Ahead of its release next Friday, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” has so far pulled in only mixed reviews.
After a rough reception at Cannes, more regular reviews have seen the score creep back upward a bit. The film now sits at 62% (6.2/10) on Rotten Tomatoes, which is still easily the lowest of the franchise to date and behind “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” at 77% (6.9/10).
It’s not a case of divisiveness it seems – common criticisms of the film have liked the cast but dubbed the film a ‘safe’ entry that’s overly long and missing Spielberg’s flair as it turns into a ‘greatest hits’ style entry.
Now the film’s director James Mangold has responded to the negative reviews. Speaking with Variety, he says:
“When you’re in franchise land, it’s very hard for critical thinkers to overlook what I’m sure their editors want, which is this business prism of how does it rate to the other ones? I always thought if I were second or third best to one of the greatest films of all time, I’d be good. I mean, it all vaporizes later. Either the movie will live or it won’t.”
Tracking figures for the film have it set to open at around $60-70 million over the June 30th-July 2nd weekend – that’s on par with the last “Mission: Impossible” and Bond films even as it faces a more competitive marketplace.
It is far behind the three-day debut of $100 million that ‘Crystal Skull’ managed fifteen years ago, but the numbers can still go up and tracking on blockbusters has been off as of late, with most non-superhero tentpoles often opening above projections.
Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook and Mads Mikkelsen star in the film, which opens June 30th.
