Tearful Harrison Ford surprised with honorary Palme d’Or at ‘Indiana Jones’ premiere

CANNES, France — “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” premiered Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival and Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang and culture critic Mary McNamara were there, walking the red carpet, watching Harrison Ford tear up as he accepted an unexpected honorary Palme d’Or and, most important, reuniting with one of cinema’s most iconic adventure heroes, Henry “Indiana” Jones. Who, like the rest of us, is a bit older than he was when we saw him last. That, of course, was the big question going into the fifth Indiana Jones film, 15 years after its predecessor: Are Indy, and the franchise, past their prime? Should it have been called “Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Ancient Sequel”?

Mary McNamara: Though it will doom me among cinephiles everywhere, I confess that “Dial of Destiny” is the reason I came to Cannes. Well, that and the fact that my editor asked me to. Fly across a continent and a slew of sleep-fracturing time zones to get a first look at the return of my beloved Indy? You bet. Was I afraid I’d be disappointed? Absolutely. I saw “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom