Indiana Jones is getting soft in his old age. I’m not talking about actor Harrison Ford, who appears shirtless in his first non-CGI scene in the film — and still looks great, by the way. Instead, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny itself is a slightly gentler iteration of the franchise audiences have known for decades now. Kids are less likely to be scarred by this one than almost all its face-melting, heart-ripping predecessors, and there’s genuine emotion running along the surface of this fifth installment. Director James Mangold can’t match the Steven Spielberg series’ best in terms of quality, but this is still a satisfying delight, the type of popcorn movie that earlier offerings at once exemplified and transcended by being some of the greatest studio pictures of all time.

Dial of Destiny begins with an extended prologue, flashing back to the ‘40s, when a young Indiana Jones (but not Young Indiana Jones) has hunted down half of Archimedes’ dial with archaeologist pal Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). The clock piece has fallen into the hands of — you guessed it — the Nazis, who are transporting it to Hitler. Basil and Indy fight mad physicist Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) for part of the time-traveling device, barely escaping with their lives and the relic. Fast forward to 1969, and Indy is a Hunter College professor on the eve of retirement. He lives in a Manhattan tenement and yells at his hippie neighbors, just like we’d expect from a Ford character. The rest of the world is looking toward the future, thanks to the moon landing and the shifting culture, but Indy is still consumed by the past. Basil’s daughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), arrives in New York, seeking out her godfather, Indy, in the hope he can lead her to Archimedes’ dial, but she isn’t the only one on the hunt for the possibly powerful invention.

Spielberg has often been criticized for his work’s sentimentality, but Mangold’s addition to the franchise is its most nakedly tenderhearted entry. The first three films are far better than Dial of Destiny; at their best, they’re among the greatest adventures on screen, as much entertainment as art. Mangold is a solid director, as evidenced by Ford vs. Ferrari, Logan, and 3:10 to Yuma, and he’s a great fit for this character and material as someone who has made some very well-crafted popular movies. However, he can’t match Spielberg’s visuals, which feel simultaneously effortless and utterly perfect, with practically every frame impeccably composed and blocked in a way that some have found easy to take for granted.

Yet, while Dial of Destiny isn’t as good as the original trilogy, it remains a fitting goodbye to a character audiences have loved for decades. Mangold’s film acknowledges that Indy isn’t just a man who’s been shot nine times; he bears emotional scars as well. I welled up at the regret in Ford’s voice when Indy discusses his personal history, one wholly apart from treasures of the past. The adventurer does not seem like the type for therapy, but there’s real power in how plainly Indy expresses his feelings. Emotion has always coursed through the series, especially in the father-and-son interactions in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but it’s never been this open-hearted.

Dial of Destiny might seem less artful and subtle than earlier movies, but this approach doesn’t feel out of place or unwelcome. Instead, it feels like as he has aged, Indy has realized the value of the relationships and the people that are most important to him in the present. Similarly, Ford hasn’t always been the most engaged in his on-screen work in the last 20 years (with a few exceptions like Shrinking, The Age of Adaline, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens), but he’s all in here, bringing every bit of charm and authenticity to a role that he still appears to enjoy playing.

Beyond its ability to move the audience to tears, this franchise can still surprise and invoke feelings of awe after five films. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has plenty that’s familiar to the series: chase scenes, booby traps, ancient riddles, and Nazi bad guys who are at once revolting and sleekly refined. Waller-Bridge is built in the feisty mold of the female leads who came before her, but she still brings something new, and proves an action hero in her own right — and one who, thankfully, isn’t a love interest for Indy. Yet while this follows the rough formula of its predecessors, especially Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it takes a detour when it matters most. Indy’s journey in Dial of Destiny feels earned, but it still feels unexpected.

Yet there are no jump scares here to shock audiences or even anything especially creepy. My mother wouldn’t have made a younger version of me cover my eyes for any of the scenes in Dial of Destiny. (I didn’t see the famously icky climax of Raiders of the Lost Ark — or any of Temple of Doom — until I was in at least high school.) This installment is filled with the requisite chases and fights, but beyond a few brief creature-filled moments, there’s little to make your skin crawl. This feels like a lost opportunity and a missed moment for a younger generation.

For those set pieces, the effects are alternately wobbly and wonderful, sometimes in the same sequence. The prologue features a de-aged Ford as Indy, and it’s some of the better use of the technology over the last few years. But it’s strange to see a 40-something Indy’s face paired with 80-year-old Ford’s voice and mannerisms. Some shots work well; others feel embarrassingly fake. However, none of it is enough to ruin the overall effect of this nostalgic charmer.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a crowd-pleaser, but it somehow doesn’t feel like it’s pandering to the audience. It winks and references past adventures, but it doesn’t exist merely for nostalgia’s sake. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull likely wasn’t quite the disaster it’s often regarded as, but this is a far better farewell for the series–not quite on the level of the original three movies, but a more satisfying end for a beloved character than it looked like we might get.