Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz (Screenplay)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone
Plot: In 1935, Indiana Jones arrives in India, still part of the British Empire, and is asked to find a mystical stone. He then stumbles upon a secret cult committing enslavement and human sacrifices in the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom starts as Indiana Jones (Ford) looks to escape from Shanghai, which sees him joined by singer Willie Scott (Capshaw) and kid Short Round (Quan), only for them to end up crash landing in India.
Once in India Indiana finds himself trying to help a small village locate a stolen stone, only to find himself in the middle of a secret cult mixed up with enslavement and human sacrifice.
Thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Characters – Indiana Jones is back, taking part in shady deals with criminals, making narrow escapes, before showing his true nature helping a small village respect their history. He knows how to handle himself in a fight and will always be ready for his next daring escape. Willie Scott is a famous singer in Shanghai, one that is a complete diva, not wanting to be away from the glitz and glamour, she ends up being part of the team, spending more time screaming than doing anything else. Short Round is the quick talk, quick handed young boy that helps Indiana, he seems him as a father figure that could help him have a better life after his own parents death. Mola Ram leads the cult, believing they will get the power if they control the stones.
Performances – Harrison Ford is always going to be remembered for the role of Indiana Jones, he bought the character to life with ease being one of the most iconic characters in film. Kate Capshaw does get annoying in her role, with the pure amount of screaming she puts us through, this is more about the script than her though. Ke Huy Quan does bring us the loveable sidekick for Indiana, getting laughs through the film. The villainous side of performances do well, giving us very dark characters that are prepared to do anything for their own cause.
Story – The story here brings us another adventure of Indiana Jones as he finds himself in India trying to stop an evil cult from gaining power, after they start using the local children as slaves. This might well be a much darker tale than the first Indiana, which does make it even more enjoyable, it shows us how Indiana will do the right thing without a monetary incentive being involved, it shows him in a light that history is the most important thing to him. The idea of the secret cult of evil is very dark, it is important to reflect the darkness they are trying to create, which we see through the film. The story does leave us wanting more adventures from the Doctor.
Action/Adventure – The action involved in the film is fights, chases, daring escapes, everything you would expect to see in an adventure, with the bridge sequence being the true highlight of the adventure.
Settings – The film uses the settings excellently, to show us the hidden world of the cult, the trap tunnels an adventure would find himself in and each location is added to the environment of the adventure sequences we follow.
Scene of the Movie – The bridge sequence.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The crocodiles look so out of place.
Final Thoughts – This is an excellent sequel that often gets overlooked compared to the other two in the trilogy.