Top 5 Harrison Ford Movies
5. Six Days, Seven Nights (1998)
Coming in at number 5 on my list Six, Days Seven Nights follows the story of Ford’s character Quinn Harris who is a semi-retired pilot living on a hut in a tropical island who comes into conflict with a gossip executive played by Anne Heche who takes a vacation on the island with her finance played by none other than David Schwimmer right in the middle of Friends’ run. Heche’s character Robin is forced to travel back to the states for a photo shoot but the only flight out is with Quinn who hesitantly agrees to the last-minute flight. The only problem is their flight is interrupted by a thunderstorm which tragically crashes them onto a deserted island. Stranded and alone Quinn and Robin must work together to survive on the island and face all kinds of obstacles including of all things pirates, until they finally fall for each other and make it back to safety. This film has a lot going for it with high-octane action, humor, adventure, and comedy. The suspense paired with the comedy of Ford’s character fighting with Heche’s character with their differences while at the same time trying to keep each other alive is amusing to say the least.
4. Air Force One (1997)
Perhaps my favorite movie president of all time is Harrison Ford as President James Marshall in Air Force One. This film also a late 90s action-picture might seem just like Die Hard on a plane but it's more than just that with political intrigue and a family-man element to it that Ford pulls off effortlessly. The story finds President Marshall announcing to the world in a press conference that America will no longer negotiate with terrorists and “it's your turn to be afraid” setting up this movie president as one with force and conviction. We find out he is a family man as he boards Air Force One, being greeted by his wife and teenage daughter. This is a president who may seem bulletproof from the outside but is anything but as he faces all the pressures and burdens any ordinary man would as he deals with balancing his family life with his presidential duties. Things go awry though when Air Force One is hijacked by terrorists posing as reporters led by Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman adds a sense of danger and fear to the picture which makes him a strong antagonist against Marshall. Marshall seemingly escapes Air Force One through the presidential escape pod but secretly stays on board to take out Oldman’s men one by one until he finally faces off against the main villain himself. Full of edge-of-your seat moments and emotionally charged moments Air Force One is for sure one of Harrison Ford’s best movies, which delivered one of Ford’s best lines to date in cinematic history, “Get off my plane!”
3. Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Speaking of political thrillers this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Ford’s portrayal of the classic Tom Clancy character Jack Ryan, analyst for the CIA. Ryan is an every-man, who balances leading a young family with his work at the CIA where he often gets himself, in out of his depth. Now, Clear and Present Danger is the sequel to Patriot Games which in itself is the sequel to the Hunt for Red October where Alec Baldwin played Jack Ryan, and while Ford’s first film as Ryan is equally as impressive the focus is here is Clear and Present Danger because of the thematic weight brought to this particular story. Ryan’s boss, Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones), becomes sick, so it is up to Ryan to assume his duties as Deputy Director of the CIA. The stakes become very high for him as he gets caught up in a situation that tests his character. Dealing with the Colombian drug cartel Ryan faces dangerous odds with Joaquim de Almeida as the formidable drug cartel lieutenant with his own motives and agenda at play than that of his boss, as well as a fox in the hen house Bob Ritter (Henry Czner), Deputy Director of Operations, in league with the dirty faction of the CIA and the corrupt hotshot President Bennett (Donald Moffat). Though Ryan isn’t without allies as Willem Dafoe plays John Clark a special forces guy tasked by Ritter, and the President to carry out illegal operations as well as eventually clean up collateral damage in the form of Ryan himself. However, the two team up to set things right in Ryan’s realization of the corruption going on at top levels in the government which results in a top-tier suspenseful third act. The theme which emphasizes patriotism and dedication to justice over corruption is illustrated perfectly by the ending scene in which Ryan confronts the President about his actions and the President trying to bribe Ryan is shot down by Ryan’s unequivocal sense of stoicism with the line, “I don’t dance Mr. President.”
There is certainly a case to be made for a sequel to be made to Clear and Present Danger. Sure there has been remakes with Ben Affleck’s The Sum of All Fears, and Chris Pine’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, both films underrated by their own merits but a true sequel to Clear and Present Danger could see Ford’s character stepping into the spotlight and becoming President of the United States just like the Jack Ryan character does in the books. Now traditionally in the books the Ryan character is supposed to be young and even in the 90s when Ford played Ryan, the creator Tom Clancy thought Ford too old for the part but in my opinion Ford always sold the character of a young man getting in over his head by playing the character as “young at heart”. Even though he was in his 50s when those movies came out he came off as a down to earth and not yet grizzled man ready to take on the world. I think Ford can pull that off even now as he's about to go into his 80s in the 2020s. Seeing Ford as Jack Ryan facing the biggest challenge in his life becoming President of the United States while not acting old but young as age is just a state of mind would be a great way for Ford to bookend his career with daring tenacity.
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Beginning in 1912, The Last Crusade shows young Indiana Jones getting into the same adventures he always does with an impressive opening sequence which ends on the dramatic note of the point being illustrated that Indy isn’t the type of man that will ever give up as the story fast-forwards to 1938 where Indy is in the thick of it facing off against dangerous adversaries as always. Even though there are 4 Indiana Jones films so far with a fifth one due out in theaters next year, The Last Crusade is easily the best of the bunch as it executes the spirit of an Indiana Jones adventure flawlessly while also deepening the character of Indy by allowing him to fix his long-broken relationship with his estranged father played by the one and only Sean Connery. It was only fitting that James Bond played Indy’s father as the Indiana Jones movies sense of adventure was based on the template laid down by the Bond films. So seeing the two Joneses together with Connery playing against type as a philosophical and nerdy professor who also at the same time carried the class of James Bond alongside Ford who is in his prime fighting Nazis and charming the ladies marks a huge milestone in Ford’s career. The Last Crusade was originally supposed to be the perfect ending to the Indiana Jones films being the third in a trilogy but now that they continued it with the disappointing but underrated 4th film, hopefully the 5th film will be the ultimate swan song for Ford’s character and bring the series back to form.
The Fugitive (1993)
Of course the number one film on this list is in Harrison Ford’s stellar turn as Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. This tale saw Ford’s character, Kimble, framed for the murder of his wife and sentenced to death. He manages to escape though only to be hunted down by the unflappable Gerard played by Tommy Lee Jones. Kimble must stay two steps ahead of his pursuers at all times as following a series of close calls in being collared by Gerard, Kimble begins to look for his wife’s real killer which opens up a whole can of worms and a fascinating mystery at that. The character of Gerard even though he is designed as an antagonist undergoes a fascinating evolution as he slowly but gradually begins to see the truth in Kimble’s innocence and allies himself with Kimble to catch the real killer. The Fugitive is full of humor with its eccentric and witty characters and pulse-pounding action scenes which include Kimble dropping down a waterfall and Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones partaking in a foot-chase during the actual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago! The Kimble character is far from just an action man though as he is very much a smart thinking character who must put together the pieces of the puzzle to solve his wife’s murder and face the dangerous opponents, including a one-armed man, who stand between him and the truth along the way. So of course The Fugitive is Harrison Ford’s best film on his resume as it brings together the fantastic elements of action and adventure with Ford’s charisma as an every-man caught up in a fantastical situation he must adapt to in order to survive.
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