It’s an adventure movie with an 80-year-old lead, a predictable ‘we got to get there first’ plot, and a sequel to a movie that scarred many of the franchise’s fans. And yet, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ managed to be exciting and fun, putting the series back on its pedestal.

The movie starts with a convincingly digitally de-aged Indi; to me, it is scary how well it worked. More than the fact that most (if not all) of the action is done by a stunt person, what impressed me was how Harrison Ford’s charm came through the digital mask. His frame and voice gave away his actual age, still, I liked it.

Still unconvinced that old Indi is still up for another adventure, act two began with 80-year-old Ford looking fitter than I am. It effectively set Indi as someone who is still not as fast or as strong as he was but is still capable physically.

Then the movie did a very clever thing, they introduced Helena, an almost complete antithesis of Indie. The contrasting characters of the two archaeologists carried the movie for me. On the one hand, there’s Helena, the young swashbuckler. On the other, Indi, the sage historian. What made it work for me is the asymmetrical relationship. They learn from each other while still being distinct. Listen to their conversations and how it changes over time. It is fascinating.

Like any action-adventure movie, ‘the Dial of Destiny’ relies on the tried and tested ‘we got to get there first’ formula: the bad guys had an advantage, the good guys got there first, and the bad guy got it from the good guys. Rinse and repeat. However, every MacGuffin is not what it seems. That small change made all the difference to me. Suddenly the plot is not as predictable, and the movie feels like an adventure.

Capping everything off is a great ending. It could have ended in two ways, and I would have been happy with both, which is a rarity. I admit that it could have been better. I was hoping Short Round would show up. In a conversation, Indi recalled his adventure in ‘the Temple of Doom’ and Teddy, Helena’s sidekick, is a lot like Short Round. Sadly, no Ke Huy Quan.

Indi does acknowledge that Mutt died in a war. So that’s something.

For me, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny’ is an easy recommendation, even if it is your first Indiana Jones movie.