Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, and Ash Puri

Written by: Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz based on a story by: George Lucas

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

The problem with a sequel to a wildly succesful, iconic movie such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, is that it is almost impossible to recapture the same magic that won over audiences the first time. How does Temple of Doom stand up?

Not too bad. While it is definitely a notch below Raiders, Temple is at least still able to maintain the fun adventure feel of the first. It certainly doesn’t hurt that one of the main ingredients of that mix was Harrison Ford playing this character. That wins you half the battle right away.

There is a slight difference to him. Indiana is played more for the laughs this time and the action hero hijinks that are to become commonplace in action films. This Indiana is far more confident and wisecracking.

And make no mistake, while certainly still an action-adventure film, Temple lends itself more to the action side of things this time around and is its strength.

From the beginning escape from the club Obi-Wan (a nice nod to story creator Lucas’ Star Wars saga) involving hiding behind a rolling gong, te the infamous wooden rope bridge sequence, Temple rarely lets up. It’s the strength of Temple, but in some ways it is also it’s weakness.

Temple has less of a story to tell than Raiders. The macguffin device of the sacred stones is far less imaginative than the Ark of the Covenant, and there certainly is no payoff like the Ark’s opening. The human side of Indiana is abandoned slightly to create a more 2-D Indy.

Worse is the supporting cast. The first film had Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood, John Rhys Davies’ Sallah, and Denholm Elliot’s Marcus Brody, all three of which added a ton of depth to the story. Temple has Kate Capshaw’s Willie and Ke Huy Quan’s Short Round. While Short Round is a good addition to Indy lore, Capshaw’s Willie is forgettable and annoying. I realize that they may have been trying to make her as different to Ravenwood as possible, and in that they certainly succeeded. But her shallow character is as much of a detriment as Ravenwood is beneficial.

What works to Temple’s favor is that unlike many sequels, this still looks and sounds like Indiana Jones. It helps that much of the same crew worked on both, but most importantly is John Williams’ iconic score. It can make the most cringeworthy of dialogue sound magical moments later as Indy bursts into action.

What’s interesting to me is that despite the more action sequences and less development, it would seemingly be a way to attract more younger viewers with spectacle. However, thematically with depictions of child slavery, devilish cults whose leaders rip the hearts of out of people, to be sacrificed, and even elements of voodoo, this Indy is much darker. It doesn’t quite mesh, but it isn’t too distracting.

Overall, Indy is back and he’s back big. He doesn’t quite reach the bar that Raiders set, but the viewer walks away satisfied with a thrill ride that holds up to this day.

B-