Indiana Jones often leans into the more fantastical elements of a hyper-reality. It’s not every film that sees a man possessed by voodoo or discovers the Holy Grail. However, there are some moments in the latest Indiana Jones adventure, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, that leaves audiences in disbelief, or generally confused as to what they just watched or heard.
Some choices by certain characters, and the actions that they are involved in, can sometimes add to things that make no sense in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Although the film is a fun ride for fans of Indiana Jones, who returns with his iconic hat and bullwhip, there are a few things that just don’t add up.
This article contains spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny!
10 How Did Voller Survive That Head Injury?
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens with a younger Indiana Jones fighting against Nazis. His adventure leads him to a Nazi-filled train, where he eventually reaches the roof of the carriage. As the train speeds across the tracks at full speed, Indy finds it hard to stay standing, yet it’s Voller who makes the biggest surprise.
Voller holds up Indy with his gun and demands half of Archimedes’ dial. Yet, he fails to see the metal sign in the way of the train, which hits Voller in the face. The fact that Voller was hit in the face with metal, at full speed on a train, begs the question of how he did not suffer a severe brain injury after this incident.
9 Why Was A Random Pilot Sleeping In A Plane?
Towards the climax of the film, Indiana Jones is held captive by the neo-Nazis that are determined to fly through the storm of fate and use Archimedes’ dial to go back to 1939. However, behind them is Teddy, flying a plane for the first time (somehow with an abundance of skill). Teddy isn’t alone in his flight, as for some reason, the pilot of the small plane is sleeping inside.
The pilot brings in multiple questions. How did he not wake up to the roar of his plane taking off? Or, how is he not in utter disbelief that he arrives in 213 BC? The inclusion of the pilot is an odd one, especially when one considers the return flight has to fit Teddy, Indiana Jones, a random pilot, and Helena Shaw, in a tiny plane.
8 How Was Indiana Jones Found Innocent Of Murder?
One of the reasons that Indiana Jones flees America isn’t just to find Helena Shaw and stop the Nazis from using the Dial of Destiny, but it’s also to clear his name of murder. The film sees two of his colleagues dead at the hands of Voller and his men, and the news channels all blame Indiana Jones, using his retirement, dead son, and divorce as a motive.
However, when Indiana Jones wakes up in his apartment after his injuries, he is seemingly cleared of his murder charges. However, there is no one to back up Indiana’s claims of innocence, or witnesses other than Helena who is already a proven criminal. How comes there were no police waiting at Indy’s apartment? Either way, it’s a happy ending that Indy deserves, not one behind bars or six feet under.
7 What Was Voller’s Actual Plan?
Voller makes it clear that he wants to go back to 1939 and help turn the fates of World War 2 in favor of the Nazi party. However, Voller isn’t going to do this by assisting Adolf Hitler. Instead, Voller is going to kill Hitler and take over as the Fuhrer. With Voller’s leadership, he believes the Nazis can win World War 2.
Yet, Voller is going to try and win World War 2 by killing the leader of the Nazis, which will probably see him executed. He is also going to fight the war without future weapons from 1969, and with American neo-Nazis. It seems that Voller didn’t think his plan through.
6 Is Indiana Jones Bomb Proof?
The beginning of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny sees the titular hero captured by the Nazis. When they take him away to execute him, they tie a rope around his neck and prepare for his hanging. However, an American bomb lands at their feet, and the Nazis scatter in an attempt to avoid the explosion.
Once the bomb goes off, the Nazis are all dead, and the room is eviscerated from the explosion. However, Indiana Jones is unharmed, completely safe from the bomb, despite his only defense being the fact that his neck has a rope around it. Perhaps Indiana Jones surviving a nuke in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn’t so far-fetched now.
5 Since When Was Indiana Jones Scared Of Bugs?
Helena and Indy venture through a dark cave to reach the tomb of Archimedes. In the darkness, they find that they are covered in a bunch of disturbingly sized bugs. These bugs are huge, and audiences might get squeamish when they see these crawling creatures. However, Indy has a confusing reaction to the bugs, in which he jumps up and down and asks Helena to quickly get the bugs off of him.
This is a stark contrast to his behavior in Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which Indy doesn’t seem to care about his back being covered in tarantulas. If there were snakes in the walls, Indy’s reaction would make much more sense. Yet again, who does like bugs crawling over them?
4 How Can Indiana Jones Not Believe In Magic?
Indy tells Helena that he does not believe in magic. The scene is a touching moment between the two characters that have been disconnected for a few years. However, it doesn’t make much sense when Indy considers the magical elements of the world that he has been through…
Not only has Indiana Jones witnessed aliens, but he has also seen the outcomes of power from the Arc of the Covenant with Nazis getting their faces melted off. He has seen himself tortured with voodoo, and a man rips the hearts out of people's chests. He has even drunk from the literal Holy Grail! So how can Indy not believe in magic?
3 Did Indiana Jones Create A Time Paradox?
Time travel is always confusing, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny don’t try and hide that. With Indy traveling far back into 213 BC, he comes into contact with Archimedes. When Indy and Helena interact with Archimedes, they discover that the game was rigged from the start, and Archimdes’ dial would only ever lead someone here, to help him against the Roman Empire.
This action also gives Archimedes the completed dial of his life’s work and Voller’s watch. Does this mean that Indy and Helena have been through this before without realizing it? Was this the work of a time paradox? It’s all a bit confusing.
2 Did Guns And Nazis Not Change History In 213 BC?
As the Nazi plane arrives in the BC era, many Roman soldiers shout at the skies, declaring the planes “dragons”. These Roman soldiers fire their arrows to take down the metal beast of the sky, and in doing so, they lose their armies and thus lose their siege of Sicily.
However, with so many people from Sicily seeing a plane, and a man shooting bullets from a gun, surely someone would have written this down, or at least kept a record of this historic event. Even the fact that there were remnants of Nazi uniforms and guns could have done something. After all, even a pistol is enough to rule a city against bows and arrows.
1 Why Did The US Government Support Voller?
One of the more confusing aspects of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny comes from the collaboration between the US Government and Voller. Voller left Germany and joined the United States to help them build rockets that would put a man on the Moon. However, he did this not for America, but for an exchange.
Voller would continue working for the United States of America, on the condition that they fund and allow his global expedition for the dial belonging to Archimedes. However, surely someone in the U.S. Government had intel on Voller’s real name and the fact that he was a Nazi in search of a relic that could alter the course of history. It seems strange that after all the paranoia that America went through with Nazis, Communism, and other wars, they would let a known Nazi scientist run amok with his own funded crew, just so he can help put them on the Moon.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in theaters on June 30th.