In his fifth and final outing as the iconic archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford will be seen performing a daring stunt in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas in the 1980s, Harrison Ford debuted as the archaeologist in Indiana Jones: The Raiders of the Lost Ark and has done four more films with the franchise since then.
This time, the actor will be seen performing a daring stunt involving a fleet of rickshaws, as he is chased by a bunch of enemies in an Indian city.
Directed by the James Mangold, best known for his work in films such as Walk the Line, The Wolverine, Logan and Ford v Ferrari, the latest instalment of the franchise promises to deliver an exciting experience as Mangold has decided to rely more on practical effects instead of CGI.
One of the scenes which will stand out is an old Indiana Jones ( ‘Indy’) racing through the bustling and busy streets of an Indian city, while being chased and even shot at by his pursuers.
Throughout the car chase, Indy lectures his god-daughter Helena Shaw (played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) on the dangers of living life on the edge.
The filmmakers developed an approach to the physical action with stunt coordinator Ben Cooke (Jurassic World: Dominion, Casino Royale), to keep the stunts as grounded and real as possible and to keep the more derring-do feats from not becoming too far over the top.
This approach was extended to most of the stunt work including the rickshaw scene. It involved tiny vehicles and essentially motorised rickshaws, bolting through the winding streets with motorcycles trailing behind. Roughly, over a dozen rickshaws were employed for this sequence, thereby adding an authentic touch to the whole chase.
The rickshaw stunt is high on adrenaline as amid the casual banter, there is a very real sense of tension and danger, adding to the believability of the scene. The scene leads up to Indiana Jones and his companions plummeting down a set of steep stairs, with the rickshaws miraculously coming to a rest at the bottom, leaving its occupants shaken, tired and in awe that they are still alive.
Mangold has said that the majority of the human action in the film is genuine, as he wanted the stunts to feel more real, showing the dedication of his team.
“Almost all the human action in the movie is for real,” Mangold said.
Adding to it, Ford said, “I think it’s very important to maintain a human scale to action. Too much of something is too much. When you’re able to keep it to a physical reality with some embellishments, that feels real and more visceral for the audience.”
While Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is fashioned to be a promising addition to the iconic franchise, the movie received a five-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.
Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny will release on Wed 28 June in Australia and in India a day later – and in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
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