Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

"Are you trying to develop a sense of humor or am I going deaf?"

In 1935, Indiana Jones (Ford) is hired by crime boss Lao Che (Roy Chiao) to obtain a priceless artifact.  Jones narrowly escapes from Che and his goons, with his young sidekick Short Round (Ke Quan) and nightclub singer Willie Scott (Capshaw).  Their plane crashes in Himalayas and they walk to the small village of Mayapore, India.

The villagers believe Shiva sent them to save the village.  Their sacred sivalinga stonen was stolen, which destroyed their land / crops and their children were stolen.  The Shaman (D. R. Nanayakkara) asks for their help and sends them to Pankot Palace, which has long been deserted and  is the source of powerful evil.  The palace is the home to the new teenage Maharaja Zalim Singh (Raj Singh).  They are welcomed into the palace by the Prime Minister Chattar Lal (Seth) and learn about the ancient Thuggee cult.  Can they esccape the palace with their lives and save the villagers?


This is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise.  Even though it is the second film, it takes place the year before Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The writers wanted the film to take place earlier so that Nazis would not be used as the main villain.

Once again Steven Spielberg directed the film and George Lucas was involved in the story.  Lawrence Kasan who wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark refused to be involved in this film, so Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz took over the screenwriting duties.  Spielberg claims to hate the end result of this movie, feeling that the only redeeming quality is that he met his future wife, Kate Capshaw, while filming.  This film is much darker than it's predecessor.  It is also disgusting, especially the palace dinner and the Thugee rituals that follow.

This was the first time I watched the film from the beginning and in it's entirety in one sitting.  I have seen the film many times, but I tend to only watch parts.

Once again Harrison Ford is good as Indiana Jones.  Lucas and Spielberg wanted him to have a different romance in each film, so they did not include Marion Ravenwood.  They also wanted this love interest to be very different from Ravenwood.  Capshaw died her hair blonde for the role and is seen as damsel in distress unlike Ravenwood who was fought back.  Capshaw also screams throughout the film... it's realistic (as most people would scream and be terrified in this situation), but also annoying.  Jonathan Ke Quan (billed as Ke Huy Quan) is funny as Short Round and gets some funny one-lines.

This film is widely seen as the worst Indiana Jones film... until Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.  I genuinely dislike this film, but it does have some interesting action and moments.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 118 minutes
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott
Jonathan Ke Quan as Short Round
Amrish Puri as Mola Ram
Roshan Seth as Chattar Lal
Philip Stone as Captain Blumburtt