Harrison Ford says critics forced their own rules on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Critics! Why’d it have to be critics? While Harrison Ford gets ready to dial it up once more for the fifth Indiana Jones movie, he and the rest of the cast and crew are going to be forced to confront the fourth. But Harrison Ford seems to have little regard for the critical response to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

As reported yesterday, the actor recently spoke of his more infamous flops. One that generated the most chatter from Harrison Ford, if you could ever consider him chatty, was 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the fourth entry in the franchise that came nearly two decades after The Last Crusade–that is, too late for many. That Ford was in his mid-60s didn’t calm fans or critics, either. (It should be noted that, while Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has its vocal detractors, the Rotten Tomatoes score sits at a strong 78%. Not bad considering the aliens.)

On the poor reception of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harrison Ford suggested that critics went in with the wrong mindset. “[The critics] were harsh on it, but what are they doing now?…But those were their rules–not [director Steven Spielberg’s and co-writer George Lucas’] rules. They were imposing their rules on what the movie should be. I don’t feel it’s necessary to address those issues. I think that everyone has a right to their opinion.” In other words, the critics had their own toxic fandom in a way.

Still, Harrison Ford added, while Kingdom of the Crystal Skull didn’t garner ideal reviews or spark the desired immediate resurgence in the franchise, he said none of that has crept into the upcoming fifth entry, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. “It didn’t create an attitude or a behavior that carried over into this film.” That said, Ford did note that the low hanging fruit jokes about Indy’s age have been removed from Dial of Destiny.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny rolls into theaters on June 30th.

Do you think Dial of Destiny will be better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Does Harrison Ford still have what it takes to pull off Indy? Let us know in the comments below!