Hollywood legend Harrison Ford has defended the de-aging technology used in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

On Thursday, the 80-year-old - who has been playing the heroic archaeologist since 1981 - received a hero's farewell to his beloved character at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

The audience gave the actor a five-minute standing ovation for what has been the fifth film in the franchise.

Speaking to the crowd, the veteran said how touched he was by the recognition for his decades-long career.

"I’m very moved by this," Ford explained. "They say when you’re about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes, and I just saw my life flash before my eyes.

"A great part of my life, but not all of my life."

Alamy Stock Photo/PA Images

He added: "My life has been enabled by my lovely wife, who has supported my passion and my dreams, and I’m grateful.”

Then addressing the audience, he said: "I love you, too. But I’ve got a movie you ought to see. It’s right behind me.

"So let me get out of the way, and thank you again for this great honour."

Once everyone got to see it, Ford choked up as he indicated this is goodbye to Indiana Jones.

I'm not crying... you are.

While audiences will need to wait for 30 June to watch the film, some people have been quick to criticise the fact that the latest instalment will include de-aging technology.

You might remember how it worked on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in The Irishman... Not everyone was a fan.

Responding to the critics, Ford told reporters: "I know that that is my face.

"It's not a kind of Photoshop magic — that's what I looked like 35 years ago. Because Lucasfilm has every frame of film that we've made together over all of these years.

Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Studios

"And this process, this scientific mining of this library, this was put to good [use]."

He continued: "It's just a trick unless it's supported by a story, and it sticks out like a sore thumb if it's not honest, it's not real... I mean, emotionally real. And so I think it was used very skillfully.

"I'm very happy with it, but I don't look back and say, 'I wish I was that guy again,' because I don't.

"I'm real happy with age. I love being older. It was great to be young, but s***fire I could be dead, and I'm still working."

We're all happy you're still working too.