The 7 best Harrison Ford cash grabs, ranked

Few actors in historical past have ever had a interval as actually, proudly, splendidly crotchety because the run Harrison Ford has been on during the last 20 or so years. One of the crucial well-known folks on this planet and one of the gifted and unimaginable film stars ever, Ford remains to be, above all else, a working actor, and being a working actor means getting paid. And occasionally, that’s precisely his strategy. Over the past twenty years, he’s steadily made no bones of the fact that he was doing a movie just to get paid.

To be clear, that is one thing that shouldn’t be met with derision. All jobs are simply jobs, performing included, and normally what issues most is the readability of imaginative and prescient to grasp which issues we do from ardour and which issues we do for a paycheck. Ford has all the time been cautious in selecting his tasks, and even the most important money grabs have fairly clear causes — not like many other great actors who don’t thoughts a lot the place their paycheck comes from (not that there’s something incorrect with that). This isn’t to say that he doesn’t have enjoyable in these motion pictures, or carry out his greatest — a part of what makes Ford so particular is he typically delivers even when in a film that looks like a pure “pay my payments” alternative.

“Money grabs,” right here, are outlined fairly loosely as one thing that Harrison Ford doesn’t appear significantly fascinated by the subject material of, or is exterior the bounds of his work within the late interval of his profession, which we’re designating for the needs of this piece as post-2008. This caveat leaves most thrillers off the listing as a result of he’s spent most of his profession starring in these. There may be loads of different work from his filmography that received’t present up right here, like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Future, 1923, and The Name of the Wild, as a result of, frankly, it seems like he actually really enjoyed those projects.

So, with all that in thoughts, listed below are seven of Ford’s most important money grabs, ranked from worst to greatest. Our standards is predicated on a mixture of how good he’s in them and the way good the films themselves are.

Captain America: Courageous New World

The place to observe: Theaters
Is it value watching?: That is extra like an added Harrison Ford bonus for those who occur to be making your method via MCU motion pictures

That is Ford’s money seize apex. He’s all the time been outspoken on his emotions concerning the shortcomings of tasks he’s in, however by no means has he achieved so with this a lot gusto. The anecdotes on set included no less than one occasion of Ford preparing for a take by saying, “Let’s shoot this piece of shit.” Extra just lately, on the film’s press tour, he’s taken to giving answers concerning the ridiculousness of the position of Pink Hulk with the very earnest, “That’s what the cash’s for.”

The place to observe: Rentable on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video
Is it value watching?: No, watch 1923 on Paramount Plus as a substitute for all of your Harrison Ford on a horse wants

This may increasingly seem to be the apparent, prototypical money seize movie: a completely forgotten late 2000s blockbuster with an enormous price range, star-studded solid, and nearly no cultural footprint. Nevertheless, you must bear in mind one factor about Harrison Ford: He fucking loves riding horses, and there’s lots of horse driving in Cowboys & Aliens. Now that doesn’t essentially cease this film from being an honest paycheck, but it surely does imply that he had no less than two causes to say sure to the venture. As for the film itself, it’s unhealthy, however hopefully no less than Ford had fun taking pictures it.

The place to observe: Hulu
Is it value watching?: When you’re an actual sucker for sci-fi

This film shouldn’t be good. But it surely does achieve a tiny little bit of floor on this listing just by advantage of the way it makes use of Harrison Ford. Ford’s within the craggy mentor position right here, and he brings a lot presence and gravitas to the half that for only a second you’ll be able to neglect how lifeless practically every part else concerning the film feels. In any other case, it’s an “solely OK” adaptation of the basic sci-fi novel.

Star Wars: The Power Awakens

The place to observe: Disney Plus
Is it value watching?: You most likely already know if you wish to rewatch this film or not.

Ford is on the record as wishing his character had died in Return of the Jedi, so the prospect of attending to revive Han Solo to lastly give him the on-screen destiny he deserved was most likely interesting. Most likely equally interesting was the dump truck full of cash that Disney certainly backed as much as Ford’s ranch in Wyoming. Usually, although, Ford hasn’t misplaced a step in taking part in his iconic rogue with a coronary heart of gold, and he’s most likely the perfect a part of this mediocre and misbegotten legacy sequel.

(We’re not even going to say The Rise of Skywalker on this listing: He’s in that film for 2 seconds and the much less we will speak about that movie, the higher.)

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

The place to observe: Rentable on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video
Is it value watching?: Eh, you’ll be able to simply watch his scene on YouTube

This film is technically a money seize for everybody concerned, and Ford’s position is actually only a cameo, however he positively has enjoyable with it, which makes it one of many extra gratifying entries on this listing.

The Secret Lifetime of Pets 2

The place to observe: Rentable on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video
Is it value watching?: It relies upon slightly bit in your tolerance for animated shenanigans, but it surely’s an excellent film so that you may as effectively

Provided that Ford has top-of-the-line voices in all of Hollywood, and has for over 60 years now, it’s sort of surprising that he hasn’t been in additional animated motion pictures. Maybe much more importantly, he’s fairly good on this one, and the film’s not unhealthy both. It’s a touching and candy, if surprisingly tragic, film that’s made higher by Ford’s presence as a considerably misguided mentor — and it doesn’t damage that the canine he voices scowls almost as well as Ford himself.

The place to observe: Rentable on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video
Is it value watching?: Completely

Blade Runner 2049 is the one actually wonderful film on this listing. Very similar to the unique, it most likely wasn’t appreciated as a lot on its launch because it ought to have been, however has constantly grown in estimation and deserves to at some point be seen as a basic alongside the unique. The artwork, magnificence, and thought behind this film makes it enormously tempting to permit it to skirt the money seize class for Ford. In any case, he’s grown to like the unique, and it’s clear he thought extremely of the sequel, too. However in a 2017 interview with GQ concerning the movie, he defined what appealed to him about it:

“The expertise of creating a movie that was a bit completely different to what I’ve currently been doing. And the mental puzzle of it. And I obtained paid. All the time completely satisfied to be paid.”

That is what makes Blade Runner 2049 the final word money seize for Ford, each when it comes to high quality and essence: it’s a paycheck he might consider in. Ford is genuinely wonderful in his return as Deckard, bringing his personal age into the character to present him weight, years, and the weary presence that solely age and expertise can present. And director Denis Villeneuve and co-star Ryan Gosling helped show Ford proper in the long run. It’s a wonderful film, a testomony to one in every of Ford’s greatest movies, and an ideal later-in-life return to a personality that feels so deeply and uniquely Harrison Ford. And he obtained paid!