Indiana Jones-Temple of Doom (1984)

"...a very good piece of Hollywood entertainment, much superior to the more recent examples of same genre.  Dragan Antulov, Rec.Arts.Movies.Reviews
"A nonstop ride of chills and thrills.  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
"Moments like the collapsing bridge, the mine cart ride, and the cave full of bugs are as thrilling or more so than anything in the first movie.  Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
"An unforgettable picture. Don't miss it!  Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
"...cathartic as hell...The mayhem is transporting, inspired, exultant...  Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

Editor's Note Filmmaker Steven Spielberg returns as director for this rip-roaring prequel to 1981's smash hit RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Here dashing, whip-wielding archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is joined by comely chanteuse Willie (Kate Capshaw) and a 12-year-old sidekick named Short Round (Ke Huy Quan). Together they search for a mystical stone stolen from an Indian community and stumble upon a dangerous Thuggee cult. Exotic locales, wild chases, death-defying cliffhangers, last-minute rescues, screaming damsels, and tribal sacrifices are the order of the day as the threesome attempt to acquire the stolen stone. A few scenes originally planned for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK showed up in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM--most notably the mine chase sequence, which was part of the 80 percent of TEMPLE OF DOOM shot on a soundstage. After the film's release, the MPAA's Classification & Ratings Board created a new rating--PG-13. Spielberg cast actress Kate Capshaw, who would later become his real-life wife, for the film.

	Dan Aykroyd
	Harrison Ford
	Kate Capshaw
	Quan Ke Huy
	Alan Cassie - Art Director
	Douglas Slocombe - Cinematographer
	Elliot Scott - Production Designer
	George Lucas - Based On Story By
	George Lucas - Executive Producer
	George Lucas - Editor
	Gloria Katz - Screenplay
	John Williams - Original Music By
	Michael Kahn - Editor
	Robert Watts - Producer
	Roger Cain - Art Director
	Steven Spielberg - Director
	Willard Huyck - Screenplay

The continuing saga of Indiana Jones, occuring chronologically before RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, finds Indy venturing into India in search of magical stones. Along the way he tries to save hundreds of children enslaved by a leftover Thugee cult. Of all the series, this one plays most like the Saturday serials to which George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were paying homage. New York Times
"...Exuberantly tasteless and entertaining....It moves tirelessly from one ride or attraction to the next..." 05/23/1984 p.C21

Variety
"...Steven Spielberg has packed even more thrills and chills into this follow-up..." 05/16/1984

ReelViews 7 of 10
There is something to be said of the grimmer tone and the fact that The Temple of Doom doesn't feel like a retread of Raiders. In fact, the film holds up better than the lighter Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which often feels like a re-make of Raiders with Sean Connery thrown in for comic relief. As I mentioned earlier, it's not the darker turn that makes The Temple of Doom uncomfortable at times; it's its mean-spiritedness. Some of the scenes of torture go too far, especially for PG movie...It could easily have survived the darkness had the rest of the film been on firm ground. But Indy's companions are weak; we don't identify with them the way we did with Marion and Sallah. There's less action and more overt comedy, and neither change works to the benefit of the story. Raiders managed the perfect blend of both; The Temple of Doom loses the recipe. Still, when all is said and done, this remains an Indiana Jones adventure, and Harrison Ford is as perfect in the role the second time as he was the first. He's the ideal mix of heroism and self-interest; machismo and practicality; roughness and culture. He can be James Bond or Han Solo or Sam Spade. Whatever else The Temple of Doom may lack, it's got Indy, and that's more than a little benefit. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is one of the greatest Bruised Forearm Movies ever made. You know what a Bruised Forearm Movie is. That's the kind of movie where your date is always grabbing your forearm in a viselike grip, as unbearable excitement unfolds on the screen. After the movie is over, you've had a great time but your arm is black-and-blue for a week...This movie is one of the most relentlessly nonstop action pictures ever made, with a virtuoso series of climactic sequences that must last an hour and never stop for a second. It's a roller-coaster ride, a visual extravaganza, a technical triumph, and a whole lot of fun. And it's not simply a retread of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", the first Indiana Jones movie. It works in a different way, and borrows from different traditions...The set design, art direction, special effects, and sound effects inside this underground Hades are among the most impressive achievements in the whole history of Raiders and Bond-style thrillers...No apologies are necessary. This is the most cheerfully exciting, bizarre, goofy, romantic adventure movie since "Raiders", and it is high praise to say that it's not so much a sequel as an equal. It's quite an experience. You stagger out with a silly grin -- and a bruised forearm, of course. - Roger Ebert