Harrison Ford has returned for his latest adventure as everyone’s favorite archaeologist in the Nazi fight Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinybut general enthusiasm for the continuation of the Indiana Jones franchise was diluted while fans debate Ford’s age and whether he can still perform as a pulp adventurer. Ford is 80 years old – 20 years older than Sean Connery when he played Indy’s father The Last Crusade. Does the audience want to see an octogenarian in the role of one of cinema’s most famous action heroes? Sure, Ford spends a significant portion of the film digitally de-aging the film, but some fans are clearly unconvinced that Ford is ready for a round-the-world adventure.
The skeptics are not wrong when they point out that Ford’s physical limitations make him unconvincing as a typical action hero. But here’s the thing: Indiana Jones was never your typical action hero. The secret weapon of Indiana Jones
Almost every set piece throughout Indiana Jones Franchise sees Jones at a physical disadvantage. He is almost always gets beaten up – from Nazis, other opponents or the environment – until he finally finds a way to outmaneuver them or outrun them. Sometimes this is done through simple cheating. His most epic victory in the entire franchise is when he doesn’t even bother to dueel a skilled swordsman and instead duels shoot him at close range. And let’s not forget Indy’s near-crippling fear of snakes.
Indy’s limitations and weaknesses are the genius of this series and the reason he remains such a lovable hero. Despite Ford’s Hollywood looks and the intricately choreographed sets in the Indiana Jones movies, the character still has an everyman charm that makes him easier to get excited about and even up the ante. When Indy fights an enemy, viewers get nervous because they know he’s not invincible. In this way, he was always the epitome of an anti-fascist hero who, against all odds, fought the good fight against the supposed superhumans of National Socialism.
Sure, Ford can no longer believably ride on the underside of a truck by clinging to its frame. Those days are over. But the character’s limited physicality means Indiana Jones is forced more than ever to use his wits to get out of trouble.
Yes, 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had the same problem with Ford’s retirement age and the results were poor. Director Steven Spielberg didn’t emphasize Indy’s outsider character crystal skull Just like previous films – instead he overcompensated by using CGI to perform ridiculous stunts on Indiana and surviving even more ridiculous disasters. (A man who can barely win a boxing match against a Nazi shouldn’t be able to withstand a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator.)
However, the truth is that Indiana Jones has always been prone to defeat and audiences have always loved him for it. They feared for him when he was under the spell of Mola Ram In Temple of Doom, and it was a special kind of magic when he pulled it out with Short Round’s help. He’s a character whose strength lies not in a gun and a bullwhip but in sheer tenacity and determination, and the filmmakers behind the franchise have never shied away from that.
You even addressed these concerns about Ford’s age in Indiana Jones’ first adventure in the 1981s Hunter of the lost treasure. As he famously says to Marion Ravenwood, who worries about his age given all the perils they’ve been through, “It’s not the year, honey, it’s the mileage.” Let these words of wisdom dispel the skepticism , allowing audiences to enjoy Ford’s definitive return to the Fedora.