Darth Vile said:
Don't get me wrong... I don't doubt that Harrison Ford has, if he wants to, some great movies/performances left in him. What I seriously doubt though is his capacity/capability to portray an elderly Indiana Jones that the public are 100% comfortable with (especially kids).
Yes, I understood that, and was agreeing with you. It will be impossible to get 100% public acceptance - if that was what was being attempted in KOTCS it was obviously a failure. This should therefore guide Lucas and Spielberg's decisions for Indy V.
KOTCS looked like a sop to garner support from both ends of the spectrum: the original fans who wanted to see Harrison, and a new younger audience who would look to Shia as their hero.
Darth Vile said:
The thing is, as I understand it, Indiana Jones was never conceived as being an old man. The character may have been devised as being physically fallible ("it's not the years, it's the mileage")... but nonetheless, was designed to be an action hero, a rogue, a playboy and a womaniser.
For me that's the special quality of this series of films. It's one of those rare occasions when we get to see an iconic character age, and finally accept their limitations.
Darth Vile said:
And as interesting as it is to see an older version of the character, for me at least, there is no getting away from the fact that an old Indy, regardless of the story, is simply a weaker premise (IMHO).
It's a fact that the story would have to be tailored in such a way that Harrison can play the role convincingly. That's where the suspense and creepy mystery element would come in. Harrison's Indy is an engaging character even when not in full flight, and when it did come to action he can still use a gun, and he could still drive a car (or an aero sled!)
Darth Vile said:
Re. other older actors... Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry' is a good example of a great movie character that didn't age particularly well, and although some may very well say KOTCS has already reached that level, I wouldn't want to see an Indy version of 'The Dead Pool'. It's also worth mentioning that John Wayne's/Clint Eastwood's more celebrated roles (in their respective latter careers) were also underpinned by younger characters/performers playing along side them...
Again, it comes down to the writing.
In The Line of Fire dealt specifically with the aging hero idea. Clint Eastwood was a 63 year old actor playing a character struggling to keep up his more youthful colleagues in a very demanding job.
John Wayne was often surrounded by much younger actors, as you write, but he was always the main character, even when he was dying of cancer in
The Shootist. He was engaging as the hero even well past his prime, but as you also implied, this is a difficult idea to sell to the general public.
In KOTCS Shia was supposed to inject a youthful dynamic, yet he did botch that attempt. The problem now is, if Indy V requires a young sidekick to sell itself, can they return to Shia? Can he be more convincing next time around, without taking the focus completely away from Harrison?
I'd like Indy to go the solo route, but accept that it's an idea unlikely to come to life. This could be the sticking point, delaying any commitment to Indy V: KOTCS didn't gain a lasting young fan base. Therefore, is there still a big enough market for another movie beyond the dedicated fans at boards such as these?