It’s the Greatest of all Time’s birthday today, so everyone take a shot of your favorite beverage, sit back, and let’s reminisce about some Harrison Ford’s movies.

I’m pretty sure I’ve made my fandom of Harrison Ford known for years. I even walked past him once (unknown to me at the time) when he was in Philly filming Paranoia. Most of my user names on online forums, Xbox Live, and emails have been some combination of “Mar Solo” or “Indiana Mar”, so I’m obviously a huge fan of Ford and the characters he’s played over the years. He turns 79 today, and is currently filming the FIFTH Indiana Jones movie. He’s awesome, so let’s do a quick lightening round of some movies of his I surprisingly didn’t see until very recently (and some I have but hadn’t seen in a while).

Air Force One (1997)

Yes, I didn’t see this movie until very recently, despite my love of both Ford and Die Hard, as this is basically Die Hard on a Plane. Ford plays President James Marshall, who quietly stays on board Air Force One after Russian terrorists high jack the plane. As a former soldier, he proceeds to take down all the terrorists one by one. Gary Oldman co-stars as the lead terrorist and he chews the scenery like it’s made of gum. He’s amazing as always.

Mario’s Take: A big thumbs up, especially if you like a Die Hard type scenario and a president that doesn’t bow down to Russians.

Patriot Games (1992)

My favorite version of the Ford Finger happens in this flick. Ford faces off against Sean Bean after Ford kills Bean’s brother, who was attacking a head of state in England. Ford takes over the role of Jack Ryan from Alec Baldwin and is the only person other than John Krasinki to play the character more than once.

Mario’s Take: Thumbs up. Ford brings back some action chops from Indiana Jones and Sean Bean becomes the only actor to be killed by both Jack Ryan and James Bond.

Clear and Present Danger (1994)

Ford’s second outing as Ryan is a great political thriller that stretches all the way to the very top of the White House. Ford later teams with Willem Dafoe to save American troops that were abandoned in South America.

Mario’s Take: Another good flick and it’s a shame we didn’t get more Ford as Jack Ryan.

Regarding Henry (1991)

Getting shot in the head leads you to buying beagles.

Harrison Ford definitely tried to get another Oscar nomination with this flick. Ford plays a ruthless lawyer who will do anything to win a case, and occasionally yells at his daughter for spilling grape juice on the piano. After getting shot in the head by John Leguizamo during a robbery, he wakes up with amnesia and has to relearn everything. Watching Ford talk like a child for a majority of the flick is pretty entertaining, but that’s about it.

Mario Take: Yeah, thumbs in the middle, it’s too sappy and they try TOO hard to make everyone seem awful (both Ford and Annette Benning are cheating on each other) before Ford gets shot in the head.

Witness (1985)

Nothing more Philly than this movie… well, for the scene that takes place at 30th Street Station. This movie earned Ford his ONLY Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and after watching this scene, it’s a crime he didn’t win the Oscar:

Great, now I have Sam Cooke stuck in my head again. But look at him; he looks like he’s actually having fun! This film also features Alexander Godunov, former Soviet ballet dancer and later Hans Gruber’s main henchman Karl in Die Hard, Danny Glover, and Viggo Mortensen in his first role.

Mario’s Take: If you haven’t seen this, go see it. It’s amazing. Let the YouTube video above entice you.

Hanover Street (1979)

This was my face waiting for the opening credits to end.

Oh boy, this is a rough one. Ford plays a US pilot serving in England during World War II who has an affair with a British nurse, who also happens to be the wife of the British agent he’s working with, played by Christopher Plummer. It’s REALLY sappy, and doesn’t get exciting until the mission into Nazi-occupied France where Ford and Plummer have to work together.

Mario’s Take: Thumbs down. This took me THREE WEEKS to sit through.

Alright, let’s celebrate the greatest of all time by watching some of his all-time great flicks; wear a vest, put on a hat, crack that whip, and do a shot. Happy birthday you old grump.

Mario’s Musings (Birthday Edition): Harrison Ford