The Big Picture
- Mads Mikkelsen delivers a compelling performance as the villainous Dr. Voller, making him one of the strongest antagonists in the Indiana Jones franchise.
- Dr. Voller’s master plan to go back in time and kill Hitler may be silly, but it aligns with the absurd motivations of past Indy villains.
- Dr. Voller serves as a reminder of the terrifying reality that could unfold if fascism is left unchecked, highlighting the rise of similar ideologies today.
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.’Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has some flaws, but Mads Mikkelsen, as the villainous Dr. Voller is not one of them. The BAFTA-nominated actor playing a fantastic villain is certainly nothing new, but Mikkelsen bringing a compelling villain to life in a film of this caliber is decently significant. For one, as great as the Indiana Jones franchise is, effective antagonists have admittedly never been its strong suit. With the exception of Belloq (Paul Freeman) from Raiders of the Lost Ark, most of the members of Dr. Henry Jones Jr.’s (Harrison Ford) rogues gallery are one-dimensional evil-doers who are intended to be more amalgamations of malignant ideas rather than fleshed-out individuals.
Dr. Voller is definitely supposed to be a symbol of fascism himself, with him taking the franchise back to its roots as a deranged Nazi scientist. Thanks to a fantastic performance from Mikkelsen, a perfectly absurd motivation, and relevance to modern-day issues, Dr. Voller is one of the strongest antagonists we’ve seen in the franchise so far.
Who is Dr. Voller in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’?
We first meet Dr. Voller in the extensive prologue of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, where the Nazis think they’ve found the spear that pierced Jesus Christ when he was crucified. The spearhead turns out to be a fake, but Voller is much more interested in a partial piece of the Antikythera — an artifact constructed by Archimedes that is said to be able to create fissures in time. The piece of the dial is ripped from his clutches by an escaping Indiana Jones, leaving the Nazi scientist empty-handed.
Decades later, Voller is recruited by the United States to assist in NASA’s space program, which believe it or not, is fairly close to what happened in real life during the Space Race. Even though Voller is partially responsible for putting a man on the Moon, he still hasn’t lost sight of the more ambitious ambitions of the Antikythera. Once he realizes that his old enemy, Dr. Henry Jones Jr. is involved, he sees an excellent opportunity to exact vengeance on the man who stole the dial from him before.
Dr. Voller’s Master Plan is a Perfect Balance of Clever and Stupid
Once Dr. Voller finally has both halves of the dial, he informs Indy of his master plan. Ironically, his plan for world domination is the exact plan that is almost always brought up in time travel stories, and it’s usually considered a good thing. In short, Dr. Voller wants to go back to World War II-era Sicily to kill Adolf Hitler. Why does he want to kill the man responsible for the Third Reich? Well, Voller thinks that the Führer did a poor job trying to control all life on Earth. Now that Voller knows exactly what happens during the war, he believes he’ll be able to lead the Nazi regime to victory since he knows every outcome of every battle.
However, Voller’s self-described genius didn’t account for continental drift, so his calculations for where they would end up in time end up being completely off. Instead of going to Sicily during World War II, Voller and Indy end up in Sicily during the Battle of Syracuse, where the Romans are waging war on the very city where Archimedes is developing the Antikythera. Though they’re in a plane from centuries into the future, Voller’s aircraft is brought down, bringing the sniveling doctor with it.
Going back in time to kill Hitler is an inherently silly idea, but it’s not really that much more ridiculous than the plans of past Indy villains. Belloq wanted vanity, Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) wanted cultism, Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) wanted immortality, and Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) wanted knowledge. As with all the villains that came before him, Voller ends his journey through a violent death courtesy of the very artifact he hopes to understand and use for his own selfish desires.
Mads Mikkelsen Is No Stanger To Playing Bad Guys in Major Franchises
Mads Mikkelsen has played so many major villains prior to his role in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This arguably began when he played one of the best James Bond villains ever in one of the best James Bond movies ever, with Le Chifre being a major highlight of the excellent Casino Royale. Mikkelsen’s bad guy streak continued in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when he played the dark sorcerer Kaecilius in Doctor Strange. Mikelsen’s reputation as a masterful villain actor got him the recasting gig of Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, replacing Johnny Depp in the part.
Dr. Voller Represents a Terrifying Reality Should Fascism Go Unchecked
It’s clear to anyone who regularly watches the news that fascism as an ideology is on the rise ins some sectors of the world, particularly in parts of the United States. Those who support the same ideologies that the Nazis of the 1930s and ’40s did have now been emboldened by certain members of the public eye, supporting an environment where racism, homophobia, transphobia, and more runs rampant. While none of these would-be tyrants are likely to go back in time to save the Nazi party, Voller and his Southern cronies are a reminder of what could happen should violent hatred go unchecked.
Dr. Voller is Great, But He’s No Belloq
As entertaining as Dr. Voller is in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, he still can’t hold a candle to the one that started it all — Dr. René Belloq. Belloq is the first villain that Indiana Jones ever faced on film, and he is a perfect villainous force of a perfect debut franchise-starter. What makes Belloq work is how he is both a mirror image of Jones and the complete opposite of him. Like Jones, Belloq has no loyalty to any government or country, instead just wanting to find powerful and culturally important artifacts. Not only is working with Nazis a pretty big difference, but also where Indy is motivated by archeological preservation, Belloq is motivated by pure greed and vanity. Though he is a clever wordsmith, he also laments how he lacks the charisma and charm of his arch-rival. Though perhaps if Belloq were a bit more humble like Jones, his head wouldn’t have exploded courtesy of the Ark of the Covenant.
