If Adventure Has a Name, is it still Indiana Jones?

After a quarter century, can Harrison Ford still fill the fedora the way he used to?

In 1981, Harrison Ford, along with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, created one of the greatest screen heroes of all time; Indiana Jones. The movie was considered a sleeper hit at the time. There had been little expectation for it to succeed. Ford was only really known for Han Solo. Lucas was the Star Wars creator and Spielberg was the guy who directed the very successful Jaws, but was fresh off one of the only flops of his career; 1941, which had run over budget and over schedule.

The concept was that of the old serials from the 1940s and 50s, in which a hero would find himself in danger at the end of a 20 minute short film that played before the feature started. To see how the hero made it out alive, you would have to come back the next week and watch another movie. Indiana Jones would find himself in danger every 20 minutes or so but you did not have to wait to see how he made out.

Set in the waking hours of Imperial Nazism, Raiders of The Lost Ark took the audience on a ride where good and evil wore their motives up front for all to see. Indiana Jones was not some dark hero flooded with moral flaws. His character was not in question. He had no personal demons to overcome. He was a genuine action hero. Spielberg, who had initially wanted a darker hero, has said, "Had I had more time and money, it would have turned out a pretentious movie."

Jones was however, not perfect. His eagerness to find relics often got him into danger, and sometimes things moved along faster than he could keep up. One of the best lines from Raiders is when Jones says, "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go." He often got himself into trouble but he always found a way out.

Jones was human. He had weaknesses. At the end of the classic opening sequence from Raiders we learn that he has a serious fear of snakes. It comes into play later in the movie in another memorable scene. He also has a weakness for ladies. In each of the Indiana Jones movies he finds himself strapped to a woman who almost always slows him down.

In Raiders it was Marion. She and Jones had a history together that he would just as soon forget, but he needs her for a relic that she proudly announces makes her, his "...God damn partner!" Temple of Doom found Jones teaming with a night club singer, Willie. The idea was that a high maintenance woman would conflict with Jones’s rugged lifestyle. It made for a few jokes, but they shared no chemistry. In the third movie, The Last Crusade, Jones hooks up with a woman who seems his match. She knows history and knowledge of ancient artifacts, but she turned out to be a Nazi spy.

In the new movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Marion returns. She was easily the best of the Indiana Jones women. She and Jones bickered and acted like a couple. The best scene they shared in Raiders, was when he finds her tied up in a tent and passionately kisses her. He starts to untie her but then, to keep his cover, decides he has to leave her there.

Although Marion is back, there is also a new woman named Irina Spalko. She is being played by the indomitable Cate Blanchet. The plot is being kept a secret so I have no idea if she and Jones fall for each other, but the name Irina Spalko sure screams villainous to me.

Indiana Jones is, now, a more than a quarter century old movie franchise. That is nothing when compared to movie series like James Bond, which is closing in on a half century. However, only Harrison Ford has ever played the role. Can he still keep our interest? Is the old Indiana Jones charm still there?

In an article written by Anthony Breznican, for USA Today; Thursday, April 17, 2008, Ford described Indiana Jones. "He's a guy who is pretty clear from the beginning. He has not changed so much between films. But we've learned more about him, through various plot devices, such as the introduction of his father. And we'll learn something more about him in this film. I think it's required. If you're going to bring back a character, you'll have to supply the audience with something more and different."

The big question being posed by all fans of the series, is whether or not a grandfather can still play an action hero, now that he has nearly reached retirement age? In the same article, Ford sees a benefit to Jones getting old, "I think it's an interesting element to take advantage of," Ford says. "Clearly, it's another challenge that he faces."

Indiana Jones is a human Superman in that he has two identities. Like Clark Kent’s nerdy reporter, Jones is a nerdy history professor who changes into his costume, a leather jacket and fedora, and races to the rescue. Granted, he may have to avoid some snakes, and be distracted by a pretty face, as well as make a couple mistakes along the way.

With Ford reteaming with Spielberg, Lucas and Allen, as well as being joined by Blanchet and Shia Lebouf, I cannot wait to find out if the slogan remains, "If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones."