It was fitting that legacy sequels became all the rage right around the time de-aging technology started rearing its head in mainstream blockbusters, even if the usage of the digital wrinkle cream has proven to be wildly inconsistent. That being said, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is shaping up to deliver one of the most convincing instances we’ve ever seen.
As soon as a stunt double was spotted on set wearing an unsettling recreation of Harrison Ford’s face to indulge in some action-packed shenanigans, we resigned ourselves to the fact we were getting a flashback or two. As it turns out, Dial of Destiny has an entire set piece set decades before the main story kicks off, reintroducing the leading man in prime Raiders of the Lost Ark-era form.
De-aging can be a kiss of death for certain projects as Jeff Bridge’s haunting Clu discovered in Tron: Legacy, but the consensus is that Indy’s fifth and final big screen adventure has nailed the difficult process of ensuring the hero doesn’t fall into an uncanny valley from which they can never escape.
Is there too much de-aging going on in modern Hollywood? Absolutely, but it can be forgiven when the effects are up to scratch. Thankfully, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny appears to have knocked it out of the park, but let’s hope that film doesn’t get too carried away with showing off its shiny new toys at the expense of the story, because we all know how much of an impact an overabundance of CGI had on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.