‘Logan’ Director Claps Back Over Leaked ‘Indiana Jones’ Photos
Well, that escalated quickly.
If there’s one thing you can count on with the internet, it’s that people will find something to be outraged or annoyed about. And of the many things that people are currently angrily typing about online, one is the leaked photos from the set of Indiana Jones 5. What are they mad about? Apparently, Harrison Ford, a 78-year-old man, looks old in the photos, which means the entire movie is obviously going to be a disaster.
Does Ford look old in the photos? Yes but this really cannot be emphasized enough: Harrison Ford IS old. Raiders of the Lost Ark came out 40 years ago. So what were people expecting? Ford to look like he took a dip in the fountain of youth and looked like he was in his 30s again?
Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold (who, by the way, is most known for directing Logan, a critically-acclaimed final film in a franchise about a beloved character reckoning with their own mortality) took notice of people criticizing the movie after the photo leak and seemed to feel like people were taking cheap shots, as he began replying to snarky tweets with his own snarky replies.
Some people felt Mangold crossed the line but why is it unfair for him to engage with people online talking about his movie? And in his replies, he rightly notes that several of cinema’s all-time tough guys delivered great performances late in life, like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino or John Wayne in True Grit.
Maybe the fifth Indiana Jones movie will suck or maybe it will be the best entry into the franchise and redefine the blockbuster forever. Maybe the fact that Ford has lost a step will factor into the film or maybe they’ll borrow from Scorsese’s playbook and try out some de-aging technology on Ford. Or maybe he will look like an old man uncomfortably out of step in a modern action movie.
We don’t have a clue about how the movie will turn out because, at this point, none of us have seen it. So criticizing the movie for a few leaked set photos feels pretty unfair and sure, maybe Mangold went overboard a bit by replying to specific critics on Twitter. But it’s hard not to sympathize with someone whose work is being mocked before they’ve even finished making it.
For now, maybe we should all hold off on being too down on the movie until we at least get to see the first trailer. Then we can all get as irrationally angry as our hearts desire.
