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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) More at IMDbPro »

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413 comments in total

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99 out of 140 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the greatest adventure films of all time..., 8 April 2003

Author: WhitePhantom

Everyone complains about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. One of my friends and I used to argue for months on end about which Indian Jones film was the superior. Almost anyone we ask say that Temple of Doom is their least favorite, and the worst in the Jones trilogy. I believe the only reason people say this, is because it's the middle film, sandwiched between an all time classic, and a Hollywood blockbuster. To me, there is NO question that Raiders of the Lost Ark is the far superior Indiana Jones film. To anyone who says Last Crusade is the best I can do nothing but disagree (let me point out that all THREE films are nothing short of phenomenal). Temple of Doom had so much to live up to after the first film, and instead of trying to re-create Raiders (something I feel Crusade did), Lucas and Spielberg decided to take the franchise in a new direction. In my opinion, this was a great idea. Crusade and Raiders are too similar: both of them take place in desert terrain, both have Indy going after a very famous, biblical artifact, and both have Indy fighting off the Nazi's from attaining this object for global domination. Without Temple of Doom, Last Crusade would be an obvious copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark. A different style of Indy film is needed to expand the trilogy, making Indiana Jones a truly global character, and Temple of Doom did just that.

The film itself is a non-stop action, adventure ride. Harrison Ford is once again AMAZING as the dashing professor/archaeologist thrill seeker. Short Round is a loveable character who adds a humorous touch, and reveals the more compassionate side of Indy's character. The ceremony scenes are truly breathtaking and tense. During these scenes the film contains some very graphic images, but are used justifiably to convey the real dark, feel of this film (i.e. the removing of the man's heart while he's still alive, and lowering him into a fiery pit). The mine cart chase scenes are the most amazing, fast moving action sequence in any of the Indy films, and you feel like you're on a roller coaster each time you watch it. All these events lead to the film's spectacular and memorable climax.

I know with three films as amazing as the Indiana Jones trilogy, it's hard to pick a best and worst film, in fact it's nearly impossible. I'm just going to say that each film is great on it's own, and really shouldn't be compared to the other two.

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89 out of 127 people found the following comment useful :-
Why is this one the darkhorse?, 7 May 1999
Author: Jeff (spoonjef@aol.com) from L.A. CA

Temple of Doom may not be as good as Raiders, but it doesn't deserve all this negative flak. The story is a little darker but that doesn't take anything away from the film. It makes the situation that much more dire. John Williams' score infuses the sacrifice sequence with a sense of building dread. The chanting, the heavy drums all building into a wild climax of heart burning and lava filled mayhem. The mine car chase is wild fun and Indy's bridge manuver is one hell of a climax. Still don't know why everyone's so down on this movie.

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76 out of 102 people found the following comment useful :-
Prequel to "Raiders of the Lost Ark", 24 March 2002

Author: jhaggardjr from Chicago, Illinois

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.

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45 out of 50 people found the following comment useful :-
One of my favorite sequels!, 23 November 2003

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

I know that there are a lot of haters when it comes to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it has it's flaws and is by no means the strongest movie of the Indiana Jones series, but I just have so many good memories about this film and still to this day when I watch it, it gives me chills and excitement. The characters are memorable, the script is great, and Indiana is still pulling in the action packed excitement continuing from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The direction, editing, even the special effects are great. You have to love Short Round and Willy, the two new side kicks to Indiana's new adventure. Now I agree, Willy can get a little annoying here and there, but she was just so hilarious in that scene with the bugs and having to save Indiana and Short Round. Plus, Short Round has some of the most memorable lines of the entire series "Okey, dokey, Dr. Jones, hold on to your potato!", cheesy, but so funny. Harrison Ford still has Indiana down to a tee, this was the role that was meant for him.

In this prequel, we start off in China on a trade off gone wrong with Lao Che, he ends up meeting a beautiful and very high maintence American girl, Willie. They escape together with Indiana's little side kick, Short Round and accidentally without knowing, they've escaped onto Lao Che's air plane. They wind up in India, where they find out about these rocks that can restore the village they're in, also the children have been kidnapped by Mola Ram and Indiana must free the kids and restore the rocks so the village can be safe again.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a fun sequel, I don't know why people complain so much about it. I can understand if people say it's the weakest of the series, but on it's own, this is a fantastic movie. It's one of my biggest recommendations to my friends as well as other film viewers. It just has everything you could want: action, romance, alligators, and heart sacrifices, lol, OK, that sounded gross, just trust me this that this is such a fun movie. It's one of my favorite films, I know that sounds bad, but I just love this film. It's a lot of fun and Indiana and Short Round are just the best buddies to watch argue on screen. This is an awesome sequel, definitely a must see.

