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Rating: 3 out of 5
Oh, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. How I was a little kid and looking at all the food that was served. Who serves monkey brains as a dessert? My dad used to tell me all the time that the monkey brain is a pretty tasty meal. I never knew if he was joking or being serious. Yet, every time I watched this film, I would gag a little bit at certain scenes or feel like something was crawling over my skin.
With all that said, I would have to say that I am not too fond of this Indiana Jones. It is one of my least favorite versions of the series. Don’t get me wrong, the action and pace are amazing. The storyline is thrilling. Yet, what irritates me the most about this whole movie is the main female lead (Capshaw) and sometimes the kid (Ke Quan). Annoyed me to the ends of the earth.
This Indiana Jones is a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark set in 1935, an incredible 365 days before the original whip slinging, Nazi punching archaeologist and adventurer. Temple of Doom starts off in a hip nightclub in good ole Shanghai. Indy (Ford) speaks with Lao Che, the toughest crime boss in all of Shanghai, for a reward in exchange for the ashes of a Ming dynasty emperor. The crime boss crew decide to double-cross Indy and poison him. When all hell breaks loose, lounge singer, Wilhelmina Scott (Capshaw), becomes in the middle of their squabble. Indy and Willie manage to escape with Indy’s pre-teen sidekick, Short Round (Ke Quan), and fly out of harm’s way. The downside, the plane that they are in is owned by Lao Che, and the two pilots are ordered to bail out over India. Things go from bad to worse when they notice the pilots are gone and that the plane is about to crash. Managing to survive in the most Indiana Jones way, the trio end up in a small distressed village in India. The trio meets with the village elder. The village elder explains that the people believe that evil spirits have taken all the village’s children away after their sacred stone was stolen. The village also believes the three of them were sent by Shiva to retrieve their holy stone and bring back the children. Indy feeling a sense of honor decides to help the village and find the children along with the missing stone. Indy decides to travel to Pankot Palace as he believes that the stone may be in the Palace. The trio is warmly welcomed, but as they stay the night, things quickly become dangerous as they are attacked with them discovering a secret cult. It is up to Indy to try and stop the cult.
Spielberg decides to go in a completely different direction and overall sense with this Indiana Jones. This one is by far darker than Raiders of the Lost Ark. The overall tone and look are entirely dark. I would say this is a bad thing, but it actually adds some appeal to the film. First, there are child slaves. Last time I checked, child slavery isn’t sunshine and rainbows. You see how miserable Spielberg makes the actual Temple of Doom a terrifying sight to behold. He makes this with a wide shot as Indy and his crew looks over some rocks. Then appears a statue of a figure with fire glowing from the eyes and mouth. Between the actual sacrificing grounds and the worshippers is a lava pit. Don’t see those every day. The whole feel is a sinister look, and Spielberg makes sure you notice with close-ups of the statues and the worshipers as they seem to glow bright orange from the lava.
Now one would think that it would be best to leave, but Indy wants to see what happens. Spielberg shows how dark this film is with the human sacrifice. As one willing volunteer comes up as he is chanting over and over again like he is praying. He is strapped to a gurney and lifted up. This is when things become genuinely crazy. The head priest begins some chant and literally sticks his hand in the man’s chest and pulls out his heart. Straight up out his chest. The crazy part is that the man is still alive while looking at his heart. He doesn’t even pass out. As he is lifted up, he is then slowly descended into a pit of lava. As his body bursts into flames, his heart burst into flames in the head priest’s hand. Now when I was younger, my mouth dropped, and I was a little scared. My brother would do the chant and try to pull my heart out, but luckily I was older. Well, that is beside the point. That is how dark Spielberg made the film.
The action scenes are always great. The end of the film is an adrenaline rollercoaster ride. First is the whole mining cart chase scene. I don’t know how that cart stayed on the tracks, but it did. It was a thrill ride, but my overall favorite scene was the bridge scene. When Indy and his crew are trapped on both sides of the rickety, rope bridge that is suspended above some very hungry alligators. He wraps his leg around the rope and tells Shorty to do the same with Willie scared out of her mind. Indy seeing no way out, pretty much says f-it or has he puts it, “Mola Ram! Prepare to meet Kali, in hell!” This fool cuts the rope. Then they fight to get back to the top was truly remarkable!
Harrison Ford does his thing as Indy still. Still the charming but hard-hitting adventurer. He seems to be built for this role and shows it in every way possible. His vast knowledge of everything stills seems to amaze everyone.
I could not stand Willie in this film. I would apologize, but she made this film drop a few notches in the overall ranking. How do we go from Marion, who was a hard-drinking fighter? She had her flaws, but damnit, she was tough and cool. Willie, on the other hand, was just outright annoying. She would overreact about every little thing. If she isn’t screaming and complaining about one thing, she was screaming and complaining about another thing. If you pour perfume on an elephant, you don’t think it’s going to get mad at you? The most annoying character of the year nomination right here.
Overall, Temple of Doom is a quality sequel/prequel to the original. It is far darker than its predecessor. Yet, Spielberg presents a ride and story that is truly amazing and enjoyable. Ford does his thing as Indy even though some characters can be left out. Have fun watching this movie!
