Why Do We Love Temple of Doom?

Toht's Arm

Active member

Paul Pauley

Active member
Toht's Arm said:
the way they've written Willie is infuriating

Agreed. Willie badly needed, um, a willy and some backbone. I can't be the only one who wished Indy had actually stabbed her in the "give me the antidote or Anything Goes!" scene.
 

Toht's Arm

Active member
JollyGreenSlugg said:
Agreed. Willie badly needed, um, a willy and some backbone. I can't be the only one who wished Indy had actually stabbed her in the "give me the antidote or Anything Goes!" scene.

That being said, we do say in the podcast that we think Kate Capshaw is excellent in the role - much better than the script deserves!
 

Temple Raider

Active member
I was actually consider starting a TOD fans thread but this one seems to do the job just fine :D

TOD has always been my favorite. I acknowledge Raiders is the best in many ways but I find TOD to be the most plainly entertaining of the bunch. It's non-stop adrenaline from start to finish. Best action, best music, best villains, etc. and so many of the most iconic images and moments of the series come from this entry alone. So many great moments like the escape from Club Obi-Wan, the spike/bug chamber, the sacrifice, the mine cart chase, climax on the bridge, etc. and this movie showed Nazis aren't always needed for Indy to work. Mola Ram and the Thuggees fit just fine. I never minded Willie or Short Round at all. Plus of all the Indy films it's the one that most feels like the vintage pulp adventure serials that inspired the character to begin with.

I often feel alone in thinking TOD is the joint best alongside Raiders. It always seemed to me after TOD the series became different. TLC and even KOTCS are fine, but the first two for me are in such a class above the rest.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I love that TOD attempts to do something different. That's not to say I dislike the more streamlined approach of LC and KOTCS but Temple's dark and claustrophobic nature has always stuck out to me. I wouldn't mind seeing Indy V use more underground and gloomy set pieces.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Pale Horse said:
As is Chattar Lal.

I would have been cool to see a bit more of Chattar Lal and his involvement. He was an interesting character that didn't get much screen time.
 

Paul Pauley

Active member
IndyBuff said:
I would have been cool to see a bit more of Chattar Lal and his involvement. He was an interesting character that didn't get much screen time.
I'd love to see an Indy spin-off exploring Chatter Lal and Lao Che's days at Oxford/Cambridge. Western education would only have heightened their contempt for the British who had stolen India and Hong Kong.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
Pale Horse said:
I can see it now. Disney won't 'remake' Indiana Jones, but the will start doing a slew of Stand Alone films for all the characters we didn't know we needed a back story on! :gun: :whip:

Don't tell me you haven't been clamoring for a Jock film. Don't you want to know how he got Reggie?
 

Raiders90

Well-known member
Temple Raider said:
I was actually consider starting a TOD fans thread but this one seems to do the job just fine :D

TOD has always been my favorite. I acknowledge Raiders is the best in many ways but I find TOD to be the most plainly entertaining of the bunch. It's non-stop adrenaline from start to finish. Best action, best music, best villains, etc. and so many of the most iconic images and moments of the series come from this entry alone. So many great moments like the escape from Club Obi-Wan, the spike/bug chamber, the sacrifice, the mine cart chase, climax on the bridge, etc. and this movie showed Nazis aren't always needed for Indy to work. Mola Ram and the Thuggees fit just fine. I never minded Willie or Short Round at all. Plus of all the Indy films it's the one that most feels like the vintage pulp adventure serials that inspired the character to begin with.

I often feel alone in thinking TOD is the joint best alongside Raiders. It always seemed to me after TOD the series became different. TLC and even KOTCS are fine, but the first two for me are in such a class above the rest.

I actually consider TOD to be my favorite Indy film. Indy is at his most anti-hero here; the film is like a relentless rollercoaster. The darkness of it is pulp at its very best. It's a well-crafted action film with some comedic elements, but LC often goes too far in the other direction. It also shows us that Indy is capable of more than just fighting Nazis and that his universe is larger than that of the Judeo-Christian religions.

It is a flawed masterpiece. It cuts out all the BS and exposition which honestly, for me, slow down Raiders, and cuts right to the literal and figurative chase.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
IndyBuff said:
Don't tell me you haven't been clamoring for a Jock film. Don't you want to know how he got Reggie?


I see a Dunn and Duffy circus coming to Jocks town when he was a kid!
 
Visually, I think it's the best Indy film. I can't take my eyes off it. The pacing seemed ahead of it's time for better or worse. It's one of the few movies where I feel completely immersed. I can forget I'm watching a movie. It has every emotion you can ask for too.
 

DoomsdayFAN

Member
I not only love it, but love the hell out of it. It's absolutely awesome! I just watched it the other night, first time in a few years, and it's just endlessly entertaining!

I don't understand how anyone can hate it. It's a little goofy, but wow is it fun.
 

TheFirebird1

Active member
I think out of the four films in the Indy saga, Temple has always meant the most to me. Does it have problems? Yes, but above all I pride it for its originality and mood. Temple wasn't a mere pastiche of Raiders, but rather a completely original film which paid homage to the serials of the 1930s before it, but in a darker vein. Indy himself is seen in a completely different lens as well, his rougher and cynical side that was only hinted at in Raiders coming out in full force. Throughout the movie, he's mainly out for himself and his own "fortune and glory", which makes his transition into caring hero so much more valuable. I get that there's some goofiness to the film, and some annoying moments, but it all pays off. The action sequences and cinematography in the film are incredible, and whenever I watch them I feel as if I'm actually there with Indy and his companions, something most films can't accomplish. And to top it off, Amrish Puri has a chillingly fantastic performance in the film as Mola Ram, varying from darkly mystical to borderline psychopathic in his bloodlust.
Finally, one of the reasons I have such a personal connection to the film was because it was filmed in my dad's home country of Sri Lanka, and when I watch the film I can even translate a bit of what the villagers are saying. To add to that, D. R. Nanayakkara (the actor who portrayed the shaman in Temple) was a family friend of my dad's. I appreciate that Spielberg and Lucas were willing to stray the path and create a masterful sequel that delved into non-Western themes, especially when dealing with the lingam, which I think was one of the best artifacts in the series. From start to finish, the film is pure fun, plain and simple.
 

Dr Shields

New member
They really do eat bugs and monkey brains in some parts of India. I thought that was very over the top but it sort of isn?t.
 

Paul Pauley

Active member
The guy playing Mola Ram apparently knew that the movie was insulting to India and Hinduism... but he's clearing having a ball by giving the most outrageous performance he can: "Drop them, Doctor Jones! They will be found! You won't!".
 
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