Can Harrison Ford Still Be An Action Star?

After seeing last month’s cover of Vanity Fair declaring “Indy’s Back!” with a photo of Shia LaBeouf and Harrison Ford donning that dusty fedora, I got officially excited for May 22 when the Indiana Jones franchise releases its fourth movie after a nearly 20-year hiatus.

For most people this was the first time they thought about the movie since Shia LaBeouf leaked the proper title of the film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, at the MTV VMAs this fall. But if you’re an avid fan then you’ve been cruising cyberspace for about a year now to pick up on the rumors and details surrounding this secretive sequel.

In those online chat rooms and on those fanboy blogs the question that keeps popping up again and again is this one: “Is Harrison Ford too old to play Indiana Jones now?” Not only is it one of the FAQs on TheRaider.net, but it’s also question on SubmitYourVote.com. My personal favorite headline on the topic has to be “Harrison Ford is Way Too Old for This Shit” on BeyondHollywood.com.

True, Harrison Ford is now 65 and the guy has slowed down in recent years. You can count the number of films he’s appeared in since 2000 on one hand. But Ford is no old geezer for god's sake… He did most of his stunts for Indy 4 as he always has. I’m suspicious that all the bloggers who think Harrison Ford is too old are probably about fifteen years old themselves, mere kids who probably think anyone over 30 is geriatric. I would bet that anyone who grew up going to see Indy wrestling exotic animals and traipsing through dangerous caves while clinging to invaluable historical relics in the theater can’t wait to see him suit up in the leather bomber yet again. To us (those who grew up in the '80s) he IS Indiana Jones. Call me nostalgic and sentimental, but unless Harrison Ford's got a walker and no more teeth, he's the only adult Indiana Jones I ever want to see on the big screen.

Really, this whole “Harrison Ford is too old” argument is just lame. Was Charles Bronson too old for Death Wish 2 at age 61? Or more relevant to the matter: Is Sly Stallone, at age 61 too old to play Rambo? Is Woody Allen too old to appear in romantic movies opposite twenty-something actresses? Okay, the answer to that one is yes.

Besides, Harrison Ford’s style of action hero has never been to be a Jason Bourne, Vin Diesel, or to run around like a maniacal Jason Stratham. He’s the intelligent, thinking man’s action star. He never wins because of his brute strength and running ability; he wins because he outsmarts his enemies. Just think of Patriot Games and The Fugitive, for example; Ford always plays the regular guy who inadvertently gets caught up in action situations (and that's why he was always perfect in the Jack Ryan character).

And, as Ford says himself in that Vanity Fair article, there is something about the Indiana Jones role that just suits him:

"There’s something about the character that I guess is a good fit for me, because the minute I put the costume on, I recognize the tone that we need, and I feel confident and clear about the character.”

I suppose the debate will go on until the public gets to see the movie starting on May 22, or until that eagerly awaited trailer will be shown on the movie's website and in theaters starting February 15.

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