Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

 This is a very good Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) movie except for just before the end.  Indiana Jones is in pursuit of the Dial of Destiny, as is Dr. Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelson).  Voller is a Nazi who wants to go back in time and effect a different result to the war.  His men are unscrupulous.  They seem to kill people right and left.   They are trying to get a piece of the devise from Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Dr. Jones' god daughter.  She knows that her father gave the piece to him to destroy it.  Of course Dr. Jones did not destroy it, but has stored it safely in the university vaults.  Helena gets the device, and is away with it, leaving Dr. Jones to deal with the peopler chasing her.  They both get away in the end.  They all end up in Morocco, where Helena is selling her piece.  In all the action Voller ends up with the piece.  Helena has a young friend, Teddy (Ethann Isidore) she rescued from the streets when he tried to steal her purse.  

The next stop is scuba diving in order to find the other piece.  Of course our villains show up just as they are finding it.  More murders take place, Dr. Jones' friend Renaldo (Antonio Banderas).  The the hel of dynamite they are able to get away and then decipher the clue which leads them to caves in Cicily.  In the end Voller comes away with both pieces and puts them together.  He then calculates how to go back in time to 1939 as he intends to kill Hitler, thus freeing Germany from him, so they can win the war.  Dr. Jones tases him that his calculations are wrong--and in fact they are.  They over shot their time and end up in the Roman Greek war long ago.  Having gone back in time in an airplane, they meet Archimedes (Nasser Memarzia), the inventor of the Dial of Destiny, who then took it apart so it couldn't be used.  He is the only person who could help them get back to their own time.

Now the part I don't like.  Suddenly Dr. Jones wants to stay in the past.  Helena punches him in the jaw to knock him out and the take him back.  I do not think there was motivation for Dr. Jones to stay nor for Helena to knock him out.

Karen Allen as Marion and John Rhys-Davies as Sallah have cameo parts.  They were both in the first Indiana Jones.

In Theaters ***Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

 I saw Mufasa at the movie theater.  It goes a long way to explain where Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) came from, and why Scar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) was persona non grata at the beginning of Lion King.  Mufasa was carried away by a flood, away from his family; and was rescued from the river by flood and some crocodiles by Taka who becomes Scar.  Taka is a lion prince.  However when a different lion pride invades their land, Scar and Mufasa are left to fend for themselves as Taka's parents are killed.  The leader of this new pride, Kiros (Mads Mikkelson) has sworn vengeance on Mufasa who killed his son trying to defend Taka's mother.  They must run, and they meet Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) a stray lioness who is traveling with  Zazu (Preston Nyman), her scout and Rafiki (John Kani) who is leading them to Milele, a supposed place of plenty.  Rafiki wants to go there to meet a long lost brother he saw in a dream.  Mufasa wants to go there as his parent were headed there when the flood came.  However Kiros is still following them.  Sarabi causes and elephant stampede to give them some room from their pursuers.  However in doing so she becomes trapped admist the stamped ad Mufasa rescues her.  Knowing Taka is fond of Sarabi Mufasa gives credit to Taka for the rescue.  However Sarabi sees through this as she has fallen for Mufasa.  Taka is jealous, plots with the pursuers to let them know where they are going.  Consequently when they get to Milele the lions lead by Kiros also arrive.  Our travelers are outnumbered and outwitted.  The animals of Milele rise up with persuading from mufasa and beat back to invading lions.  However Kiros has trapped Mufasa.  Taka realizing his treachery and comes to save Mufasa.  In doind go he is scarred around his eye.  That is how Taka gets a new name.  He is allowed to stay with the pride, but as an outside member.

Not as good as other Disney shows.  This uses computer animation so the animals are more realistic.