why Temple of Doom is an awesome movie

[bungle92]

Well, this is my first time posting here and I couldn’t come up with any topics to discuss so I thought I should write up a review of why Temple of Doom is not only a great movie but also worthy of calling itself an Indy film.

First of all I agree that the film does lag behind in some ways to it's predecessor and it's sequel. Willie Scott's constant screaming can get on one's nerves at times. The film also focuses more on the action than the story and as a result the film doesn't quite have the balance between great story and action the other two have. Also, there isn't many clues to find the stones. Part of the fun of the other two was seeing Indy use his archaeological knowledge to uncover clues and deciphering them. The Sankara Stones don't really invest our interest as the Grail or the Ark. It's also never clarified how the Thuggees will use them to drive the British out of India and rule the world.

Still, Temple has it's good points:

- Harrison Ford's great performance. I like how we get to see Indy's dark side in this film and see that he looks like he's really enjoying taking part in the brutal bloodletting of the Thuggee when he's drugged in the Black Sleep. Indy looks like he could kill anything in his path and very nearly kills Short Round and Willie. I liked the references to Humphrey Bogart as well: Indy's "Casablanca" suit at the nightclub and the tip of the hat he gives to the snake statue in the Temple and his entire "fortune and glory" character arc.

-The film scores points for not being a retread of Raiders. It has a different setting, mood and story, sidekicks for Indy, different villains for him to go up against. I certainly didn't mind the film's gloomy, downbeat feel at all. In fact, that's something that gives the film it's own personality. Hey, after all the film is called 'The Temple of Doom".

- I liked Short Round. Some of you reading this might not know this, but Shorty is another reference to the action/adventure serials that the Indy films are based on. In the serials the heroes had kid sidekicks tag along with them on their adventures. I thought the father-son relationship with Indy was a nice touch and showed us a different side of Indy in that he is an unreluctant father type. It was touching to see how Short Round looked up to Indy and Willie as his parent figures due to his parents being killed when he was young. I also liked how Indy, Shorty and Willie develop into a little family unit by the end of the film, similar to the Ripley, Newt and Hicks trio in Aliens.

- the action sequences are awesome and provide some of the best moments of the series: the spiked chamber, minecar chase, faceoff on the bridge, nightclub shootout, heart ripping ceremony, voodoo doll fight and the fight with the entire Thuggee cult in the cave. The thrills certainly come faster and I believe not many other other films in history, except Raiders and Crusade, has ever successfully staged action sequences as well.

- John William's score for Temple is in my opinion, his best of the trilogy. I like how it expands on the Raiders score and adds dark, Eastern themes.

- The look and photography of the film is again, I feel the best of the trilogy. The way color and lighting is used in the Shanghai scenes and the use of reds and blacks in the Temple itself all looks great. Whereas, Raiders and Crusade had a brown, "dusty earth" tone, Temple has an exotic, lush jungle feel and is beautiful to look at.

- I liked how the film mixed dark action adventure with some humor thrown in.



The film isn't racist. I'm Indian and I'm not bothered by the movie. They only show the Thuggee (they were a real cult, but somewhat exaggerated in the film) as savages not all of Indian culture. Likewise, in Raiders and Crusade, the Nazis are shown as evil scumbags not all Germans in general. True, there is some stereotyping of the villagers but it isn't done in an offensive manner. Indy is the hero of the film so of course he will be portrayed as a heroic savior figure. I have never noticed race being used in the film as a basis for heroics.

It's rather annoying for me to hear Steven Spielberg and George Lucas themselves join in on taking punches at the movie. They should be proud of the film and not ashamed of it. While both of them are two of the most talented filmmakers of all time and have given us some of the greatest films ever made, they both have done worse than Temple.

I don’t accept Spielberg’s "apology" for making the film either, as I'm happy with the fun film that it is. Even if it is inferior to Raiders that doesn't make it a bad movie and it does get a spot on my favorite movies of all time.

If I were to rate the film I would give it an 8 out of 10. While I would give Raiders a 10 and Crusade a 9.


[Edited by bungle92 on 02-25-2004 at 04:43 pm]

[Kate]

Great first post! welcome, Bungle! I know you'll have a great time.

