**THE WACPINE OF ‘INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM’**



WRITING: 5
ATMOSPHERE: 6
CHARACTERS: 6
PRODUCTION: 8
INTRIGUE: 6
NOVELTY: 7
ENJOYMENT: 6

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**The Good:**

Temple of Doom has grown on me over the years. It’s darker, more mature and not well-aged in terms of political correctness, but it's still an entertaining and well-made adventure film.

One of the great things about this sequel/prequel is the constant flow of adrenaline and a feisty pace, which helps to keep the simple story dynamic. The action scenes feel bigger and bolder and the Indian setting feels more exotic.

Spielberg’s direction is still confident, the production design is great and the John Williams score is fittingly ominous for the darker atmosphere of this film.

The mine cart chase and the ensuing bridge sequence might very well be among my all-time favourite sequences in any film.

Harrison Ford is soaking wet from water, sweat and blood through the entire film. That at least makes him a realistic action hero.

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**The Bad:**

I still don't like the overly whiney Kate Capshaw and the annoying Jonathan Ke Quan. Their presence as Indy's sidekicks alone makes this film inferior to the first and third films. As Indy says: "The trouble with her (Willie) is the noise". It doesn't help that they are both very one-dimensional characters.

After the exciting opening sequence, the film somewhat struggles with excitement and build-up until Indy arrives at the mine. There's plenty of pointless filler and too much Willie material.

The dining scene at the palace is one of the clingiest things I've ever seen. A low point for the series. The bedroom sequence after that isn't much better either.

The main problem with this film is that while it turns up the dials on both the humour and the violence, it turns them too far. The humour feels forced and the violence sometimes goes a bit too far. The darkness feels so in your face throughout much of the temple sequence that it stops being entertaining.

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**The Ugly:**

“WE. ARE. GOING. TO. DIE!”

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**WACPINE RATING: 6.29 / 10 = 3 stars**