Indiana Jones y el templo maldito

Some people say Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom is the worst movie of the franchise so far. To me, the worst is basically Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. This movie is not perfect, but it's still good.

Set before the events of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Indiana Jones is tasked by a village to help them after he escapes a Triad group after a deal gone wrong. Joined by singer Willie and young sidekick Short Round, Indy goes to Pankot Palace, where he discovers a hidden temple where a Thuggee cult, led by Mola Ram, has the stones the village asked him to return, and has even enslaved the kids of said village to mine for the last two.

Yeah, this movie is very violent, as it has some scenes that at the time, would be so brutal, some parents complained the movie should have been rated R. This, alongside the outrage of how violent first Gremlins movie was, would influence Steven Spielberg, who was involved with both movies, to suggest the PG-13 rating as an in-between rating. Also, the film is controversial for how it portrayed the country of India, causing the film to be banned from the country temporarily.

Despite those controversies, the film is interesting. It has the same exciting action as the first movie (like the famous mine cart chase scene), and even some goofy moments, making Temple of Doom one of my favorite films.

Not as good as the first, but those are huge shoes to fill as the first film was so amazing. This sequel takes Dr. Jones to India where he seeks holy stones and a village's missing children. Still a good story conceived by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg.

It's funny to call "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" a followup to "Raiders of the Lost Ark". This film is a prequel to the 1981 smash hit, a movie where the events that take place actually took place before the events in "Raiders". Notice at the beginning of "Raiders" that the year is 1936. In "Temple of Doom", the year is 1935. See what I mean? "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is another rollercoaster ride of a movie brought to life by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Harrison Ford is back as archaeologist Indiana Jones who this time searches for a sacred stone that was stolen from an Indian village. Along for the ride is American singer/entertainer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw, aka Mrs. Steven Spielberg) and little Chinese sidekick Short Round (Ke Huy Quan). On their way to finding the stone they stumble across a palace that leads to the gateway of the Temple of Doom run by an evil Thugee cult. The action and special effects are first-rate as you would expect, though the story is a tad weaker than it was in "Raiders". Plus, Capshaw's performance leaves something to be desired. She goes so far over-the-top in some scenes that you'd wish Karen Allen would show up as Marion. Nevertheless, Capshaw isn't all that bad. She does make an impression during the times when she's not screaming. But Ke Huy Quan (now known as Jonathan Ke Quan) comes off better as Indy's young sidekick. The following year he starred in the Spielberg produced Richard Donner directed "The Goonies", but then didn't appear in much after that. "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is great fun only if you can get by Kate Capshaw's simpering wimpering character or the over-the-top violence. I found it to be exciting from beginning to end.

***1/2 (out of four)

POINT OF INTEREST: this was the film that lead to the creation of the PG-13 rating in 1984 (along with Spielberg's other 1984 movie "Gremlins"). Both "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Gremlins" feature violence that most people felt was too strong for a PG rating, though the MPAA felt that it wasn't strong enough to merit an R rating (other Spielberg movies that got PG ratings that were quite intense were "Jaws", "Poltergeist", and the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark"). So after "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Gremlins" opened in theaters at the beginning of the summer movie season of 1984 and became two of that year's biggest hits, the MPAA realized a new rating had to be created. The PG-13 rating was born. In August 1984, the first movies were released with the new PG-13 rating ("Red Dawn" and "The Woman in Red"). It's not a new rating anymore. The PG-13 rating has held up very well these last 18 years and it'll still go strong in the years to come. But I'll always remember "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" as the leading factor to the creation of the PG-13 rating.

For a long time, this was the only one of the three Indiana Jones films I did not like. Then, when it was part of the DVD package that came out over five years ago, I had to buy it if I wanted the other two, so I gave it a third look. Wow, all of sudden I liked it.

For the first time, the woman (Kate Capshaw) and the young boy (Ke Huy Quan) weren't as annoying as I had remembered them. The stupid kid really had rubbed me the wrong way, but this time only Kate was annoying....and she was fine once she calmed down and got rid of the hysterics.

The action in this film is mostly at the beginning and at the end. It is so Rambo-ish (bad guys never hit the target but good guys always do) it is ludicrous. It also has dumb dialog in a number of spots, paying homage to voodooism, spells and other nonsense.

Yet, despite these criticisms, it's entertaining start-to-finish and has some fantastic visuals. The photography in here is beautiful: the best of the three Jones adventures. I particularly liked the opening dance number which reminded me of a Busby Berkeley extravaganza. This whole film looks spectacular on DVD.

An indication of the personal termoil that Spielberg and Lucas were experiencing at the time, this is a darker, more ominous installment in the franchise although still a rip roaring adventure despite some of the political incorrectness that often dates older films. Not as charming as the original but a solid action adventure movie which stands on its own.