Typically, a well-known and successful film actor has one role in particular that their name is associated with almost exclusively, then a smattering of other roles that fall to the wayside. Harrison Ford is a bit of an exception to the rule, attaining two incredibly successful parts that have followed him throughout his career, as well as a variety of other high-profile characters.
- As if the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises weren’t enough, Harrison Ford will soon be stepping into the MCU as Thunderbolt Ross. Time will tell if his role in Captain America: New World Order will be another huge hit in Ford’s legendary career or be added to his less successful projects. But with such a long and storied career, there are plenty more of Harrison Ford’s best movies to check out as well as some of his worst that can be avoided.
Clearly, Harrison Ford will always be best known as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, however, he has a number of iconic roles under his belt. But with that said, obviously every one of his projects isn’t a hit. These are his best and worst films, according to IMDb.
Worst:
Heroes (1977) - 6.0
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Ford was able to land some great roles in classic movies even before he was a leading man, but those early days of his career also had some forgettable roles. In the same year that Star Wars was released, Ford had a supporting role in the dramedy Heroes.
Henry Winkler plays a Vietnam veteran with PTSD who goes on a road trip with a sympathetic stranger (Sally Field) to start a farming business with his fellow veterans. Ford plays one of his comrades. Despite the very likable cast, neither the movie’s message nor its comedy ends up being very memorable.
Hanover Street (1979) - 6.0
- Available on Prime Video, Roku, Vudu and Tubi
Seeing Ford in the cockpit might be an iconic image for some, but it didn’t work as well for the military drama Hanover Street. Ford plays an American WWII pilot who has an affair with a married British nurse. But when he ends up flying the nurse’s husband on a mission, they are shot down and must work together to survive.
Melodrama and frustrating coincidences plague this movie. It ends up being a rather dull story that audiences will likely forget shortly after it ends.
Six Days Seven Nights (1998) - 5.9
Six Days Seven Nights attempted to blend an action movie with a rom-com but didn’t seem to succeed with either genres. Ford plays a gruff pilot who ends up crash-landing on an island with an ambitious journalist (Anne Heche), forcing them to put aside their personality clashes in order to survive.
It seems as though the movie was going for the kind of screwball comedy tone of older movies, but the material just wasn’t strong enough to support it.
Firewall (2006) - 5.8
- Available on Kanopy
Ford has a number of action thrillers in which he attempts to save his family from bad guys. While the premise worked in the past, it is not so effective in Firewall.
Harrison Ford plays a banker being forced to steal $100 million by a group of criminals, with this plot ending up lackluster and cliché and the attempts at twists bordering on impossibility. Even Ford is unable to bring anything worthy of enjoyment to proceedings.
Paranoia (2013) - 5.6
- Available on Starz and DIRECTV
As is the case with the tail-end of the career of many Hollywood legends, the 2010s is full of misguided adventures for Harrison Ford.
The 2013 thriller Paranoia suggests that it could be brilliant, combining the talents of Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, but it just doesn’t work. For a “thriller,” the thrills are hard to come by, and the cliché plot and lack of excitement is probably what contributed to its poor critical response and massive box office loss.
Hollywood Homicide (2003) - 5.3
- Available on Hoopla
There have been a lot of great buddy cop movies over the years as well as many forgettable ones. Despite the potential, Hollywood Homicide sadly falls into the latter category. Ford and Josh Harnett star as two moonlighting detectives who investigate a murder in the music industry.
The two leads share little chemistry with each other, which is essential for such movies. The other key aspects, comedy, and action, fall flat as well, making for a dull misfire for everyone involved.
Random Hearts (1999) - 5.2
In 1999, Harrison Ford took on the starring role in Random Hearts, a romantic drama that showed him in a rather contrasting light in comparison to Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Based on a 1984 book, the film actually has a pretty interesting premise.
A congresswoman and a police officer end up becoming close through the revelation that their spouses, who had both just died in a plane crash, were having an affair. Unfortunately, the result is a slow, boring plot that even Ford’s performance could do nothing to save.
Best:
Blade Runner (1982) - 8.1
Though it bombed at the box office, Blade Runner has since earned a reputation as one of the greatest science-fiction movies of all time. Ford plays Rick Deckard, a works as a “blade runner” in the future, a law enforcement agent who tracks runaway androids.
Ridley Scott creates a unique and beautiful image of the future which has inspired many other movies that followed. Ford makes for a solid noirish lead, but it is Rutger Hauer’s performance as the “replicant” Roy Batty that has become so iconic.
Indian Jones And The Last Crusade (1989) - 8.2
- Available on Paramount+
Returning to the role of the famed archeologist hero for the third time, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade mixes the classic adventure with a father-son movie. Sean Connery joins the franchise as Henry Jones Sr., adding a wonderful new element to the story.
Ford continues to make Indy one of the greatest movie heroes of all time, and Steven Spielberg delivers action sequences that rival the original in scale and fun. It is a rollicking quest in search of the Holy Grail.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983) - 8.3
- Available on Disney+
It might be considered the worst film from the original Star Wars trilogy, but it’s almost impossible to call it a bad film. It served as the completion of the Skywalker Saga until Disney got their hands on the property and recently showed Harrison Ford’s final franchise appearance in The Rise of Skywalker.
Han Solo and Chewie were on hand to help save the day, all the while, everyone’s favorite smuggler was dropping just about the most arrogant version of charm a human can manage. He finally ended up with Leia, but the fact that they’d eventually split up was always in the back of everyone’s mind.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) - 8.4
Ford helped create one of the greatest movie heroes of all time in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The first Indiana Jones adventure finds the archeologist taking on the Nazis while searching for the Ark of the Covenant.
Ford brings charm, intelligence, and humor to the heroic role while Steven Spielberg delivers one thrilling action set piece after another. It all comes together for the perfect Hollywood adventure.
Apocalypse Now (1979) - 8.5
Despite the movie’s notoriously difficult production, the iconic Apocalypse Now is seen by many as a masterpiece. The intense and epic Vietnam movie from Francis Ford Coppola follows a troubled soldier who is given orders to assassinate a renegade officer.
He might not be the most central role in a film that otherwise stars Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen, but he does have a position of power, providing Sheen’s Captain Willard with his orders.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) - 8.6
The first Star Wars film served as the introduction to one of sci-fi’s most legendary characters in Han Solo. He was mysterious, elusive, arrogant, charming, and brave. The first encounters with the character showed viewers exactly what he was about.
Jabba The Hutt wanted him dead or alive, spawning the greatest debate in Star Wars history: who shot first? Bounty hunter Greedo was sent to deliver the smuggler to the Hutt, but Han was able to shoot him from across the table.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - 8.7
The middle entry into the original Star Wars trilogy is often considered the best of the franchise, and the IMDb average agrees, coming in at an impressive 8.7. By this point in the story, Han has remained on the side of the Rebel Alliance, fighting against the continued threat of the Empire.
Fans are introduced to Han’s friend Lando Calrissian, revealing where the Millennium Falcon came from in the process, before Han is frozen in carbonite and the film ends without telling viewers what happened to him.
