Harrison Ford has returned for one final adventure as the titular hero in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," but the film has been met with lukewarm reception due to mixed reviews and an underwhelming opening weekend.
Ford's final outing as Indy scored just $60 million in the US over the weekend, and totaled $130 million worldwide.
That's not exactly the buried treasure that Disney and Lucasfilm were hoping for, since Indy's final outing cost an eye-watering $295 million to make.
Maybe it's ticket prices, the inflated 154-minute runtime, or the fact that theatergoers have also had "The Flash," "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" to see in the last month.
Regardless, this is all pretty disappointing because "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is absolutely worth the trip to the theater, and it all comes down to Ford's emotional performance.
Why you should go to see 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'
When the film picks up with Indy in 1969, he's living alone in a cramped apartment in New York and is about to retire from lecturing at a college where his students aren't interested in learning about history. They're more excited about the US finally putting a man on the moon. It's a sign that Indy and his days of adventure are as ancient as the relics he's hunted over the years.
It's this self-reflective look at age and legacy that makes "Dial of Destiny" much more interesting than all its Nazi-punching and MacGuffin-chasing, though those are fun to watch, too.
The hero's stubbornness to leave his life of adventure behind makes for some great banter with his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). She has no issue brawling her way through bars, or scrambling through treacherous caves in Sicily — while Indy moans about his "crumbling vertebrae," and his aching limbs.
Our hero has to come to terms with the fact that he's not cut out for all this action anymore, which is undeniably refreshing in an age of musclebound action heroes and caped crusaders in multiverse shenanigans.
Not only that, but Indy's arc also forces him to reckon with the fact that his way of dealing with grief has effectively been the reason for his own unhappiness and loneliness for the past few years.
And by the time he puts the bullwhip away, he has to accept his own failings in order to move on and find peace.
It's not perfect, but don't let that stop you
The film hasn't exactly raked it in at the box office so far, but the 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes suggests that audiences who have seen it are enjoying what director James Mangold has done with the sequel.
After all, this is the same man who ripped out Marvel fans' hearts with Hugh Jackman's emotional farewell in "Logan," as well as the gripping us with "Ford v Ferrari."
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" isn't perfect. It's too long, it relies too heavily on CGI, and Mads Mikkelsen deserved to do more as its villain.
But the emotional story, coupled with Ford's dedicated performance, makes the film far better than some are making it out to be.
So, if you're on the fence about seeing it, take it from me: Harrison Ford deserves your companionship on this final adventure.