[Rumpled Fedora]

I agree.
The more you watch ToD, the more it seems like it's not the oddball out of the trilogy.
LC is my favorite, though.

[Webley]

bungle92, I got to say thanks. I dont think Iv seen anyone give this movie so much praise. Except for the fact that you gave Raiders 1 point over Temple... come on you can say it Temple is better Raiders your among friends. Boy-O-boy wait till you find out that some of members here think that Mr. Round is dead. Now is that absurd or what? Anyway, glad to see another Short Round fan.

[bungle92]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your feedback on my post. Be sure to also check out that article on Amrish Puri, the actor who played Mola Ram on the main news page. I was the one who provided the link and it is an interesting read.

[Tennessee R]

I agree with Rumpled.
While LC is still my favorite,
ToD would be at the exact same level as Raiders.

[Miss Ravenwood]

I like ToD. I was furious when I learned the UK DVD release of ToD would have footage deleted, but luckily I managed to get imports of the US DVDs.

Anyway I enjoy ToD almost as much as Raiders, but Raiders will always be my *very* favourite Indy movie.

[Renderking Fisk]

Best think about Temple of Doom is that they actually had the stones to make. If anything, it cemented Jones as a cult hero. (Pardon the pun.)

[bob]

Agreed ToD is a great film, but for me it is just not as consistently entertaining as Raiders or LC, the whole trek through India and all the scenes in the palace just seem ultimately irrelevant to the plot.
I also don't like the politics of ToD (as i set out in my homage to colonialism thread) while it may not be racist its values smart of orientalism and it really seems like something that has been lifted from the world and values of the 30's.

I love the darkness of ToD
And i love it when Indy fights back against the Thugees which in my opinion is among the most breathtaking action scene in movie history.

[ironmonkey]

a good post there bungle. i can definitely agree to most of what you written there. it often puzzles me why so many seem to think that ToD is not a worthy indy film. while its not my favourite indy film, its still a great film. i also love how its compleately different than raiders.

it does, however, seem like some people think that to be a "real" indiana jones flick, it has to follow one specific formula (wich includes nazis, biblical referances and the arceology-knowledge-ending-thingie... :D (well, i do miss that in tod :D)

thats actually what i like the least about LC, how it seems to try to hard to stick to the formula of raiders. even thou i love to hate the nazis as much as the next guy, i find it refreshing to see indy fight some other badguys in an other setting. i like the idea of indy being on lots of different adventures and not just be in deserts, fighting nazies.

that beeing said, ToD does definietively have some weak spots. one of them being willie :D still, in my book its the second best indy flick of all time, sharing second place with LC.

[Renderking Fisk]

Think about Temple of Doom is that it plays with the formula and makes fun of itself at the same time. I just wish they made more movies that went beyond the formula.

[Lon]

I like ToD because it stays true to the character of Indy but takes him on a completely different adventure than Raiders. Last Crusade is a great film but it mirrors Raiders too much.

[Strider]

Greeting's bungle92. Welcome to The Raven. I compleatly agree with you on TOD. Another thing I like about it is if your whaching the films in order of release after seeing TOD whaching LC is twice as increadably fun and hilarious! :D

[Katarn07]

Great rant ;)

It used to be my favorite when I was little. Then it was LC. But for the past year it's been RotLA.

I love ToD nonetheless and have never disliked it.... of course I saw them all around the same time therefore that made them all very enjoyable :)

One thing I like about ToD RotLA and LC can't brag about is the jungle setting. Ok, RotLA had it in the beginning but not as much as this did.

[Indy_Jones88]

My favorite is ROTLA because indy is mysterious, u dont know anything about him. Last crusade is 2nd because it has funny humor along with good action. I like ToD but it is my least favorite. Its just a dark movie and like u said, he didnt have to research, he just went and found them.

this is just an opinion

[Ayrun]

I think Raiders is the best of the 3, but Temple is my favourite. :)

[Indyologist]

Warning: female romanticism ahead! :rolleyes:

TOD is a great movie to me, first and foremost, because it was the movie that made me "fall" for Indy!

[Junior Jones]

That's an interesting distinction between being the best and being a favorite.

I like ToD, too, even though, like many of you, I rank it third in the trilogy.

