Review of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) by Seth Y — 11 Aug 2013

The prequel to 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark is much darker in tone than its predecessor. That being said, it's a masterpiece of the action and adventure genre.

Set a year before the events of the first film, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) finds himself in trouble with Lao Che, a Shangai crime boss. After a narrow escape with his young Chinese sidekick Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan) and a nightclub singer (Kate Capshaw), the trio find themselves in Mayapore, a small village in India. The locals believe Indy and his crew have been sent by the Hindu god to retrieve a sacred stone stolen from their shrine. In addition to the stone, a number of children from the community have gone missing, believed to be stolen by the evil forces in the nearby Pankot Palace. Indy, Short Round, and Willie find themselves in an underground temple within the palace as they try to get back the Sivalinga stone and free the child slaves.

The character of Indiana Jones had 3 years to gain popularity after the first film, and Harrison Ford returns to the role with the bang. My favorite part of this movie though is the character of Short Round. Jonathan Ke Quan (who is probably most known as "Data" in The Goonies), is an awesome sidekick to Indy, providing some much needed humor throughout the film. I absolutely love this team, it works perfectly!

As mentioned, "Temple of Doom" is darker compared to "Raiders." The story is heavily focused on an ancient cult who specializes in human sacrifices. There's a slightly disturbing, evil vibe that comes into focus when the actual temple comes into play. Not to mention child slavery and black magic, which includes the use of voodoo dolls to damage the protagonist. While this might offend some people, I LOVE the dark tone of this film. You actually feel like Indy is in real danger and I think the temple sequence is cinematic gold. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a dark, action-packed spectacle that is absolutely perfect. 5 stars.