Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Footage Description: A Thrilling Chase In The Classic Indy Tradition
This weekend's big event in London might be called Star Wars Celebration, but there was also time for a sneak peek at Lucasfilm's other big movie franchise — especially since Harrison Ford is returning for one last adventure this year in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." Fans gathered at the Celebration stage not only got to see the premiere of the final trailer, but were also treated to an exclusive clip from the "dead center" of the movie (per director James Mangold).
Mangold was joined on stage by stars Mads Mikkelsen and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, with Ford joining in spirit via a video message. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I'm working," he explained, before delivering a message of affection for the "Indiana Jones" movies, which are "full of heart, adventure, and, for some reason, snakes."
The new trailer shows more of Indy on horseback amid a moon landing day parade (including riding trying to outrun a subway train on horseback), but the clip we saw was from another chase scene — this one involving motorcycles, cars, and tuk-tuks. Tuk-tuks aren't the vehicle you want to be in during a high-stakes chase at the best of times, and they're definitely not what you want to be driving if the chase involves going down steps.
A cat and mouse chase, squared
By the midpoint of the movie, things have gotten complicated. Filmed in Morocco, the chase sequence appears to involve three or four different factions. At the head of the pack, racing to get to an airport, is Mads Mikkelsen's villain, Jürgen Voller, who is currently in possession of the titular Dial of Destiny. Hot on his trail is Helena, Indy's "nefarious goddaughter" (as Phoebe Waller-Bridge describes her), who is willing to go to extreme lengths to get the MacGuffin back. At one point she rips off her sleeves, tears a strip of metal from the tuk-tuk, uses it to smash in the back window of Mikkelsen's car and then leaps onto the back of it like the T-1000.
Indiana Jones is initially in the same tuk-tuk as Helena and Ethann Isidore's character (a kid who is in league with Helena), but mid-chase Indy gets double-crossed and left behind. And Indy isn't the only character who's been left behind by Helena. Also part of the chase is her fiancé, Rahim (Alaa Safi), leaning out of the window of his car and desperately calling for her to come back to him. Boyd Holbrook's Klaber is behind the wheel of another car, trying to take out Helena and Indy. And then there are henchmen on motorcycles; it was unclear in the chaos of everything who they were affiliated with, but one of them met a particularly nasty end.
The grand Indy tradition of horrible deaths
Elaborate, chaotic chase sequences are of course an established ingredient of "Indiana Jones" movies, and another vital ingredient is deaths that make the audience wince. The heart-ripping violence in "Temple of Doom" was famously responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating. And it looks like "Dial of Destiny" is set to live up to this legacy of mildly traumatizing children.
One memorable moment during the chase pays homage to the opening highway crash of "Final Destination 2" when a payload of wooden poles gets spun around just in time for one of the unfortunate motorcyclists to collide face-first with the pointy end. There wasn't a spray of gore, but even left up the imagination it was enough to draw a sympathetic "ooh!" from the crowd. It wasn't the only such moment in the footage; parts of the chase felt a little floaty and weightless, but the impact of a body hitting the road after being thrown from a car was palpable.
It will take more than checking boxes for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" to succeed as a worthy send-off for Ford's character, but it doesn't hurt to have those boxes checked. Chaotic, daring chase sequence? Check. Horrible deaths? Check. Sudden but inevitable betrayals? Check, check, check.
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" hits theaters on June 30, 2023.