Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Temple of Doom is considered by many as the weakest link in the series about the fearless archaeologist Indiana Jones. I dare to disagree. I don't mind that my generous rating is probably influenced by nostalgic memories of the big screen, where the colorful exoticism of inaccessible lands, amazing natural locations, the presence of attractive women, the dynamics of imaginative action scenes, the ironic exaggeration, and the abundance of witty lines deeply impressed me as a young boy. The second installment is the most action-packed and fast-paced with noticeably horror tones. In the 80s, scenes like breathtaking mine cart chases felt like a revelation and generated boundless enthusiasm from the audience. In fact, these scenes are still impressive today. The cinematography of bombastic tricks and attractions, understandably, has reached a much higher level as time has passed, but Temple of Doom still holds its charm for me. The characters, along with Indy himself, are the weakest aspect of the film, but the other elements successfully compensate for this handicap. In similar adventure films, I don't mind the naivety and the attempt to attack the audience's senses. It has style, irony, and traditionally excellent direction. It is nothing more and nothing less than quality adventure entertainment, and I don't regret giving it an overall impression of 90%. Perhaps it's just disappointing that Spielberg stole the charming Kate Capshaw for himself and tied her down with a ring. I must admit that Steven has good taste, but I believe that if she had devoted the energy she put into childbearing and social presentation of the family to her acting career, she could have achieved much more. (05/01/2019)

When I recently watched this Indy adventure again after a long time, I felt it was even better than in my enthusiastic teenage years. The story may not be as cool as Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Last Crusade, but in its individual parts Spielberg proves his storytelling greatness and is brimming with ideas that elevate this instalment to the honourable level of the two other entries in the trilogy. The low-key communicativeness towards the viewer, who is cunningly warned of the approaching action, the twists of seemingly insignificant plots, the playful work with lighting or multi-genre references, the likeable humour and the thrilling action of the last half hour make this one of the purest and funniest adventure films ever made in Hollywood… (31/01/2012)

I took Raiders of the Lost Ark quite lukewarmly, but The Temple of Doom managed to win me over to the Indiana Jones adventures a lot more. I praise the casting of Ke Huy Quan (who at the time certainly had no idea that he would win an Oscar less than forty years later) and the overall atmosphere of the film, whose plot revolves around audience-friendly occultism and has a truly eerie feel in places. Some of the scenes were laughable, but they didn't hit me as hard as the first one. I have a fairly neutral attitude towards the much-maligned Kate Capshaw and her character Willie, though her sobbing jungle scene tickled my diaphragm beyond measure. A fair four stars! (01/07/2023)

Five stars again. But an absolutely (and I mean ABSOLUTELY) different five than I awarded to Raiders or The Last Crusade. I’m not really surprised that Spielberg doesn’t like The Temple as much as the others in the series. That may be another reason why part two doesn’t have the magic of part one or part three. But the main problem is in the screenplay. There’s so much action that there is no room for tension build-up. Although the movie itself is a level below The Crusade or Raiders, but these two deserve more like a full six stars. But it lacks proper villains, Capshaw lags behind Ford, the artefact isn’t really all that interesting and mainly we get too much of a big action ride without some of the props we are used to seeing Jones with. On the other hand, it’s funny (again), awesomely filmed (again), incredibly relaxing and mainly there’s Ford. He would give a great performance as Indy even in a seven-hour shot of him drinking hooch out of a paper bag with the bums down at Central Station. So he’s wonderful in a movie where he is well-fed at a very special dinner and where he careers off down a mine in a little wagon in one of the now most famous scenes of the silver screen, rounding it all off with a stroll across a rope bridge. And I absolutely adore the nods back to his previous adventures (Honduras, Madagascar etc.). And also of course the unavoidable fact that the final passage from Indy going over to the dark side is simply perfect entertainment. As a kid (and the movie is approached to a significant extent from Short Round’s perspective and not from an “adult perspective like the others in the series) I used to play the closing forty minutes like taking a rollercoaster ride. And um... I still do, from time to time. (17/05/2008)

I don't like this part that much, mainly because Kate Capshaw is a really irritating element that is hard to bear. Karen Allen doesn't have the same effect at all. However, it must be said that the horror atmosphere is sometimes unbelievable, and what Spielberg allows in terms of gore is just great. But the story is too stretched out for me, because it doesn't have much to tell. The action, however, is excellent. (28/03/2015)