My wife, on the other hand, hates it. But the only part she remembers is the heart-tearing sacrifice scene.

That's my least favorite scene, too, but other parts make up for that suffering: Lao Che and Shanghai, sledding in a rubber raft, the jungle trek, the minecar chase, etc.

[Katarn07]

I recall a 'Worst Sequels Ever' thread somewhere else and someone was stupid enough to suggest ToD. And not only because it's really a prequel.

Well fortunately me and another guy were quick enough to back it up with most of your arguements. Then all I had to do was mention 'Jurassic Park: Lost World' and everybody forgot about ToD :p

[bungle92]

You bring up a valid point Matthias. Yeah true, Temple doesn't equal Raiders but it's not bad. Even if Temple of Doom is in many people's eye's the weakest of the trilogy that's still better than a lot of movie's out there. Hey, look at other weakest parts of other film series: Batman and Robin, Rambo 3, Rocky 5, Jaws 3 &4, Beverley Hills Cop 3, Jurassic Park 3, all the Police Academy sequels, Superman 3 &4, Highlander 2 and the list goes on. Temple can't as bad as those films can it?

[mayhew7]

since getting the DVD set i have enjoyed watching the Temple of Doom a lot more then i used to but for me The Last Crusade is the best still but im not sure i could decide between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom

[Finn]

Temple of Doom... kinda differs from the other two films in many aspects. Of course, it has Indy dealing with other villains than Nazis... and it is a lot darker. But there is another thing that makes ToD stand out in my opinion if look at the shades. This may sound odd, but does ToD appear anybody else of you as somewhat "candy colored"? I mean, LC and Raiders have the shades of somewhat light brown and grey, as ToD appears to use way brighter scala.

[Katarn07]

Although Jurassic Park 3 sucked compared to the original, I thought it was a pretty cool summer flick that outdid the Lost World by far.

I'm getting off topic....

I've seen the trilogy twice since we got the DVDs and I caught bits and peices of them when they were on USA Memorial Day Weekend :)

[westford]

ToD was my favourite when I was a kid because of Short Round. There was a kid of around my age going off on an adventure round the world and kicking bad-guy-ass. Plus he got to ride an elephant! (What 7/8 year old doesn't wish they could take an elephant to school to wreck the classroom and squash their teacher?)

And Willie is still my favourite 'Indy-girl' - I will not be converted to the Marion worship that goes on around here! :p

[Katarn07]

ToD is a lot brighter in terms of color and that sets it apart from the other two. I think I like ToD because it is so different than the other two films!

I like all the Indy girls. I don't really have a favorite but if I did, I guess it'd have to be Marion just because she's got a history with Indy and knows how to take care of herself.

Willie's hilarious and while most people prefer Marion because she's a lady that can take care of herself, my sister prefers Willie because she quote on quote "Acts like a girl should."

[Renderking Fisk]

People forget that Temple of Doom was being made while Uncle George was getting a divorce. Personally... I think it was just an excuse to see Ford kicking butt.

[katanga]

ToD is much more exotic, and shows indy in a surronding that isnt that much alike with the surrondings from RoTL or LC, therefore I find this movie very entertaining. Plus the badguy does not always have to be the nazi or the Prize an Christian or Judean artifact.

[Jawad M]

My fav starts with Crusade to Raiders to Temple. Believe it or not as much as I want to see INDY4...and a big Spielberg fan...there is always this element of...leave the trilogy as it is but then we all want it...right?

Jawad

[Renderking Fisk]

Best I can hope for is that Jones4 is similar to Temple in that it departs from the formula. I just hope it doesn't stray TOO much.

[Junior Jones]

That's the problem / challenge with Indy 4. Some people will love it and some will hate it. If its too much like Raiders, people will complain. If its not anything like Raiders, people will complain. There's a balance in the middle where the fewest number of people will be disappointed, and good luck to George for finding it.

[Lord Excalibur]

I also thinks that ToD is the best Indy movie. It's great it's pure Indy. But so is the other two. I'm not ranking the movies of a trilogy where a like all of the movies. RoLA, ToD and LC is all ranked nr. 1 but my favourite is ToD :)

[Webley]

TOD is the one where I really fear for Indy's safety.The part where they are whiping Indy and Short Round and make Indy drink that poison. Come on, thats some pretty scary stuff.
Then that whole part where Indy frees the slave kids and fights that really big guy. I love the fight on the rock crusher when Indy goes to strike the guard with that big saw.

