The highly-anticipated fifth installment of the Indiana Jones series does not disappoint.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final Indiana Jones film, was released in theaters on June 30, 2023. On December 1, it aired on Disney+ and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 5.

The film opens with a traditional Indiana Jones beginning: Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his friend Basil Shaw are after an archeological object in Nazi Germany and, at the conclusion of this action-packed prologue, end up with half of Archimedes’ Dial, the Antikythera. Then, the film jumps to 1969, where Dr. Jones is retiring as a professor of archeology. (His pupils are less than enthusiastic about his course anyway; I would hope that us PC students would be more attentive!)

There, his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) or “Wombat”, visits, asking questions about the Dial. From then on, Indy, aided by Helena and her friend Teddy (Ethann Isidore), races against the Nazis, led by Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen). Each seeks to find the Dial’s other half and reunite the two, as the whole Dial can allegedly instigate a type of time travel.

But don’t let this typical plot pattern fool you; the film takes you in many unexpected directions.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is perfectly in form with its predecessors; the connections to the previous four films are very well done. The film also features appearances from two characters from the original film, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), besides Indiana himself: Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and Marion (Karen Allen).

The film is action-packed from the beginning and contains the typical Indiana Jones elements: an artifact with alleged magical powers, Nazis, and, of course, skeletons and snakes.

“I don’t believe in magic, Wombat. But a few times in my life, I’ve seen things. Things I can’t explain.” ~Indiana Jones

The film’s visual elements are very well done; several important pieces of information are shown in the background or in brief glimpses, although some of the special effects appear a little too artificial. It’s one of those films where you have to watch and listen to catch everything.

I thought the use of AI in the opening sequence to de-age Harrison Ford, which I’ve heard has been somewhat controversial, was appropriate for this film since it’s only used for the flashback sequence, which is very important to the story.

While the film did leave me with a few questions, I was pleased overall with its consistency to the other Indiana Jones films and with its ending. The film presents a more human side of Indy that I wasn’t expecting. As far as age appropriateness, it’s probably the least graphic, scary, and violent of the five with only some mild language.

I highly recommend Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to all PC students, though I think you might get more out of it if you’ve seen the previous four films. The film can stand on its own, but you’ll understand more of the references throughout.

If you’re looking for a break before getting back to studying, writing essays, and doing homework, take 2 hours and 37 minutes to watch this exciting conclusion.