I figured there were good odds that this Disney+ documentary on Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford would be a corporate puff piece to sell Dial of Destiny, new to the streaming service. And I was partly right… but before this film gets to the modern day, it’s a very solid, fairly informative walk down memory lane. A good documentary before it becomes a bit of marketing hackery.

The doc covers the life and career of Harrison Ford prior to Raiders of the Lost Ark. it covers his appearances on a lot of classic tv, casting in Star Wards, and then as Indy… then hits on other memorable films like Witness (which Ford seems particularly fond of). There’s a TON of old behind the scenes footage and interviews which might not be new to Ford or Indy megafans, but were new to me.

I rather loved the first 55 minutes with all its archival and modern interviews with cast-mates, directors, writers, and producers. Yeah, it’s still a bit of a puff piece, especially near the end when they talk about Indy’s influenced on real life archeologists. Nobody even touches the idea he’s maybe a bit more of a grave robber than an scientist. We don’t talk negative about our star or his star vehicle (I bet the real Harrison Ford would call this documentary hokey).

On the other, weirder hand… they have a segment on what a perfectionist Harrison Ford is on set. And it’s borderline them saying – without actually saying it – he’s kind of a dick. A perfectionist who demands a lot from everyone because he believes in the movie… but also kind of a dick. I was amused by this segment for not saying what everyone seemed to be thinking.

When it gets to the Dial of Destiny content, yeah, it’s pretty much a marketing. Everything and everyone working on it were great, no problems, it’s a perfect send off for the character. It’s a bit eye-rolley… but, then again, nobody had anything bad to say about Kingdom of the Crystal Skull either so it’s really just a problem with the streaming service unwilling to do anything but sell, sell, sell subscriptions.

But I had enough fun with the earlier content and the focus on more than just Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones. All the old actors they could get for interviews, a segment on John Williams and the music, and all that glorious archival footage. It’s worth watching… with a few reservations.

Score: 82