[Miss Ravenwood]

Willie Scott is without question, the Jar-Jar Binks of Indiana Jones. She comes as quite a letdown and stepback after the great Marion Ravenwood

The Jar Jar Binks of the Indy world? Wow that's way harsh. While Willie doesn't compare to Marion, she's a great character all on her own. Her reactions are actually pretty realistic, I know if I'd been invovled in the same situations I'd be screaming in terror the whole time too. She went through and saw some horrible stuff, I always thought her reactions were perfectly natural, especially considering she was probably a fairly spoiled indoor girl.

I can easily see why Willie would be a let down after Marion but to call her Jar Jar Binks is really unfair, IMHO. I love Willie personally, she made me laugh and I felt sorry for her. Maybe I'm biased because I can see myself a bit in Willie but I'll aways defend her, even though Marion is my #1 favourite.

[bungle92]

Originally posted by Miss Ravenwood
The Jar Jar Binks of the Indy world? Wow that's way harsh. While Willie doesn't compare to Marion, she's a great character all on her own. Her reactions are actually pretty realistic, I know if I'd been invovled in the same situations I'd be screaming in terror the whole time too. She went through and saw some horrible stuff, I always thought her reactions were perfectly natural, especially considering she was probably a fairly spoiled indoor girl.



I know, I was being a little harsh. I was just busy feeding into some of what Temple of Doom's critics say about the film that I didn't really give the character of Willie a chance. After all, Kate Capshaw did play the part as it was written and yes, she did have to see some horrific stuff which was out of her world of being a nightclub singer.

By the way, that entire "5 minutes" scene in the palace is awesome. Not only is it beautifully editted but it has the great "Nocturnal Activities theme".

[Miss Ravenwood]

By the way, that entire "5 minutes" scene in the palace is awesome. Not only is it beautifully edited but it has the great "Nocturnal Activities theme".

Yeah it's nice. I always laugh at how concited Willie and Indy are being, it's funny. "I could've been you're greatest adventure!" LMAO.

[Indy's_main_man]

TOD is a large part of American culture. It spawned the PG-13 rating, after all!

You can't say this movie isn't as bad because he just "went and found" the stones. I mean what is he supposed to do? make them fill out a form describing the stones their weight and what mineral compound they are?

[Renderking Fisk]

I really wish they took Steven's original idea and kept Marion... but then he would have never have met his wife.

[Indy Benson]

If they kept Marion for ToD, wouldn't that have messed up the storyline? Considering ToD (1935) took place before Raiders(1936), I don't think having Marion would have worked. She was all worked up in the beginning of Raiders about how she always knew he would come back into her life, and how she was young and he knew it, and how it was wrong.
Wouldn't she have said those things DURING the ToD time period, rather than the Raiders time period?

[Indy's_main_man]

Originally posted by Renderking Fisk
I really wish they took Steven's original idea and kept Marion... but then he would have never have met his wife.

unless of course Steve Married Karren Allen...That certainly would have helped her career. What was he lastb big film? "scrooged" i think

[Renderking Fisk]

Originally posted by Indy Benson
If they kept Marion for ToD, wouldn't that have messed up the storyline?

Well, Temple of Doom would have had to take place AFTER Raiders... they would have to re-write the script. (Wu-Han could have lived and fallen in love with Willie? Who knows.)

[fatima]

For me TOD is an awesome movie, cause was my first Indy movie I saw and, I've NEVER felt so many adrenaline, emotion and great fun with adventure in a movie before! I was 13 and I didn't get shocked with the darker scenes... I was quite impressed to see how that great adventurer took advantage to solve out the troubles the way he did, with his dared spirit and Willy and Shortie add more soul to the movie turned it more lighter, she is funny and Shortie is a loyal Indy friend that is delicious to see!!

[OldawanKenobi]

I always liked ToD...'Raiders' was always my favorite,but LC went a little over-the-top with the comedy at times.It's almost like they were trying to atone for ToD being so 'dark'.