Review of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) by Tiberio S — 21 Oct 2012

I first saw Temple of Doom with my grandma when I was 8 years-old on home video, not thinking it could be much of a problem since we enjoyed Last Crusade together, and I knew there was nothing about Raiders we wouldn't be okay watching. But here was 8 year-old me, and there was my very old grandma, and what came on the screen certainly caused anxiety, fearing my mother's response to our watching it together. Of course grandma just made lighthearted comments about the violence, and asked only once if her daughter (my mom) was okay with me watching this! She never shut it off, I DID! because it was my mom who overreacted and spoke for others, and little me who had to bear the brunt of scaring anxiety as a result.

Yes, it's very different from other films in the Indiana Jones saga. It doesn't apply any kind of standardized franchise formula. If you're watching all four, this is the most refreshing, and I would be thrilled to show the three others first, and this last, to any newcomer. To clear up the aforementioned to those unfamiliar, Temple is strangely violent for a cartoonish atmosphere, a style that wouldn't be very popular until our current stream of entertainment. Spielberg and Lucas regretted making the movie, and judging by the glorification of such movies today, I can understand why.

This Raiders-sequel pointlessly takes place one year before Dr. Jones found the Ark -- nothing character-driven clues us into this, we just have to notice that quick '1935' lower-third after the opening credits. The movement of the story is unlike any other made, going from one adventure to an adventure stemming from that adventure that takes us into a new adventure! After brawling with a gang at a Chinese nightclub, Indy, accompanied by the tenacious Short Round, steals away the gang's personal singer, Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), and ends up in a chicken-filled cargo plane, unfortunately owned by that same gang. Once that debacle is through, the trio crash lands in India, where they're thrust into a search for missing Shankara Stones at a palace. A poor local village has mandated this upon the trio, suggesting that the Stones were stolen by evildoers at the palace, and that their children are being enslaved to dig for more of these Stones. The Stones are supposed to be magical and bring "fortune and glory." At the palace, romance blooms between Indy and Willie, but when they stumble upon a secret chamber that leads to a dark temple, they're soon separated by the evil Mola Ram and his slave-owning army.

Temple of Doom features enslaved children (one whom dies in front of us), blood-drinking, burning bodies, a flaming-heart, the most disgusting meal you'll ever see onscreen, and lots of insects. I've heard complaints about the film being mean-spirited, and if that really offends your oversensitive-self, I'm sure you'll be turned off. For those who enjoy non-impressionable movie fun and violence, this is a rollercoaster ride (at one point even literally) full of colorful action, adventure, and stunts, all of which never fail to satisfy the appetite.