"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom": Criminally Underrated

[DerekG]

This film was savaged upon release, and people still place it in the lower echelon of Spielberg films, but I friggin' love it! Sure, it pales in comparison to its predecessor, but what adventure film does (possible candidate: "The Adventures of Robin Hood")? In lieu of the mindless genre flicks of the past decade (Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer, I'm looking in your direction), IJATTOD looks like a masterpiece.

How the hell could anyone hate a Harrison Ford movie with:

-A shootout in a Japanese nightclub (complete with musical number)
-An escape from a sabotaged plane by way of an inflatable raft
-A dinner involving chilled monkey brains and live snakes
-Confrontations with an evil cult in caves, mines, and a wooden bridge, whereupon scores of hungry crocidiles wait in anticipation


Oh yeah, and the movie is funny as hell: I'm glad Kate Capshaw's character was the antithesis to Karen Allen's, and Short Round rocks.

"No time for love, Dr. Jones." Indeed.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

1. I love all three Indiana Jones movies ...

and I can't wait for the fourth way .Please let there be a fourth one . I agree with you ," Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom " is underrated compared to the action adventure movies of today . But I still cringe at the scene of monkey brains .

[unblock]

2. well, if it weren't for the sickening screamer....

OY VEY did kate capshaw's whining screaming get old fast.

can you say, "'hmm, let's cast, oh, i don't know, MY WIFE?' uh, SURE, boss, uh, she was our number one choice anyway, right, guys?"

there were some funny moments (kate capshaw's mistaking the snake for the elephant trunk while indy is panicking, e.g.) and short round did have some good lines.

if it weren't for the one huge casting boner ....

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Agree that her strained whines, came across as strained

acting. Shame too since the little urchin sidekick was wonderful.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. Kate Capshaw wasn't his wife when she was cast

It's actually on the DVD extras Spielberg says something like the best part of the film was that he met his wife on it. Pretty sweet. I totally agree it's underrated, Rock On Shortround. He's one of the only kid sidekicks that doesn't irritate the hell out of me.

[southpaw]

5. I didn't care for it...

It's like S.S. was going for the gross-out! Bugs, live Eels, monkey brains, bloody-beating hearts...

Worst. Indiana. Jones. Movie.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. I put this movie in my top 5 WORST MOVIES OF ALL TIME. The critics were

too nice. And I am serious.

[Mara Steele]

7. Great movie...

Lotta fun...

Always wanted to BE Indiana...

This Halloween, my dream may come true, all I need is a WHIP, damn it :evilgrin:

[Beer Snob-50]

8. I think that Short Round

was Jumping the Shark! He ruined the movie for me.

[Zomby Woof]

9. it sucked the big one

And I wanted to shove that fucking kid into Kate Capshaw's big gaping piehole to shut her up too.

[NewJeffCT]

10. weakest of the 3 Indy movies

By far the weakest. I thought the evil cult stuff was a bit over the top, and the inflatable raft thing was a bit far fetched.

And, it was a Chinese nightclub in Shanghai. (Shanghai was the "Whore of the Orient" in the 30s...)