Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Review

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film that is the second in the Indiana Jones franchise, once again starring Harrison Ford and directed by Spielberg. It is again a boring experience, but it is better than ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’.

Indiana Jones is asked by village people in India to seek a mystical stone and he later is met by a cult practicing human sacrifice. This is still an awfully weak story, but it is still better than its predecessor as it has its moments and is genuinely more interesting. But also what makes it a less excruciating experience than before is definitely its much darker approach with at times even very dangerous consequences, or close to dangerous at least. I like the incorporation of darker themes with the cult and it is the highlight of the film.

However, it is still filled with an endless amount of action. The action sequences once again are nonsensical, childish and unrealistic tending to go for an awful amount of running time making you question for whom this is supposed to be. I would say children as it is not only frenetic to the point of being absurd, but it is also at times incredibly silly. Though it has some charming moments, it is mostly devoid of it, instead relying on cheap action, campiness and cheesiness. I hate how cheesy this franchise is. I really hate that.

The characters are here even worse than in the original. If that was possible. The protagonist is even more aggressive, cocky and unlikable this time around and that kid is awfully annoying. But it is the woman who is the worst thing about this film. This is inexcusable. She is overloud, annoying and tends to panic for most of the movie. She is awful and there is no other way to say this, but the movie is incredibly sexist. And I hate, despise actually, how it got away with it because of the status of the franchise. It cannot get away because it is not that old and it just goes into complete stereotypical and offensive territory with its portrayal of women. It is awful, unwatchable and done in very poor taste. It should not be forgiven.

The acting is okay, but nothing to write home about. The pacing is of course awful with too tedious action that goes forever. The direction is quite solid and of course the movie again looks great with excellent cinematography and some terrific scenery. It is very well filmed and shot which is the highlight of this whole franchise. The score is repetitive and way too similar to ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. But overall, comparing it to that movie, as I said before, it is better because it is darker and more engaging, but it has weaker characters on the other hand. It is predictable, it lacks any heart or realism whatsoever and the tone is problematic, shifting from dark to silly abruptly.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is better than its predecessor because the story is more bearable, it is more engaging to watch and it is thankfully much darker, but it still has endless nonsensical action, it is awfully cheesy and the tone is not dealt with properly as it goes from dark to silly abruptly. But the characters are awful, even more so this time around. The protagonist is even more cocky and unlikable and the movie is indescribably sexist in its portrayal of women and I hate how they got away with it because of the status of the franchise whereas in reality what they did here is unforgivable.

My Rating – 3