A Film A Day: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Cast

Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Roy Chiao, David Yip, Raj Singh, D. R. Nanayakkara, Pat Roach

Storyline

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees, and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Opinion

As a prequel, it should have some coherence with the Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I'm not quite sure that happened. I understand the absence of Willie, as is common practise to change the hero's woman in each film, but what happened to Short Round? Wasn't he Indiana's sidekick in this one? Is he dead in 1936?

Having said that, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a great, entertaining, too dark for some, adventure film, filled with thrilling scenes, nonstop action, and some fun.

Written by George Lucas, the story is good, but it also provides a negative portrayal of India and Hinduism. At least, this time, Indy has a point in the film as he manages to fulfill his mission. The character of Willie, though a little annoying, was hilarious, and you have to love Short Round.

Harrison Ford is amazing and charismatic as Jones, and gives a better performance than earlier since the character requires more humanity. Kate Capshaw struggles to get close to Allen's Marion. Jonathan Ke Quan is good as Short Round and adds something to the story. The villain, though not very interesting, is well-played by Amrish Puri.