Tenet
Watched this a second time, loved it even more. What a great movie, perfectly paced. Nolan‘s most underrated film so far?
Edit: I tracked down the script, and what a delightful and incredibly fast-paced read that is, too. Highly recommended.
There is, by the way, a lot of sly humour in this film, something which I did not notice on first viewing. If Nolan could bring that kind of fun to Bond, perfect!
Just because I’m on a Nolan high…
Great movie going experience at my favourite cinema once again. I’ve written at length about that place in these forums, so I won’t bother you with that again.
11 Euros for the ticket, 4.20 for a beer and a bag of potato crisps, can’t beat that. Decent audience, mostly regulars, no noisy groups. A little welcome speech by the manager, three trailers (Transformers, Oppenheimer, Dead Reckoning), not a single commercial (!), and off we go…
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(no spoilers)
Well… erm… well… I’m not really sure about this one. It’s an Indy film, and it kicks off as Indy-y as can be. The de-aging looks stunning, Indy in his prime, kicking Nazis, train action and no fridge nuking - what’s not to like about it? 
1969 Indy is a bit too grim at times (and: instant coffee with Ballantine’s for breakfast, that’s not Indy), but it works. We get the usual variations of Indy at home and at the Uni, enter PWB and the bad guys, the U.S. part goes more or less like KoCS did. Maybe a bit too much effort to expose the baddies’ ruthlessness…
Unfortunately, in the second act, the script starts to fumble itself into too many side plots and leaves too many loose ends. The movie tries to play it safe and be fast paced at the same time. “Give 'em one last fiesta of Indy things and cobble those around the MacGuffin, but keep the really odd stuff for the third act.” 
About which I’m going to say just this: if you bought the third act of any of the previous movies, you can’t argue about this one. But again, this feels rushed, things happen too fast. One gets the feeling that the movie wants to come to an end by now. A little less Tuk-Tuk action in the middle would have given more room for plot (or what’s left of it) development even at this late and utterly absurd stage. But then again, it might have been best to get over with it before people start thinking “What were they thinking?”.
Not certain if a second viewing is going to help, but I’ll give it a try.
If you’re into that kind of rating (I’m not), I’m on the fence with 3/5.
I really enjoyed the new film. Is it as good as Raiders or Last Crusade? No. Is it better than Crystal Skull? Yes. As good as Doom? Quality wise? No. Do I prefer it? Not sure, not yet.
It will probably end up my 3rd or 4th favorite Indy film and that’s not really a slight against the film so much as the other films are just so good. It would be next to impossible to best Raiders or Crusade.
I saw it twice yesterday and plan to see it a couple more times.
4 out of 5.
Temple of Doom is awful. No idea why it keeps getting a pass given it’s BLATANT racism that even the director is ashamed of.
Have to disagree, I love Temple, my second favorite Indy after Raiders.
Looking forward to Dial of Destiny.
Chilled monkey brains
DOD was okay, but I found it too long and on the bland side. There isn’t a sequence that rivals anything from the original trilogy and I did miss Spielberg’s flair. The character work is good, though. Indiana behaves how a man of his age would, physically and mentally.
I’m not going to have time to see DOD until it’s available to watch at home but I’m greatly enjoying the John Williams score, which very well might be his last.
It is a horror film.
Just watched Dial of Destiny. Waaaaay better than Crystal Skull and makes no effort to distract us from Indy as an older character but that doesn’t make Indy less entertaining, vibrant and emotional…
Our boy Mads does a great villain…again(!) so nothing new there!
It’s interesting the use of…
[it’s only a spoiler if you haven’t seen the trailer]
deep fake technology in the opening sequence but…certain details are still a bit off.
The ending was emotional to me because it’s supposed to be the last Indy movie and I think it closes with a fine, meaningful, simple send off.
Happy to see fans of Indy liking the movie. As for the online critics, haters gonna hate. So form your opinions, they are just looking for views and fans. My grandpa, my dad and I all liked it. Pure escapism. One thing that we found distracting though, was Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s birthmark. She should have covered it up more often. Sallah should have gone on the adventure as well.
Also features the genius Jerry Lewis is a rare dramatic role. Top shelf film.
It speaks volumes about our current times that the box office results of the final Indiana Jones film on its first weekend provoke so much schadenfreude, even in non trade outlets.
And it‘s always due to another motivation:
Unless one has a financial stake in a movie or a studio, box office results really have no importance for anyone. Nevertheless, people now seem to feel they can only like something which is financially successful, therefore apparently liked by many. You like something the majority doesn’t? You’re weird.
Forgotten are all those movies which were financial flops during their initial run and are considered classics today.
Forgotten are also those who had disappointing first weekends but built consistently in order to reach impressive numbers.
The individual impression, the personal preference, they don’t seem to count anymore. Our culture is only obsessed with winning or losing, the latter one even better to laugh at.
I haven’t seen the new Indy yet. I was disappointed by the last one, but there were parts of it I still love.
Even if I won’t like the new film, I will miss Harrison Ford masterfully playing this role and the adventure these films offered. I don’t see any reason to laugh at its underperforming at all.
By the way, since Bond is also considered an „old man action franchise“ by b.o. analysts and a huge part of the mass audience now, we probably can expect similar schadenfreude should the next one bring in disappointing numbers. In these times of dwindling ticket sales, it will be telling if the next M:I will also underperform.
Interesting take on DIAL OF DESTINY:
The final sequence of the film in which both Indy and his nemesis reach the inevitable conclusion of their journey, while criticized by some as presenting entirely too fanciful a finale, is in truth no less, yet no more imaginative, than the mystical resolution beneath the tombs and destruction of ancient caves from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in which the unbelievable becomes believable, and time is itself a relic of antiquity.
This. But then again, one may have said that about KoCS, too. If you bought just one Indy finale, you’ll have to buy them all, because they all bend believability to the maximum (which is what I usually say when I feel the need to defend KoCs).
Great review. 
When the first film has a box being opened and angels of death fly out melting Nazis with the power of God pretty much everything is on the table.
I saw Dial of Destiny last night and I loved it. I think it is the perfect send-off for the series and is a significant improvement over its predecessor. As was the case with NTTD, this final Indy adventure didn’t deny / ignore / undermine some of the controversial decisions of the previous entry but rather leaned into them with a resolve to do better this time around, making it a more satisfying conclusion than, say, Rise of Skywalker, whose sole purpose seemed to be to negate The Last Jedi and thereby appease disgruntled fans. Additionally, Dial of Destiny’s character arcs and themes give the film both emotional resonance and closure. I’d even rank this higher than 1.5 entries of the original trilogy, which is far better than I was expecting. Consider me quite pleased.
I also had a good time with Dial of Destiny. Before I went I had a chat with my brother about it and he said that he’d seen 2 reviews, one thought the beginning was the best part and the other through the end was the best part. For me, I really liked the ending.
I’ thought time travel really worked in Indiana Jones. Indy is an archaeologist so sending him back in time to ancient Greece was perfect for the final adventure as far as I’m concerned. Part of me wishes they could have spent a little more time in the past but what little we got works well.