemistry with Indy was really good. Voller was a decent enough villain, but not very intimidating- another Indy trend I've noticed is that (not always, but more often than not) the henchman is more interesting to me than the main villain- happened with Toht, and it happened here with Boyd Holbrook's character. Say what you want about Crystal Skull, but I liked that Irina actually did some fighting herself. Teddy was a fun inclusion- a little homage to the child sidekicks of yesteryear, and while not my favorite, he at least wasn't super grating, I thought. Only real waste was poor Antonio Banderas. I'd have liked anything out of him- an action scene, a bearing on the plot (other than telling Teddy how to swim), even one single dedicated scene with him and Indy before getting killed, but good for him!
Had some good action scenes, and while I can see the ending scenes being divisive, I liked it. Brought things full circle in many ways for Indy. For a history lover like Indy, being able to meet one of his idols, while also, I'd assume, changing his viewpoint on "magic" from the earlier discussion with Helena. It relit that spark in him.
If they ever get around to doing a Helena spin-off, I'd watch it. I'm sure we'll see the Indy brand live on in one way or another- whether through spin-offs, video games, etc.
I was hoping for a little more follow-up on that as well. You can see he has a scar on his head; I was hoping for something- anything about that. Whether it was a cool disfigurement reveal or that he'd somehow used the Dial before to undo his wound or something. Mads is a great actor, but Voller as a villain was fairly underwhelming. Though, if I'm being honest, most of the main villains in Indy are, at least to me- they're mostly older guys who just want treasure for themselves, but leave the dirty work/fun to their henchmen.
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