Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Harrison Ford's Monkey Pounce

Just saw a preview for Harrison Ford's new movie. No clue what it's called. Something about a bank robbery and his family being taken hostage. When will terrorists get it? Don't take Harrison Ford's family hostage.


There's a shot in the trailer of Harrison Ford jumping onto one of the terrorists. I realized I've seen that exact same jump before. You may have seen this jump in Air Force One (jumping to get the gun while fighting a guy down in the hold right after the missle nearly hits), or you might have seen it in Clear and Present Danger (leaping away from the exploding SUV's.) He has one of the most unique and distinctive jumps. He leaps with EVERYTHING he's got. His face is stricken with adreneline. But the part of the pounce that is distinctly Mr. Ford is the body language. I can't find a picture on the internet, but you'd know it if you saw it. He looks uncoordinated. His elbows are oddly close. His hands are wide open, fingers separated. His legs are just flailing back there. I really hope he's got a mattress off screen, because there is no way he's landing gracefully. And that's what distinguishes Ford from other action star actors. He leaps like a normal human would when trying to escape an explosion.

Now if only he was in a new film jumping for a whip as a large stone slab slowly closes to nearly crush his fedora hat. But that will only happen in a world where Lucas isn't crazy, and unfortunately, that's not this one.

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