Thiel-a-Vision Review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1/2

This first sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark starts off well. Opening the film with a musical number--a Chinese-language rendition of "Anything Goes", no less--is an unusual, inventive move. The Shanghai nightclub sequence, featuring adventurer Indiana Jones in a standoff with a horde of underworld types, is suitably tense and the lightning-fast action continues with a car chase and an escape from a pilotless plane, all within the first twenty minutes.

Unfortunately, once the setting shifts to a desolate village in India, the pacing drops off considerably and doesn't return until the last third. Part of the problem is the limited number of locales: most of the film takes place either in the palace or in the cave network beneath. There's little of the globe-hopping that enlivened the other Indiana Jones adventures.

The other major problem is the character of Willie Scott, the female lead and purported love interest. It's not actress Kate Capshaw's fault; she's appealing enough and does what she can with the material. Perhaps Spielberg and Lucas hoped to avoid a retread of Karen Allen's feisty, hard-drinking character from Raiders, but in doing so, they went too far in creating a screaming, self-absorbed and almost completely useless femme. Wacky highjinks involving Willie's terrified reactions to creepy situations multiply and rapidly become old. A flighty heroine in over her head can work, as with Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone. But Willie never matures into a more capable figure, aside from striking a lucky punch late in the game. It's all but impossible to believe Indiana Jones would find such a woman interesting, and that makes their romantic banter that much less involving.

The Temple of Doom sequence, which was criticized for being too dark and scary, and which led to the creation of the PG-13 rating, is certainly powerful. When chief villain Mola Ram rips the heart out of a still-living sacrifice and drops him into a pool of molten lava, it's appropriately intense; after all, it's not the Temple of Roses. But the darkness continues with child slavery, whippings, torture and the possession of Indiana Jones himself. It's well done, but not much fun.

The action ramps up again near the big finish, with a fight atop an ore crusher that's obviously intended to invoke the "flying wing" fisticuffs scene in Raiders. However, as with other swipes from the previous film--including a nod to the infamous shooting-the-swordsman gag (which chronologically occurs after Temple of Doom)--it's simply not as effective. 

A chase aboard out-of-control mine cars--scripted for but cut from Raiders--resembles nothing less than a deadly theme park ride, and it's certainly entertaining. The Oscar-winning special effects, remarkable for their time, are a bit dated and it's too obvious that puppets are standing in for our heroes during some of the more spectacular shots. Raiders was less dependent on visual effects for its thrills, and it does make a difference.

The last-minute arrival of the British Army to save the day from the evil Indians reminded me that the age of political correctness will constrain Spielberg and Lucas in their efforts to make a fourth Indiana Jones film. Without ethnic stereotypes to fall back upon, they may encounter a shortage of villains worthy of Indy's whip.

I don't feel that Temple of Doom is quite the disappointment its reputation suggests, and it does have a number of very good moments that set it above many action films. Ultimately, though, it seems rather less than the sum of its parts.

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