Harrison Ford was great. What did you think of his performance? - 42 (2013) Discussion

[–] BoSoxRule 12 years ago

Probably his best since Mosquito Coast. Might bring him a Supporting Actor Oscar.

I'm happiest...in the saddle.

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[–] Big G-2 12 years ago

First time I’ve seen him play an old curmudgeon (as Branch Ricky) and thought he was excellent! Yes, this was probably his best role in years.

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[–] canuckteach 12 years ago

Harrison is a real craftsman at these roles. Anyone who thinks he's a plain action-flick kind of actor doesn't know him - I caught him on the Actor's Studio interviews, talking about how to portray a character over a period of time when the shots are done (as normal) out of chronological sequence. He is very serious about portrayal. My personal fav is his Jack Ryan role in 'Clear & Present Danger', where you see him as a husband, a soldier, an intelligence analyst, a close friend, a devoted public servant, and a patriot all in the same film. Brilliant.

:-) canuckteach (--:

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[–] pennycentury 12 years ago

The sheer amount of awards talk Ford is getting, even this early in the year, could count for something. Ender's Game has a November 1 release date, which should bring him back to top-of-mind late in the year. And Owen Gleiberman in EW pointed out that the Star Wars Episode VII buzz - which only seems to be increasing as days go by - will play in Ford's favor as well.

He would, of course, deserve an Oscar, because he's fantastic in this movie.

"Complex problems have simple, easy-to-understand wrong answers." - Murphy's Law

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[–] rob_benter 12 years ago

His best so far

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[–] james-norman-1 12 years ago

Probably his best since Mosquito Coast. Might bring him a Supporting Actor Oscar.

Almost my literal thought. I hope he does at very least get nominated, because the performance certainly deserves it, but sadly this film came out in April and will likely be ignored during Oscar season.

My other favorite Ford performance (in terms of him "losing himself") is... The Mosquito Coast. That SHOULD have been an Oscar for him.

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[–] Benihanahasnofunflare 11 years ago

He seems really constipated in this.

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[–] jackmatlock15 12 years ago

He nearly brought me to tears

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[–] deed54 12 years ago

fabulous as always

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[–] monstermayhem32 12 years ago

Harrison was great in the film and one of the highlights of the film

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[–] electron1661 11 years ago

I think this was his best acting role yet. Even better than The Fugitive/Clear and Present Danger.

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[–] skoobaba 11 years ago

His best acting was in Mosquito Coast, in my opinion. This one was a very close second.

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[–] jeffy1192004-427-873983 12 years ago

Certainly my favourite portrayal in the movie (not to say Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson was not great too). I inquired with my grandfather how spot on Ford was to Rickey and he said it was "pretty damn spot on!". My grandfather was a sports writer so he met Branch Rickey on numerous occasions.

A lot of people in the audience for the showing I attended were buzzing about Harrison Ford after the film ended. It'd be nice to see him at least get some nominations come award season even if he doesn't win any of them.

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[–] courtyard 12 years ago

Meh color me unimpressed. He did alright, but I wasn't blown away by him in any scene except one when he got really angry. I didn't believe that he was Branch, to me it was always "oh look there's Harrison Ford playing a team owner". He's a better actor than Kevin Costner, but they could have had better casting, and perhaps not such a big name actor as to draw away from the real person they were playing.

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[–] davisrcmj 12 years ago

Please watch the scene again in which Robinson asks Rickey why he did it (in the locker room after being spiked by Enos Slaughter). It would have been easy to go over the top there, but Ford's performance was pitch-perfect.

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[–] Balcones 11 years ago

pitch-perfect

Lol, I love it!
:)

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[–] monstermayhem32 11 years ago

I hought Harrison ford wS great in the film.

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[–] ethermusic1981 12 years ago

I agree, courtyard. Very underwhelming performance. Pretty typical Harrison Ford playing Harrison Ford...

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[–] moviewarriorpex 12 years ago

and Daniel Day Lewis plays DDL ... every actor is still themselves in segments of any role. Ford is great in everything he does because of who he is ... is what we all want to see onscreen.

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[–] ethermusic1981 12 years ago

...unless you don't like who he is; then he ISN'T what one wants to see onscreen. Daniel Day Lewis doesn't play Daniel Day Lewis. He plays Daniel Plainview, he plays Bill "The Butcher". Harrison Ford, like you say, plays Harrison Ford. At the end of the day, there is no comparison between these 2 actors.

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[–] baeksu 12 years ago

Meh color me unimpressed. He did alright, but I wasn't blown away by him in any scene except one when he got really angry. I didn't believe that he was Branch, to me it was always "oh look there's Harrison Ford playing a team owner". He's a better actor than Kevin Costner, but they could have had better casting, and perhaps not such a big name actor as to draw away from the real person they were playing.

I was a little more satisfied with him than you were, but overall yeah I thought it was nothing more than just a great actor playing a static role.

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[–] dti812 12 years ago

Saw 42 last night and as I was reading everyones comments, I kept thinking this is the first time I ever saw Harrison Ford where I did not say "oh look theres Harrison Ford". Ever.
Maybe because he was playing someone older or out of character for him? Not sure. But I thought he was great. Stole the show.
But, thats me.

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[–] Spring15 12 years ago

I hope Ford will get his first ever Oscar nomination (as a supporting actor) at the next Oscars.

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[–] jsl_99 12 years ago

I don't know if he'll get any nominations since movies released around this time are usually forgotten about by the time of the Oscars, but Ford was very good. He has usually seemed uninspired in a lot of his more recent roles, I think that changed here.

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[–] villalobos_sonia 12 years ago

Stole the show!

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[–] movibuf1962 12 years ago

He has segued beautifully from leading man parts to character roles. He also seemed to be having the time of his life playing Rickey. It would be great if he got a SA Oscar nom for it, but I worry that its early-in-the-year release may make it forgotten come winter, when the so-called "serious" films start coming out.

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