A different, but no less entertaining experience.
Director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas reunited for this $28-million dollar
action film, which grossed over $300 million in profit following its release in May of
1984.
Adventure seeking archeologist Indiana Jones is tasked by a small village to retrieve a
sacred stone from a dangerous cult deep in the catacombs of an ancient Indian palace.
The plight of a poor village is certainly a worthwhile crusade... but it simply isn't
a very exciting or accessible story.
Perhaps that's why this 118-minute feature is widely considered the worst entry of the
original trilogy.
Explaining his motivations for helping the locals retrieve a special rock, Indiana simply
repeats, "Fortune and glory kid.
Fortune and glory."
Harrison Ford returns to the role he was born to play, and is able to handle the humor and
romance just as well as the fist-fights and chases.
His romantic interest and damsel-in-distress is played by Spielberg's future wife Kate
Chapshaw.
Portraying a night-club singer terrified of the creepy-crawly creatures of the jungle,
her fish-out-of-water performance honestly gets a bit irritating.
Perpetually helpless, at least her distressed screams and adversarial chemistry with Ford
help inject some much needed levity into the screenplay.
Young Vietnamese child actor Jonathan Ke Quan is excellent as Indy's eager little sidekick
- and 'Short'-rounds out the group with great humor.
Amrish Puri is frightening as a demonic Thuggee priest who magically rips people's hearts
of their chests during sacrificial rituals.
In an effort to explain-away the absence of Karen Allen - Indy's love interest from the
previous picture - "Temple Of Doom" is actually a prequel, with the entire story taking place
a year before the events of part one.
It's a curious, almost unspoken production decision that amounts to little more than
a neat bit of film trivia, as the movies never make reference to this mixed-up timeline.
Thanks to its darker and more graphic imagery - namely the sacrificial sequence in the titular
chamber, "Temple Of Doom" is generally credited, along with "Gremlins" which came out a few
weeks later - with the creation of the PG-13 rating.
At the time of release however, the MPAA didn't have that option, making the second Indiana
Jones film the most violent PG-rated film ever made.
Spielberg later admitted that he felt uncomfortable with certain scenes, and the darker-than-intended
tone of the film was partially because Lucas was going through a divorce during production
and was "not in a good mood".
Spielberg's cinematography is, as usual - impeccable - framing the attractive leads against exotic
backgrounds of smoke, shadows, fire, and flames.
The visuals here are mostly carried by the impressive production design and lavish costumes
- but Dennis Muren and his team at ILM took home an Oscar for "Best Visual Effects"; thanks
to a thrilling mine cart chase towards the end of the film.
The precise editing of this sequence gives it a fantastic sense of speed and danger,
while the aforementioned effects - which combine chroma-key, projection screens, and matte-paintings
make it all look completely believable.
Expanding on the themes and leitmotifs of "Raiders", John Williams contributes yet another
Academy-nominated score, which is at its finest during an extremely tense scene that sees
Ford and Quan trapped in a deadly spike trap.
It's has a heavier sound mixed with high pitches and angrier pacing that provides the core
mood of the film.
Although it wasn't as critically or commercially successful as its predecessor, I have to applaud
the filmmakers for at least attempting something different with this picture.
So, despite a smaller scope and more mature imagery, "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of
Doom" is still an exciting adventure with thrilling set-pieces.
Now let's read some of your YouTube reviews.
A particularly divisive movie; your scores averaged to an EIGHT, and I'm inclined to
agree - this is a GREAT film.
A different, but no less entertaining experience.
Director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas reunited for this $28-million dollar
action film, which grossed over $300 million in profit following its release in May of
1984.
Adventure seeking archeologist Indiana Jones is tasked by a small village to retrieve a
sacred stone from a dangerous cult deep in the catacombs of an ancient Indian palace.
The plight of a poor village is certainly a worthwhile crusade... but it simply isn't
a very exciting or accessible story.
Perhaps that's why this 118-minute feature is widely considered the worst entry of the
original trilogy.
Explaining his motivations for helping the locals retrieve a special rock, Indiana simply
repeats, "Fortune and glory kid.
Fortune and glory."
Harrison Ford returns to the role he was born to play, and is able to handle the humor and
romance just as well as the fist-fights and chases.
His romantic interest and damsel-in-distress is played by Spielberg's future wife Kate
Chapshaw.
Portraying a night-club singer terrified of the creepy-crawly creatures of the jungle,
her fish-out-of-water performance honestly gets a bit irritating.
Perpetually helpless, at least her distressed screams and adversarial chemistry with Ford
help inject some much needed levity into the screenplay.
Young Vietnamese child actor Jonathan Ke Quan is excellent as Indy's eager little sidekick
- and 'Short'-rounds out the group with great humor.
Amrish Puri is frightening as a demonic Thuggee priest who magically rips people's hearts
of their chests during sacrificial rituals.
In an effort to explain-away the absence of Karen Allen - Indy's love interest from the
previous picture - "Temple Of Doom" is actually a prequel, with the entire story taking place
a year before the events of part one.
It's a curious, almost unspoken production decision that amounts to little more than
a neat bit of film trivia, as the movies never make reference to this mixed-up timeline.
Thanks to its darker and more graphic imagery - namely the sacrificial sequence in the titular
chamber, "Temple Of Doom" is generally credited, along with "Gremlins" which came out a few
weeks later - with the creation of the PG-13 rating.
At the time of release however, the MPAA didn't have that option, making the second Indiana
Jones film the most violent PG-rated film ever made.
Spielberg later admitted that he felt uncomfortable with certain scenes, and the darker-than-intended
tone of the film was partially because Lucas was going through a divorce during production
and was "not in a good mood".
Spielberg's cinematography is, as usual - impeccable - framing the attractive leads against exotic
backgrounds of smoke, shadows, fire, and flames.
The visuals here are mostly carried by the impressive production design and lavish costumes
- but Dennis Muren and his team at ILM took home an Oscar for "Best Visual Effects"; thanks
to a thrilling mine cart chase towards the end of the film.
The precise editing of this sequence gives it a fantastic sense of speed and danger,
while the aforementioned effects - which combine chroma-key, projection screens, and matte-paintings
make it all look completely believable.
Expanding on the themes and leitmotifs of "Raiders", John Williams contributes yet another
Academy-nominated score, which is at its finest during an extremely tense scene that sees
Ford and Quan trapped in a deadly spike trap.
It's has a heavier sound mixed with high pitches and angrier pacing that provides the core
mood of the film.
Although it wasn't as critically or commercially successful as its predecessor, I have to applaud
the filmmakers for at least attempting something different with this picture.
So, despite a smaller scope and more mature imagery, "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of
Doom" is still an exciting adventure with thrilling set-pieces.
Now let's read some of your YouTube reviews.
A particularly divisive movie; your scores averaged to an EIGHT, and I'm inclined to
agree - this is a GREAT film.