Review of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) by Dylan D — 17 Dec 2013

Every top-flight movie series, it seems, needs a good whipping boy, an outlier that just doesn't get it done, at least when compared to the greatness of its companion films. There's The Godfather: Part 3, Star Wars: Episode Two: Attack of the Clones, and Alien: Resurrection. Fortunately, Indiana Jones' proverbial redheaded stepchild of a movie is more like Back to the Future 2, a highly entertaining romp that captures the same basic spirit of the other films but just doesn't have that same magic as do the others, that same gravitas, that sense of wonder and awe that make a movie go from "great" to "legendary." The Temple of Doom really is a good movie. As a standalone picture, it ranks amongst the best genre films of all time. The Spielberg magic is at work from the start, Harrison Ford's performance is pure Indy though probably the most physical of the series, and John Williams' score dazzles, even when considering movie-specific themes and not the general franchise melodies. The picture's neither as memorably exhilarating nor polished as its predecessor and it lacks the emotional core of its successor, but in terms of raw, mostly mindless entertainment with a bit of heart and plenty of action and suspense, Temple of Doom is truly hard to beat. The opening sequence in which Indy squares off against Lao Che represents one of the series' high points in terms of excitement and structure. It's a beautifully photographed sequence, intense, and even humorous; Indy unknowingly boarding an aircraft operated by Lao Che, believing he's escaped the worst of the encounter. That might be the series' single best scene in terms of combining energy, action, humor, and dread all into one shot. It's too bad the best was saved for the beginning.

Indeed, the movie goes somewhat downhill from there. Kate Capshaw's Willie annoys more than entertains as a female who's nearly the polar opposite of Karen Allen's character, the latter a lady at heart but someone capable of taking care of herself and hanging with the guys whether with a bottle of whiskey or in the middle of a brawl. Willie, on the other hand, shrieks and whines through the entire movie. Capshaw plays the part well, but the character as scripted is more a nuisance than an asset. Short Round proves his worth as one of the series' finest characters. He's no Sallah, not Indy's best sidekick, but he might be the most memorable if only for his spirit and energy level and the actor's fantastic performance. Unfortunately, the film goes way overboard on the nasties -- rather than merely snakes or rats or ants in a scene or two, there are bugs, bugs, monkey brains, bugs, bugs, snakes slithering out of other snakes, bugs, bugs, and of course, plenty of bugs. There's also people lowered into lava, still-beating hearts ripped from chests, and ravenous alligators looking for a bite or twenty of human flesh. The villain Mola Ram appears sinister yet lacks the personality of a Belloq or Donovan. Fortunately, his look and screen presence, in conjunction with the frighteningly hellish ceremonial chambers, are together enough to send a shiver down the spine. The Temple of Doom proves to be far more than serviceable entertainment, and considering flaws and all and compared to the rest of the series -- no matter how bad Raiders and Last Crusade make it look -- this is still rock-solid entertainment that benefits a great deal from Ford's charm and effortless habitation of the character, not to mention Spielberg's eye for cinema magic and his uncanny ability to elevate even lesser projects into something special and memorable. The Temple of Doom represents a textbook case study in pure talent overcoming a thematically hollow and emotionally vacant story.