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)Plots(1)
Indiana Jones finds himself on a new adventure, trekking across Asia with a gold-digging woman and a young child to rescue a village's missing children and find a magic stone. But, along the way he must contend with an evil cult. (official distributor synopsis)
Videos (1)
Reviews (8)
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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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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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 feel like Spielberg let himself be seduced by the gloss and forgot that Indy's magic is equally part of the action and the story. There is plenty of the first in The Temple of Doom (perhaps even a surplus), but the second is a great weakness. The whole thing is built too straightforwardly, without real gradation and any noticeable shift. The environment has a rather dull and backdrop impression, so everything must be saved by the divine Harrison and his boyish charisma. Another problem for me is the screaming beauty Kate Capshaw, who, though I don't hit women, I would like to slap. Her role is what it is, it’s acted great, but it doesn't work for me. And one more negative point for that little kid, who is typically an infantile smirk at the child viewers. Yet at least the feast scene and a few other sequences make Jones' second adventure unforgettable.
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Clearly the weakest of the Indiana Jones movies. The horror atmosphere occasionally grabs you, but it's far from being enough from the Lord of Archeologists. It needs more boat flying or wheelchair riding. As it is, everything starts off very promisingly and then merely pauses for about an hour before the classic final spectacle.
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