What I didn't like about Temple of Doom was that the violence seemed too gratuitous at times. In the other Indy movies,
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
mebeyer1 — 9 years ago(September 16, 2016 07:25 PM)
What I didn't like about Temple of Doom was that the violence seemed too gratuitous at times. In the other Indy movies, Indy would punch out somebody if he needed to escape, or needed to get from here to there, etc. In Temple of Doom, he was punching out Chattar Lal (or maybe it was the big goon, I don't remember), and seemed to be having fun doing it, while Short Round was punching out the Maharaja kid, and also seemed to be having fun doing it.
Some of the action was a little too far-fetched, too. The rail car jumping the tracks, and landing perfectly on the tracks on the other side of the chasm? Really? Then there's the part where he has to stop the rail car, but the brake is gone, so he puts his heel down on the wheel. If he had boot leather, it would be gone in 2 seconds. If he had a steel heel, the friction would have burned his foot off. And all that water from the tower, how did that water get past the lava and chasm to reach Indy's group?
I can suspend my belief only up to a certain point, and Temple of Doom sometimes stretches it a little too far.
As for Willie, I found her more amusing than annoying. Completely out of her element, which could be pretty funny. Not to mention Kate Capshaw is pretty foxy. -
Arvin-G-Borkar — 9 years ago(December 24, 2016 04:54 PM)
There was so much water from that tower and we did not see all the tunnels that led up to where Indiana, Short Round, and Willie were. It's kind of like a network of pipes. If one were to pour water down pipes, the water would buildup behind a main wall of the bigger pipe and pretty much go down all the pipes before it. It does not discriminate which one it goes down, just as long as it gets to point B. So much of the water would have evaporated, but there is still much of the water that still has to make it through the other openings.
I am not sure if you could call that lava or else that chain sacrifice board would not be able to be lifted up, after being dumped in the vat of whatever that was. I am thinking it was some type of controlled fire. It was hot enough to burn up anything put in it, but still lesser in heat that would melt metal.
THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS HERE!!! -
ivsm — 9 years ago(November 01, 2016 01:33 AM)
Raiders and Crusade are the films for the large audience as they are much more easy and comfortable to watch.
Temple is for those who understand. And if you get it once you'll always love it with all your heart. -
Blueghost — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 10:49 AM)
When Temple of Doom hit the theatres there was a minor backlash from parents who thought the movie was too strong for their kids. Molaram pulling out that dude's heart and stuff, and Indy getting drugged up and going into a kind of psychosis. It was on the news a few times, and I think it was this film that created the PG-13 rating.
My take is this; I grew up when Westerns were big. I don't know how many cowboys, Indians, outlaws and US Cavalry troopers I saw get shot on TV and on the big screen, but it must of been thousands if not tens of thousands. Stunt men grabbing their guts with some fake movie blood oozing out between their fingers as they pretended to keel over.
I mean if you as a boy or girl can take that, then I think the Indy films are maybe a shade or two more intense, but not by much.
They did push the envelope some to see if they could make a darker film, and I guess they wanted to.
That, and some of the SFX were a hair over the top. The huge water vat tipping over, Indy, Willy and Short Round on the cliff, some of the mine cart ride and the like. People had seen a lot of SFX by that time, so the SFX seemed a little more industrial as opposed to "wowing" the audience.
I hope that helps some. Still a highly enjoyable movie. -
Arvin-G-Borkar — 9 years ago(December 24, 2016 05:12 PM)
It's merely as simple as, the West would not understand it. To understand Temple of Doom, you would have to know some of the history of the eastern world. You would have to know some of where these stones come from and palaces.
It is the same reason why most of the people would say Raiders of the Lost Ark was the best one because it has to do with Western ideology. The main thing is about Nazis, of which, was a HUGE event in Western history. Another is the fortune Indy is after, the box that they ended up finding and association with Moses or Western religion.
The West never really cares too much about Pagan and that is what this movie is somewhat based on. Kali is an Indian goddess, a good one (not as portrayed in the movie); Shiva is a good god (as shown in the movie), the thuggie cult was an actual Muslim cult in India at one time, the stones are something related to Shiva Linga (you would have to understand Hinduism), and child labor was pretty big in India as well. You would also have to know a bit about the history of India as well, for the Lal and the British officer parts. Lal was suppose to be a modernized palace prince henchman and the British officer was showing that India was still under control of the British.
If this movie were to be liked and enjoyed by anyone, the audience would be more British, anyone (any American or any other country, who cares to know the history of India), and anyone who is of Indian background (and does not take this as an insult, but rather satire)
THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS HERE!!! -
fjk1138-731-161881 — 9 years ago(January 03, 2017 06:16 PM)
I'll argue that the poor attempts at comedy and underdeveloped story elements ruin TOD. It could have been done with a more serious tone with better (aka less annoying) side kicks who don't scream endlessly or have stupid dialogue.
Or, they could have ditched them as the story progressed. It would have been better to have Short Round get dropped off midway in the storyline rather than keep him thru the whole thing. As someone aptly said above: there is no threat to him so it's uninteresting. There's no point in him being around; he serves no purpose.
Willie is annoying beyond words. Her character is just plain useless. She is eye candy and nothing more. Marion at least was a better developed character. Ilsa was no Marion, but at least she didn't scream like a twit at everything.
The cult and sacrifice scenes worked well. Mola Ram was a cool bad guy. The mysterious qualities of the stones were in the realm of the Ark, so they work for the story. But there was very little challenge to getting them: Indy just waits for the sacrifice to end then steals them. Whoopie. Compare that to all the struggles to get the Ark.and there is no comparison.
The mine car scenes would have been awesome if not for the stupid jump and using his boot to stop it. The dinner scene was just a gross attempt at more lame comedy, and the raft going over the mountain side was just plain stupid. I can accept the heart being removed as "mysterious powers" or whatever but the raft defies physics and probability.
Probably the best scene to me is the rope bridge (minus Willie's scream at seeing Mola Ram). There is a real sense of danger, and when Indy cuts it, things get real intense. But when he says his dialogue that makes the stones get hot and Mola Ram drops them, it's like where the hell did that come from?? Was that little secret hiding In Indy's satchel?
People can say what they want about Crystal Skull, but for my money TOD was a wasted opportunity and easily the weakest of the four. Last Crusade feels forced in a lot of ways, but at least there is character development.