9/10

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57 out of 80 people found the following comment useful :-
An entertaining experience, but unable to match the sheer brilliance of the original., 9 September 2004

Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnaby.rudge@hotmail.co.uk) from Wakefield, England

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the second of the Indy films from director Steven Spielberg, though chronologically it is actually the first. This prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark tries to out-do its predecessor for breakneck spills and gross-out moments, but the sparkle isn't quite there. It's an entertaining film for sure, but not as good as the original, partially because the plotting this time round is a little awkward and partially because Kate Capshaw as the main female character is an almighty irritation.

The film opens in a Shanghai restaurant, where Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) causes a riot in pursuit of a diamond. Fleeing the scene with American singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and teenaged pick-pocket Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), he escapes to the airport. However, Indy and his companions unwittingly board an airplane owned by one of Indy's enemies, from which they have to make an audacious mid-air escape when the real pilots bail out mid-flight! Soon, the intrepid trio find themselves in India, where they come across a village in the grip of starvation. The village children have been kidnapped by local cultists to work in a mine, digging for the sacred Sankara Stones, and Indy is persuaded by the distraught villagers to rescue their youngsters. His quest takes him to the opulent Pankot Palace and, beneath it and beyond a maze of tunnels, the Temple of Doom.

Ford is great as Jones, bringing genuine charisma to a role that he was born to play (can you imagine how things would have turned out if Tom Selleck had got the part, as originally planned?) There are some great moments along the way too, including the intentionally subversive opening sequence in Shanghai, a particularly funny and exciting runaway mine-train sequence, and an unforgettable banquet at Pankot Palace in which the food served up is enough to churn any stomach. But Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom still can't live up to the standard set by Raiders of the Lost Ark. As mentioned, Capshaw is a real pain on the senses as the always-squealing heroine, and the plot seems to over-stretch in an effort to link to the next development or set piece. The hunt-for-the-missing-children plot device allows Spielberg to dip into the kind of cloying sentimentality that occasionally mars his films too. This is certainly an entertaining and professionally assembled film, but in no way a rival or an equal to the excellence of its predecessor.

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46 out of 70 people found the following comment useful :-
Among the biggest movie adventures ever, 23 October 2003

Author: Mika Pykäläaho (bygis80@hotmail.com) from Järvenpää, Finland

All this endless quarreling about which episode of the sensational Indiana Jones trilogy is the greatest one seems so futile and pointless to me. Personally I love the whole classic series and it's been a highly important part of my childhood. There are only few films that has effect me as much when I was young. It's easy to notice that each Indy-film is downright brilliant yet refreshingly different from the other and could easily be the best of the three so why not just enjoy all without using energy to locate flaws and make comparisons. Terrific "Raiders of the lost ark" was of course the first and the original and therefore freshest one - the true and the genuine Indy-movie.

"Indiana Jones and the last crusade" had Sean Connery playing Indy's daddy and if you ask me "Indiana Jones and the temple of doom" is the biggest adventure of them all. I'm not saying that it's necessarily the best part because I don't want to put these movies in any order. I just happen to think that it's the biggest adventure film = it's more exotic, danger-filled and action-packed than the first or the last one. I've never thought "Indiana Jones and the temple of doom" as an over-violent movie, not even when I was a kid. So they rip a guy's heart out. That's cruel but this is only an old-fashioned fairy tale, a fantasy - not a gory horror picture. To pack it all up in one sentence: Among the biggest movie adventures ever.

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22 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Anything goes!, 20 June 2006

Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Set before the events of 'Raiders', Dr. Jones is in Shanghai doing business with Chinese crime boss Lau Che. Losing the upper hand in a night club he barely escapes with his life (and baggage in the form of Willie Scott and sidekick kid Short Round) to the airport. But little does he know the plane he gets on is owned by Lau Che and the pilots sneak out in mid-air while they are sleeping.

After jumping to safety in an inflatable dinghy Indy, Willie and Short Round drift by an Indian village that has been stricken with bad luck since the theft of their magical Shankara stones. Encouraged by the villagers to go to Pankot palace and retrieve the stones, Indy has no idea that what he will find involves an evil cult hellbent on taking over the world with their lunatic new religion.

