Directed by:
Steven SpielbergCinematography:
Douglas SlocombeComposer:
John WilliamsCast:
Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Ric Young, Philip Tan, Dan Aykroyd, George Lucas, Frank Marshall (more)VOD (4)
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Dashing, whip-wielding archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones is joined by comely chanteuse Willie and a 12-year-old sidekick named Short Round. Together they search for a mystical stone stolen from an Indian community and stumble upon a dangerous Thuggee cult. Exotic locales, wild chases, death-defying cliffhangers, last-minute rescues, screaming damsels, and tribal sacrifices are the order of the day as the threesome attempt to acquire the stolen stone. (Paramount Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (8)
Of all of the Indian Jones movies, I like The Temple of Doom the least. Hard to say if it’s the change of environment, the absence of Nazis or just a worse story. It’s still way above average in the adventure movie segment. Excellent funny scenes (dinner at the palace) are alternated by impressive action sequences, dominated by the chase in the mine wagons. If I think about it, more like 4.5 than 4*, but I think that Indy will forgive me this once :-).
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I don't like this episode that much, mainly because Kate Capshaw is such an irritating element that is hard to bear. She’s got nothing on Karen Allen. However, it must be acknowledged that the horror atmosphere is sometimes unreal, and what Spielberg dares in terms of gore is just fantastic. The story is too drawn out for me, though, because it doesn't have much to tell. But the action is excellent.
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I took Raiders of the Lost Ark quite lukewarmly, but The Temple of Doom managed to win me over to the Indiana Jones adventures a lot more. I praise the casting of Ke Huy Quan (who at the time certainly had no idea that he would win an Oscar less than forty years later) and the overall atmosphere of the film, whose plot revolves around audience-friendly occultism and has a truly eerie feel in places. Some of the scenes were laughable, but they didn't hit me as hard as the first one. I have a fairly neutral attitude towards the much-maligned Kate Capshaw and her character Willie, though her sobbing jungle scene tickled my diaphragm beyond measure. A fair four stars!
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Five stars again. But an absolutely (and I mean ABSOLUTELY) different five than I awarded to Raiders or The Last Crusade. I’m not really surprised that Spielberg doesn’t like The Temple as much as the others in the series. That may be another reason why part two doesn’t have the magic of part one or part three. But the main problem is in the screenplay. There’s so much action that there is no room for tension build-up. Although the movie itself is a level below The Crusade or Raiders, but these two deserve more like a full six stars. But it lacks proper villains, Capshaw lags behind Ford, the artefact isn’t really all that interesting and mainly we get too much of a big action ride without some of the props we are used to seeing Jones with. On the other hand, it’s funny (again), awesomely filmed (again), incredibly relaxing and mainly there’s Ford. He would give a great performance as Indy even in a seven-hour shot of him drinking hooch out of a paper bag with the bums down at Central Station. So he’s wonderful in a movie where he is well-fed at a very special dinner and where he careers off down a mine in a little wagon in one of the now most famous scenes of the silver screen, rounding it all off with a stroll across a rope bridge. And I absolutely adore the nods back to his previous adventures (Honduras, Madagascar etc.). And also of course the unavoidable fact that the final passage from Indy going over to the dark side is simply perfect entertainment. As a kid (and the movie is approached to a significant extent from Short Round’s perspective and not from an “adult perspective like the others in the series) I used to play the closing forty minutes like taking a rollercoaster ride. And um... I still do, from time to time.
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Temple of Doom is considered by many as the weakest link in the series about the fearless archaeologist Indiana Jones. I dare to disagree. I don't mind that my generous rating is probably influenced by nostalgic memories of the big screen, where the colorful exoticism of inaccessible lands, amazing natural locations, the presence of attractive women, the dynamics of imaginative action scenes, the ironic exaggeration, and the abundance of witty lines deeply impressed me as a young boy. The second installment is the most action-packed and fast-paced with noticeably horror tones. In the 80s, scenes like breathtaking mine cart chases felt like a revelation and generated boundless enthusiasm from the audience. In fact, these scenes are still impressive today. The cinematography of bombastic tricks and attractions, understandably, has reached a much higher level as time has passed, but Temple of Doom still holds its charm for me. The characters, along with Indy himself, are the weakest aspect of the film, but the other elements successfully compensate for this handicap. In similar adventure films, I don't mind the naivety and the attempt to attack the audience's senses. It has style, irony, and traditionally excellent direction. It is nothing more and nothing less than quality adventure entertainment, and I don't regret giving it an overall impression of 90%. Perhaps it's just disappointing that Spielberg stole the charming Kate Capshaw for himself and tied her down with a ring. I must admit that Steven has good taste, but I believe that if she had devoted the energy she put into childbearing and social presentation of the family to her acting career, she could have achieved much more.
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