Temple of Doom

Temple of Doom has some major middle film issues going on. Both Raiders of the lost Ark and The Last Crusade are far better films. That’s not to say Temple of Doom is bad, just lesser.

Actionwise, there’s a ton. Gun fights, bailing out a plane, tons of bugs, several fights in a mine, and a giant drop? There is barely time to breathe.

Real world ethicswise… this is even worse than Raiders, which is saying something. There are a fair few “that’s… racist, isn’t it?” moments and a helping of “are they just evil for the sake of bring evil?” I suppose one can always go with the “it’s an action movie, don’t worry about it” mindset.

I will say though, this movie gets dark. Even compared to a certain face meltingly terrifying scene in Raiders, Temple of Doom is far worse. Younger viewers especially beware.

Characterwise…

Short Round: Wow! Holy Smoke! Crash landing!
Indiana Jones: Short Round, step on it.
Short Round: Okey dokey, Dr. Jones.
[turns his cap around]
Short Round: Hold on to your potatoes!
Willie: For crying out loud, there’s a kid driving the car!

While in general I think I prefer Marion to Willie, the dynamic between Jones, Short Round and Willie is delightful. The real heart of the movie.

Indiana Jones: Shorty!
[Indy shouts to Shorty in Chinese. Short Round, wide-eyed, nods and wraps a rope around his arm]
Short Round: Hang on lady, we going for a ride!
[Indy raises his sword, and Willie realizes]
Willie: Oh my god! Oh my God… Oh my God… Oh my God!
[wraps a rope around her arm]
Willie: Is he nuts?
Short Round: He no nuts. He’s crazy!
Indiana Jones: Mola Ram! Prepare to meet Kali… in hell!

They’re just so much fun to listen to. A real “I can’t believe this is happening either” sort of thing going on.

Overall, like I said, the weakest of the three. Still a solid action flick! Onward!

Random side note: I’ve been (slowly) learning some Hindi. Actually being able to pick out a few words (mostly simple verbs) in some of those scenes was a lot of fun! (Although apparently the language in the village was a Sri Lankan one, since that’s where it was actually filmed).