Temple of Doom is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best Indiana Jones film. I know a lot of nerds are going to disagree with me but I do think it superior to Raiders of the Lost Ark because I prefer the darker, nastier tone and the fact that it just doesn't let up from the word 'go'! Two hours of Temple of Doom's running time pass in a breeze of sheer adventure as Spielberg takes us from one memorable set-piece to another. The opening musical number, the fight in the Obi-Wan Club, the chase through Shanghai, the plane crash/dingy ride, the journey to Pankot Palace, the dinner scene, the human sacrifice, the freeing of the slaves, the mine-cart ride, the water rush, the rope bridge, the cliff-hanging...wow! How much more can you pack into a film? It's physically impossible!

Originally criticised on it's release for being too dark, Temple of Doom still ends up being a classic. I guess the audiences of 1984 were expecting Raiders of the Lost Ark 2 and were taken aback when they got something else. If you watch it with the others you can feel how different the film is with no scenes taking place in America, no University and no Sallah or Marcus Brody.

John Williams' brilliant music is also at it's best. He even received an Academy Award nomination despite already being nominated for his work on Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is quite rare. The film did win an Oscar for its visual effects (beating the equally impressive effects of Ghostbusters) which, when viewed today, at least might seem a little bit dated, but still hold up quite well.

Or course, there's nothing really important about the film. I mean it won't beat Schindler's List or Munich in terms of drama but if you want escapism and soaring, thrill-a-minute adventure his name is Indiana Jones and the place is the Temple of Doom.

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38 out of 65 people found the following comment useful :-
Changed My Mind About This Stylish Film, 5 April 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

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.

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24 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
"Hey, Dr. Jones, no time for love. We've got company.", 2 October 2006

Author: Ryan (rkuhn_psu@yahoo.com) from King of Prussia, PA

After the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the sequel was inevitable. George Lucas came up with the story and Steven Spielberg again directed this second adventure in the Indiana Jones serial. The high energy and joy seen in Raiders of the Lost Ark has been replaced with a darker, more serious adventure, as Indiana is charged with recovering a magic stone for a village in India who has seen drought and all of the children have gone missing. The beginning of the movie is the high point of the film, with an extravagant musical number in club Obi Wan (oh, that George Lucas and his inside Star Wars jokes), a Shanghai night club where Indiana is closing a deal over artifacts from the Chinese dynasty. Kate Capshaw is the featured singer and the latest "Indiana girl" in this film, a movie that, curiously enough, occurs BEFORE Raiders of the Lost Ark, so the suspense of Jones' fate (if there really was any) is removed, and so any potential love affairs that fail to carry over between movies. Also missing is John Rhys-Davies' Sallah and Deholm Elliot's Brody, instead, we get to see Indy's child helper, Short Round, who's job is to go into tight quarters and say "Doctor Jones" about 300 times. The plot is complicated, as I had to watch the movie a couple of times to get an idea of was actually happening, and, unlike the previous film, most of the movie happens in one place. The famous scene in this movie is the dinner at the palace, where the visitors are treated to chilled monkey brains and other appealing meals. The movie does feature a fantastic scene with an underground rail system that turns into a chase sequence that is filmed well and is enjoyable to watch. This film does not have the whimsy or innocence seen in the other two Indiana movies, and suffers because of it. While still an enjoyable film, it is the least of the three Indiana movies.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Plot holes and racism, 23 April 2008
Author: di1an from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Firstly, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my all time fave films. Same for Last Crusade. But Tempe of Doom, well, here's what ruined ot for me....

...the rampant, if unintentional racism. Indian people eating MONKEY BRAINS FOR DESSERT????!??? Are you kidding me? Since when? SNAKE SURPRISE?? Eyeball soup? Giant beetles?? That was pretty low for some cheap shocks. Secondly, when Indy and co arrive at the village, which is supposed to be in India/Nepal, the people are speaking Sinhalese, the national language of...Sri Lanka! WTF? A language not even spoken in India! Look at a frickin map Spileberg! Why not frickin' Korean then? Parts of TOD were filmed in Sri Lanka, and Spielberg didn't even bother getting the goddamn languages right? It's like saying, 'yeah, *beep* it. as long as they're brown and they speak some kind of gibberish, no one will care'. What if at the start of the film in Shanghai, the Triads were speaking Japanese or French instead of Cantonese/Mandarin? Even if this doesn't smack of ignorance to you, it as at the very least a glaring plot hole.

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