A Wonderful Tribute To An Equally Wonderful Actor/Franchise
Harrison Ford is one of the greatest actors to ever appear on celluloid. The Indiana Jones franchise holds similar lofty distinctions in the realm of adventure cinema or trilogies. "Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford" combine both of those things with aplomb. Ostensibly, this "Timeless Heroes" doc is meant to promote the Disney+ drop of "Dial of Destiny". But because it focuses on such a vibrant subject--Ford--it turns out to be quite a bit more than just "advertisement".
This doc does two things pretty much simultaneously:
First, it is a love letter to the entire Indy franchise, with relevant interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from all the films. Seeing as how the series represents the pinnacle of adventure filmmaking, it never gets old seeing Ford, Spielberg, Lucas, and the rest do their thing. There were definitely some clips here that I had not seen before.
Secondly, it is a tribute to Harrison Ford himself. At least a third of the hour-and-ninety-minute runtime is given to Ford's acting bio. This includes his early days as a bit-part player and professional-grade carpenter, his break in Lucas' American Graffiti, and then his ascent to the stratosphere with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Even his more serious, critically-acclaimed roles like in Witness, Regarding Henry, or The Fugitive are discussed, alongside his recent work on Paramount and Apple streamers. It never hurts that Ford's quirky--yet always endearing--personality shines through every time he speaks.
Though the fictional/series content side of Disney+ has perhaps been a bit wanting of late, it is a good to see that they are capable of putting out a top-notch caliber documentary if/when needed.
This doc does two things pretty much simultaneously:
First, it is a love letter to the entire Indy franchise, with relevant interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from all the films. Seeing as how the series represents the pinnacle of adventure filmmaking, it never gets old seeing Ford, Spielberg, Lucas, and the rest do their thing. There were definitely some clips here that I had not seen before.
Secondly, it is a tribute to Harrison Ford himself. At least a third of the hour-and-ninety-minute runtime is given to Ford's acting bio. This includes his early days as a bit-part player and professional-grade carpenter, his break in Lucas' American Graffiti, and then his ascent to the stratosphere with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Even his more serious, critically-acclaimed roles like in Witness, Regarding Henry, or The Fugitive are discussed, alongside his recent work on Paramount and Apple streamers. It never hurts that Ford's quirky--yet always endearing--personality shines through every time he speaks.
Though the fictional/series content side of Disney+ has perhaps been a bit wanting of late, it is a good to see that they are capable of putting out a top-notch caliber documentary if/when needed.
- zkonedog
- Dec 3, 2023