why Temple of Doom is an awesome movie

bungle92

New member
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]
 
Last edited:

Webley

New member
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

New member
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.
 

Miss Ravenwood

New member
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.
 

bob

New member
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.
 
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.
 

Lon

New member
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

New member
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

New member
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.
 
I

Indy_Jones88

Guest
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
 

Indyologist

Well-known member
Sigh...

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

New member
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

New member
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

New member
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?
 
Last edited:

mayhew7

New member
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

Moderator
Staff member
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.
 
Last edited:
Top