Search - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Spanish Language Special Edition) on DVD

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

A. Ross | New Zealand | 01/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The most underrated film of the franchise, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM is actually superior in terms of action than LAST CRUSADE. Technically a prequel, the film is much darker in tone than it's predecessor, but nonetheless is an exciting entry in the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Night club action, mine car chases and the thrilling climax on a perilous rope bridge, the set-pieces are some of the most memorable in the trilogy. Set before RAIDERS, Harrison Ford is great in one of his best movie roles, Indiana Jones, obtainer of rare antiquities. And this time, it's Shankara stones for the looting, and while the story isn't as original as it's predecessor, it provides some great comic book-style action. Although directed by Spielberg, George Lucas is the creator of Indiana Jones, and this is one of Spielberg's most impersonal films. However there are some nice homages to JAWS and the "Just shoot 'em" gag from RAIDERS. The opening Busby Berkley inspired number "Anything Goes" sums up the pace for the whole film, where the characters go from one action set-piece to the next, with little space for a breather. The female lead Kate Kapshaw (Willie Scott) is not as spunky as Marion Ravenwood, but she's handles being a love interest for Indy and comic relief rather well. There is a notable lack of meaty villians, with Mola Ram not reaching the excellent "Bad guy" heights of Belloq, but hey, he's still nasty enough. Determined not to make Indy a cardboard character, this one explores Indy's dark side and audience limitations. However despite the change in tone for TOD, there are many laughs to be had and some clever in-jokes, the best of which is the nightclub where Willie sings: Club Obi Wan. Genius. Addmitedly, in some scenes taste goes out the window in favour of revolting animal delacacies and human sacrafice. After all, this was the film that started the PG:13 rating for films that were too violent for a simple PG. But what most critics fail to realise is that it's comic book violence, making it not as bad. John William's tonal score is darker than his previous efforts like E.T, but it's still one of his best. And minor carping aside, they don't make action films like this anymore, where the characters aren't crowded out by a barrage of CGI (THE MUMMY). To put it simply, the action, mine car chases, one-liners and monkey brains all combine to make a really fun action film. And while it dosn't reach the excellent heights of RAIDERS, it's still one amazing adventure."

This is a great film...what's wrong with you people?

Grigory's Girl | NYC | 10/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm glad to see I'm not the only one on earth that thinks this is a good movie. I've always liked it a lot, and I'm not really sure why so many diss this film. It's a hell of a lot darker than the first one, in fact REALLY dark. The scenes in the "temple of doom" are very intense, especially for their time (the controversy this film engineered made the MPAA invent the PG-13 rating). But the film has even more stunts than the first film (and a lot of them are awesome). I especially like the mining car chase (even though it's a little hard to believe at times, even in escapist cinema like this one). The "dinner" scene could give current reality TV shows (where people eat disgusting things) a run for its money. It's a very memorable film, although it's may be too intense for very young children.



Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a very good film. Ford is excellent as usual, Kate Capshaw (the future Mrs. Spielberg) is kooky and kind of endearing, and Short Round is a decent kid sidekick (at least you don't want Indy to throw under the tracks or anything like that). Spielberg's direction is excellent as usual, and I haven't heard people complaining about this one like they have about the latest entry. This is a film that should be revisited."