It looks like Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm have another win judging from the first reactions to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
And by a win, I mean right up there with the likes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Solo, The Book of Boba Fett, and Willow.
The first initial reviews coming out of the Cannes Film Festival have hit Rotten Tomatoes where the score is currently only at 50% but bear in mind there are only eight reviews posted.
Update: With 16 reviews, score has dropped to 44% (for a comparison, Crystal Skull is at 77% and the Audience Score is at 53%).
Check out the first batch of critic reactions below.
Update: Cannes audience bored with Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
What do the Indiana Jones 5 reactions say?
“Indiana Jones still has a certain old-school class.”
– Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
“James Mangold brings the character’s adventures to a satisfying close.”
– James Mottram, South China Morning Post
“It ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look.”
– Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph (UK)
“It’s fun; it’s wacky; it works.”
– Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline Hollywood Daily
“Nobody with a brain in their heads will compare Dial of Destiny favorably to the first three films.”
– Donald Clarke, Irish Times
“An empty slog of a movie that only exists to smooth over any of the stray fan complaints that have splintered the franchise’s audience over the last 15 years, ‘The Dial of Destiny’ is a globe-trotting adventure movie so safe that even its 80-year-old hero never seems to be in any significant danger.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“If you join him for the ride, it feels like a fitting goodbye to cinema’s favourite grave-robber.”
– John Nugent, Empire Magazine
“Harrison Ford is the hero of the hour. He never loses either his scowl or his doggedness. He plays even the flimsiest scenes with conviction and dry humour. His performance carries the movie.”
– Geoffrey Macnab, Independent (UK)
Fresh: There are some genuinely moving scenes as we see this fantastic character finally getting ready to hang up his hat for the last time. Thanks, Indy, it’s been quite a ride. – London Evening Standard
Rotten: One can feel the four credited screenwriters grasping at inspiration and coming up short. What they did manage to make would be perfectly fine as a standalone adventure film starring some other character, but it’s not worthy of the whip. – Vanity Fair
Rotten: The good news is that it’s not as poor as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The bad news is that it’s not much better. – Times UK
Fresh: If you join him for the ride, it feels like a fitting goodbye to cinema’s favourite grave-robber. – Empire Magazine
Rotten: “Yesterday belongs to us,” someone says at one point, and when it comes to Indiana Jones, yesterday always will. The problem is that it already did, and today feels like a complete waste of time. – IndieWire
Fresh: Harrison Ford is the hero of the hour. He never loses either his scowl or his doggedness. He plays even the flimsiest scenes with conviction and dry humour. His performance carries the movie. – Independent UK
Rotten: It ultimately feels like a counterfeit of priceless treasure: the shape and the gleam of it might be superficially convincing for a bit, but the shabbier craftsmanship gets all the more glaring the longer you look. – Daily Telegraph
Fresh: Indiana Jones still has a certain old-school class. – Guardian
What is Indiana Jones 5 about?
Harrison Ford returns as the legendary hero archaeologist in the highly anticipated fifth installment of the iconic “Indiana Jones” franchise, which is directed by James Mangold (“Ford v Ferrari,” “Logan”).
Starring along with Ford are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”), John Rhys-Davies (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Shaunette Renee Wilson (“Black Panther”), Thomas Kretschmann (“Das Boot”), Toby Jones (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”), Boyd Holbrook (“Logan”), Oliver Richters (“Black Widow”), Ethann Isidore (“Mortel”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”).
Directed by James Mangold, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel, with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers. John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 1981, is once again composing the score.
The film gets released on June 30. Tickets go on sale on Monday.
Watch the featurette:
