Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Darker Isn't Better
1933 finds Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is in China attempting to get paid for his latest find. When his employer double crosses him, Indy barely escapes with his life, dragging singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and young Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan) along with him.

Well, Indy almost escapes. Yet another attempt at double crossing him leaves the trio stranded in India. There, they find a remote village that is willing to lead them back to civilization, but only after Indy has returned their sacred stone and their children from a nearby temple.

This mission turns out to have plenty of danger. Can Indy accomplish his mission and keep his companions safe from a very evil villain?

I had heard rumors about this movie, but just now finally got a chance to watch it. Many people complain about some scenes in the middle that are pretty disturbing. In an attempt to make this movie darker then the original, the filmmakers upped the squirm factor. Frankly, I felt those scenes were out of place and over the top, especially in a PG film.

Having said that, those scenes are surrounded by plenty to like. The action is phenomenal. Not necessarily believable, but phenomenal. I loved watching those scenes and will definitely revisit them in the future. And there were some great comedic moments as well. The acting was top notch when it might have gone over the top, which keeps things entertaining for the viewer.

This has a well deserved reputation for being dark and disturbing. As a result, you might want to view with caution. But if you can ignore those scenes, there's still an entertaining film here.

"You call him Dr. Jones, doll"!
Reated "PG". Running Time: 1hr, 58 min.
This is the second film in the Indiana Jones series, however the story begins in Shanghai, 1935, one year before the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) mission.
The movie begins with a lady nightclub singer, "Willie" (Kate Capshaw, who later married Steven Spielberg), performing in a musical production number that should have been filmed in Technicolor.
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is also in Club Obi Wan). He has to get these diamonds from Lao Che (Roy Chiao), but Lao poisons Indy and it becomes a brawl for the diamond and the antidote.
Seems like Indy has a new lady partner for this adventure as he takes a hold of her hand and jumps out a window and ultimatly is saved by his trusty 11-year old driver, Short Round (Ke Huy Quan, aka Jonathon Ke Quan). earl (Dan Aykroyd) leads them to a getaway air frieght airplane. Lao Che has the last laugh. It's his plane.
And so the adventure begins. I won't tell you any more so that those who have not seen this film can be surprised.
You might think you're watching a Charlie Chan film, a Satyajit Ray film, or Lost Horizon (1937).
Ke Huy Quan steals every scene in this film.
Many people thought this film was too gross for children to see. This inspired the MPAA to later invent a new rating "PG-13" and the adult "NC-17".
Won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and nominated for Original Score.

Ke Huy Quan went on to do "The Goonies" and two tv series', "Togehter We Stand" and "Head of the Class". You can see how he looks today by buying a DVD of "The Goonies" with the on-screen video portion of the audio commentary turned on. Now known as Jonathan Ke Quan, he is still active as an actor and has done many films.
All VHS and DVD of the Indiana Jones film series are considered collectible.

Followed by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

"The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992-93). Harrison Ford as "Indiana Jones" in 1950, made a special appearance in episode, "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues".

Karen Allen and John Rhyes-Davies reteamed for the television special "The Makiing of the Indiana Jones Adventure". The Disneyland ride opened March 3, 1995.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" will be released May 22, 2008.

Aw nuts
I have a friend from India who when asked about the accuracy of this film said, "Yes, we all eat chilled monkey brains."
"So the writers didn't do very good research?" I said.
"They probably didn't even pass Introduction to World Religions. Look, if you want to see a good Indian film, watch 'Rang de Basanti.'"
"But Temple of Doom. It's still fun, right?" I'd just read about the proposed fourth installment of the series and was pretty excited.
"Yeah, maybe we can watch it sometime," my friend said.
"That sounds great."
"I'll bring the monkey brains."

My friend never showed. I can't fault him; the movie isn't nearly as good as I remembered. It's very violent -- there's too much heart-ripping, bugs and child slave labor for it to be popcorn entertaining. The opening musical number and subsequent shootout/shish kabobbing for antidotes and diamonds are still fun to watch, though, as well as the climactic mine shaft chase and bridge showdown, which, for me, qualifies the film as a must-see.

As far as the fourth installment goes, I hope the filmmakers do better service to whichever religion they borrow from. These films obviously have a lasting impact on a lot of people.

"Ooh, my Stetson."