Happy Birthday Harrison Ford!
Today, one of the heroes of my movie going youth turns 72 years young. With some very recent critical acclaim and some rather big upcoming projects, the man is still going strong. Hopefully, he'll be all healed up from his injury soon so he can resume work on the new Star Wars flick. In the meantime, we might as well honor him by taking a look at his top 5 characters. Characters is the key word. These are not necessarily individual performances because, as many of you know, he's played several characters more than once. With that in mind, let's get started...
#5
President James Marshall
(Air Force One)
Obviously, I could have went a lot of different ways here. I chose this character because the movie he was in was truly all about him. Air Force One is such a fun, if at times goofy movie, and every bit of our enjoyment is due to Harrison Ford. And when he finally says "Get off my plane!" we can't help but cheer.#4
Dr. Richard Kimble
(The Fugitive)
I absolutely love this movie. There really is no way around it. Anyone who tells me that Harrison Ford wasn't brilliant in this is either lying or crazy. His cat-and-mouse with Tommy Lee Jones is truly epic.#3
Branch Rickey
(42)
Wait a minute...this? Ahead of his work as Dr. Kimble or Pres. Marshall? This? Yup. Here's the deal, I don't think 42 is a better movie than either Air Force One or The Fugitive, but Ford is better personally. If there's one character he truly disappears into, this one is it. The person, or persona, I think of when I hear the name Harrison Ford never surfaces during this performance. Not once.#2
Han Solo
(Star Wars Franchise)
Okay, so you probably knew this one was coming. That doesn't make Han Solo any less iconic. And let's not forget cool. In fact, the biggest thing this character has going for him is that he's the coolest character in the Star Wars universe. Some of you are thinking "What about Darth Vader?" Answer this question for me: which one would you rather hang out with?#1
Indiana Jones
(Indiana Jones Franchise)
Given my #2, there could only be one answer for the top choice. Indy is cool, especially under pressure, super smart, gets the ladies, and travels the world taking down archaeological terrorist. Oh, I almost forgot, he does it all with his hat on. For me, that last factor is enough to put him over the top. For you, I'll throw in the fact that Indy doesn't have to take a back seat to anyone and can save the world with or without help.
Well, there's my 2 cents on the matter. The man has credits going back almost 50 years so I'm sure I left a character out that you're just dying to tell me about. Feel free.