Today saw the release of Lucasfilm’s warmly received sequel Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on digital formats. I received a review copy via a download code, and below are my thoughts on this home media release.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth installment in the globe-trotting Indiana Jones franchise, received somewhat mixed reviews and a lackluster performance at the box office when it hit theaters this past June. I personally enjoyed the film (which is to say I liked, but didn’t love it, as reflected by my three-and-a-half-out-of-five-star review in the review linked to above) and have been anxious for an opportunity to watch it a third time. That’s why I was glad to see the review-copy code in my email inbox this morning, and happily put the movie on in the background after watching through the entirety of the hour-long making-of featurette included in the bonus features. As for the feature itself, Dial of Destiny both looks and sounds great on my UHD 4K television and 5.1 surround-sound stereo system, with some of Industrial Light & Magic’s de-aging visual effects in the first act actually benefiting from the image being shrunk down from the big screen to 65 inches at home. A third viewing, as you’ve likely experienced yourself with other films, also allows the opportunity to notice more details and absorb the action and themes of director James Mangold’s film. Outside of seeing it again in theaters, which I didn’t have time for past the second viewing, this is undoubtedly the best way to enjoy this movie at the moment.
Then we have the engrossing hour-long featurette, which follows Mangold and star Harrison Ford as they embark on the quest of bringing Indy’s final adventure to life. This behind-the-scenes documentary is divided up into the acts of the film, starting with the prologue set in 1940s Germany during World War II. It’s great to see more footage of Ford playing his (much) younger self prior to ILM’s VFX wizards going to town on his face, but the doc also pays tribute to the stunt performers and photo doubles that played Indy in action scenes and some of the wider shots. We then learn about various other aspects of the production and post-production, including the film’s locations, production design, sound effects, and more. We spend time with the other cast members like Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Made Mikkelsen, who all exuberantly gush about having worked on such a high-profile franchise with this talented creative team. For me it was most interesting to see which of the sets were created on location around the world and which were chosen to be built on a soundstage at Pinewood Studios. But it’s also clear that Mangold and his collaborators had a lot of passion in driving home one final treasure hunt for everyone’s favorite fedora-sporting archaeologist.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is available now on digital formats.