Shia LaBeouf's Bike Chase In Indiana Jones 4 Was Extra Tricky Thanks To Harrison Ford
2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" might not be the franchise's finest moment, but it still has some cool Indiana Jones moments — the whole nuking the fridge thing aside. With the fourth film in the series, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg decided to leave the adventure serial style of the previous films behind in favor of a 1950s sci-fi B-movie sensibility. Whereas the Nazis had been the go-to villains for the previous three entries, Lucas and Spielberg's new approach saw Indy facing off against the Soviets at the height of the Cold War, in a race to recover the titular cranium in order to thwart the Russians' nefarious plans.
But before any of those grand escapades kick off, "Crystal Skull" makes sure to get a good old-fashioned chase scene in. After Harrison Ford's Dr. Jones meets his long-lost son Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) for the first time, the pair are ambushed by the aforementioned Soviets, forcing them to flee via Mutt's motorbike — a modified '06 Harley-Davidson Softail Springer Classic. During the chase that ensues, there's plenty of the kind of charming Indy action we'd come to expect from the series, starting with a fight between jocks and greasers and ending with the unfortunate beheading of a statue of former Marshall College dean Marcus Brody.
While the chase itself recalls the lighthearted action of 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," filming sounds like it was a real struggle for LaBeouf.
'All that stuff was pretty tough'
Ever since "Raiders of the Lost Ark," where Harrison Ford raced a real 300 pound boulder and nearly had his knee shattered by a flying wing, the veteran star has been performing his own stunts. Even with 2023's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," Ford cursed out the stunt crew for daring to assist him with the physical aspects of the role. So, when Shia LaBeouf arrived to start shooting "Crystal Skull," he had a lot to live up to.
Thankfully, it seems the then 20-year-old was fully committed to doing his elder proud, training for six weeks just to be able to drive a motorbike for the chase scene. As stunt coordinator Gary Powell explained in a making-of featurette (via Insider), the training began with a smaller bike before LaBeouf graduated to the full-size 600-pound Harley. Powell said, "It's a very heavy bike, so even if you get off-balance, generally you're going to the floor because it's just so heavy." However, weight wasn't the only issue LaBeouf would have to contend with when shooting.
With Ford being the kind of committed stunt performer he is, the actual scene proved to be even harder than expected for LaBeouf, as he had to shoot the whole thing with his co-star flailing around on the back of the bike. The "Transformers" star recalled his struggles, saying:
"The bike was tough, only because when you have somebody moving on the back of a bike, it's very different than just having someone hold you on the bike. But we're shooting a movie and Harrison has to animate his character. And we're on a bike through a lot of it, so a lot of it is the movement. All that stuff was pretty tough."
A perfectly good Indy chase
Whatever else you want to say about "Crystal Skull," you can't fault the actors' commitment to the action — an essential element of any Indy adventure. In the behind-the-scenes shots you can clearly see that both Shia Labeouf and Harrison Ford were in the thick of the action for the chase scene, with Ford climbing his way between the car and Harley and even riding on a plate behind the bike for the moment where he's supposed to be surfing the concrete.
The film itself might not have the best reputation, but some, including /Film's own Sandy Schaefer, argue that "Crystal Skull" is actually good. While it might not live up to the horse and truck chase scene in "Raiders" or the bike escape from the castle in "Last Crusade," the motorbike scene in "Crystal Skull" is a good example of how the film at least managed to capture some of what made the previous three entries so beloved. Ford and LaBeouf's efforts resulted in what was a perfectly good Indiana Jones chase, with plenty of the kind of playful choreography that made previous Indy action scenes so memorable.
On top of that, "Crystal Skull" was a bonafide monster box office hit, which is unfortunately more than can be said for "Dial of Destiny," which looks to be Disney's biggest box office disaster since "John Carter." Compared to the dodgy de-aging shots in Indy's latest outing, I'll take a good old-fashioned chase scene with some inventive choreography any day.