We live in interesting times. At the movie theater right now, on one screen, you can see Michael Keaton beating up bad guys while in the Batman suit. On another, you can watch Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones beating up Nazis. Weirdly, both are not doing great at the box office. If you went this past weekend to check out Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, you will know the film was littered with easter eggs and references. What did we uncover in this globetrotting adventure this time??
Warning!!!! There will be spoilers for Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny!
As with every Indiana Jones film, the Wilhelm Scream makes an appearance. Indy and Basil Shaw are trying to escape from the train full of Nazis, they climb onto the roof. Here they have some back-and-forth with a few soldiers. Indy pulls one of them off the edge of the train, and we hear the classic scream. The scream is a classic sound element that has been used in a lot of movies, but most importantly, all the Indiana Jones films and all of the Star Wars movies.
During the opening action scene, we learn that Hitler is having his army round up significant religious artifacts as he believes they contain power he can use for his own purposes. Thus the artifacts in Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The artifact they are currently searching for is the Lance Of Longinus. This is believed to be the spear that pierced the side of Jesus as he was crucified on the cross.
At first, it appears that they have found it. When Indy inspects it, he reveals that it’s a fake. While maybe not canon at the moment, Indy has searched for the spear before. In a Dark Horse comic series set after the events of The Last Crusade, Indy and his father seek out the famed spear to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis. In the comics, the spear is lost but said to be found in the possession of the Nazis after American troops take over Germany.
During the opening of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, we hear Indy state that artifacts like the ones he has gone after belong in a museum for the world to study. In this new film, we find that he still feels that way, as he mentions a few times that the Dial of Destiny should be in a museum. Helena feels different, only wanting to sell what she finds to the highest bidder. The Nazis only want it because they believe it holds great power. Strangely, as usual, they are right about the artifact’s power.
When Indy interrupts the auction for the Dial, he is confronted by a lot of mobsters who want the Dial for themselves. He pulls out his classic whip and starts threatening everyone with it. A few cracks in the air, and everyone gets tired of this really quickly. They all pull out guns and point them at Indy before unloading a hail of bullets as he slips to the floor. This is the reverse of his classic scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, where a swordsman puts on a big display before Indy just pulls out his gun and shoots him.
Indiana meets Helena’s sidekick Teddy as they are chasing the Dial around town. He goes to check the time and sees that his watch is missing. Then he immediately tells Teddy to return it, stating that it was his father’s watch. Indy misses his father as he is wearing his watch and has pictures of him in his apartment. This also reminds fans of when Indy had to explain to his father what it meant when he yelled out times to his father in the gunner seat of the airplane from The Last Crusade.
When Helena asks him what he would do with the ability to time travel, he states that he would go back and tell his son not to enlist in the army. We learn that he went off to fight in Vietnam and died. This drove a wedge between him and Marion, resulting in their divorce. His death is probably the result of the fan backlash after Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Indy fans did not like the character and were very vocal about it. Some of the fear was that his character could take over the Indiana Jones franchise.
As Indy and Helena are climbing a rock wall to find the entrance to a cave, he begins to question why he is doing this. He starts to list off all the injuries he has suffered during his career. Some of the injuries include getting shot, beaten, and forced to drink the Blood Of Kali. This is from The Temple Of Doom. He was given the blood to drink, which brainwashed him for a short time. Indy goes on to mention he had to deal with voodoo. Luckily getting his heart pulled out of his chest wasn’t one of the injuries.
After Indy’s quick trip through time, we see him back in his apartment. He’s still recovering but is upset that Helena wouldn’t let him stay in the past. When he asks who he has to stay in the present for, Marion walks in. He’s astonished to see her. Everyone else leaves, and they get a moment to themselves. Marion says she was hurt as well by their falling out. Indy asks her where it doesn’t hurt, she then plays out their scene from Raiders Of The Lost Ark when they finally share a kiss. An Indiana Jones easter egg to end the series on.
What easter eggs did you notice in Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny? Let us know in the comments.