Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in six big ways. The fifth entry in the Indiana Jones franchise will bring back Harrison Ford's Indy alongside a cast of new characters, with the film promising an exciting new adventure in the vein of the beloved original films. Due to the franchise's track record, some viewers are anxious about how the movie will turn out. However, they shouldn't be worried, as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has already addressed these big problems.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be the first film in the franchise since 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with fingers being crossed that James Mangold's franchise revival fixes Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's biggest mistakes. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a notoriously massive letdown when the film hit theaters, with the reboot being panned by fans. Only now, all these years later, is Indy returning to the big screen, and here are six ways that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny already beats Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
6 Dial Of Destiny Feels Like A More Classic Indiana Jones Adventure
Compared to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny already feels more like a classic James Bond, the original Indiana Jones movies are self-contained stories that can almost be watched in any order. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull breaks this by bringing back old characters and storylines such as Marion Ravenwood, while also making the tone of the film much grander and more whimsical than its predecessors.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has already addressed these problems. The original trilogy only really has two recurring characters, those being Indy and Sallah, and it seems like they will be the only legacy characters in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as well. From the looks of it, new viewers can probably watch the film without having seen any of the previous Indiana Jones movies, maintaining the self-contained structure of the original trilogy. Most importantly, though, there are no hints of sci-fi in the new Indiana Jones, with the aliens being a huge point of criticism for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
5 Phoebe Waller Bridge's Dial Of Destiny Character Makes More Sense Than Mutt
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is introducing a new Indy sidekick played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and she already works a lot better than Shia LaBeouf's Mutt in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Mutt Williams is a notoriously divisive character, with the young greaser mostly just being annoying throughout the film. Mutt was pretty unlikeable, and this was made even worse by the fact that the character was being set up as Indiana Jones' replacement. The film even ends with Shia LaBeouf's character trying on Indy's iconic hat, something that drew lots of criticism from audiences.
Fleabag perfectly preparing her for the lighthearted comedic sidekick role.
4 The Dial of Destiny Is More Mysterious Than The Crystal Skull
Each Indiana Jones movie has a magical treasure, with the artifacts acting as the hooks of the film. However, the titular crystal skull in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull wasn't nearly mysterious enough, with the title and trailers making it fairly obvious what the artifact was. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's made a mistake by introducing aliens, but the connection to extraterrestrials was obvious due to the film involving the crystal skull. The crystal skull has long been associated with ancient civilizations as well as the otherworldly, robbing the film's aliens and ancient temple reveals of any surprise.
The Dial of Destiny, on the other hand, is a much more mysterious artifact. The film's title keeps the item in question vague enough that it is still mysterious, drawing viewers in as they try to figure out what the Dial is. There are multiple theories as to what the Dial of Destiny could be, but since the film hasn't made any obvious real-life connections, the artifact's reveal in the film will have an element of surprise. This strategy was best used in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and it's good to see it return here.
3 Dial Of Destiny Won't Make Fun Of Indiana Jones' Age
Jokes about Harrison Ford's age have been cut from the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny script, and that's a good thing. This makes the script a big improvement over that of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which features plenty of jabs at Indy's age. Jokes like this aren't just overdone, as they also reek of ageism, making the decision to exclude these moments a good idea. Constantly reminding audiences of Harrison Ford's age by lambasting it is a really bad idea that could leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Luckily, though, these jokes won't appear in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
2 Dial Of Destiny Will Have Much Better CGI
One of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's major criticism was its use of CGI, something that Dial of Destiny has already improved on. Things like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's jungle car chase scene look terrible compared to the practical effects of the original film, making the movie age much worse. Dial of Destiny has already shown how much better the film's CGI will be, fixing the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull problem. This is mostly due to the age of time between the two films, with CGI now at the point where it can look just as good as practical in-camera effects.
1 Dial Of Destiny Is Better Balancing Indiana Jones Nostalgia With Being New
Unlike Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Dial of Destiny already has a much better balance of nostalgia and new ideas. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features tons of sentimental shots and references to classic elements like the Ark of the Covenant, highlighting how little identity the film actually had. Dial of Destiny doesn't have to use nostalgia bait, as the previous Indiana Jones film already did that, allowing Dial of Destiny to be a fresh update on the classic series. Compared to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's handling of old elements and returning characters like Marion Revenwood, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is already an improvement.
