Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Movie Name: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Year of Release: 1984
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Roy Chiao, David Yip, Ric Young
Genre: Adventure, Action
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:

After the resounding critical and commercial success that met "Raiders of the Lost Ark", as well as Steven Spielberg's immediately subsequent film, "ET, The Extra Terrestrial", the director decided to continue the adventures of Indiana Jones, but actually going back in time to the events which unfolded in the first film. In this sequel, which takes place in 1935, Indiana is firstly engaged in a dicey situation with some gangsters in Shanghai. He has a young sidekick with him by the name of Short Round, and he soon collects another partner in the shape of lounge singer, Willie Scott. As they escape Shanghai, and soon have to devise a way to overcome a potentially fatal plane crash, they all find themselves in a remote area of Northern India. As they try to get back to a bigger city, they are tasked by the inhabitants of a small village with figuring out what is happening with their children, who have seemingly all disappeared in the area of Pankot Palace. Indiana and his posse are informed that there are sinister forces operating in that Palace, and that he must find a way of bringing back the children. As Indiana and his group set about solving the mystery, what they eventually uncover is far more sinister than they had originally envisioned.

"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is simultaneously one of the most exciting films of the series, and yet also one of the most unbalanced. The film's main problem is finding its tone, and that of course is mostly due to the script having some issues with the characters and narrative around it. On one hand the film introduces a child as a sidekick, seemingly to showcase the lead character's heart and parental ability, and yet, it places the child in dire situations, some of which are painfully intense. The female lead, is not as well developed as Karen Allen's Marion (from "Raiders of the Lost Ark"): Willie is essentially portrayed as the comic relief, the fish out of water, and Kate Capshaw literally has nothing much to do with that character. The intro sequence in which the film has a musical sequence reminiscent of a Busby Berkeley, is where she manages to shine the most, since for the most part of the film, we never know much about her, aside from her histrionic reactions to everything that takes place. The film manages to have iconic action set pieces, impeccably shot and edited, but the darkness of what the narrative is suggesting, namely child labor in horrifying conditions, a religious cult with human sacrifices, is portrayed simultaneously without sufficient heft and an actual sense of consequence. This renders some of the events taking place as cartoonish, more so than the preceding film, which though anchored in adventure and thrills, always made sure that the characters were somewhat grounded in some sense of reality. Though definitely unbalanced, the film features a solid performance from Harrison Ford, and impeccable work from cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, composer John Williams and production designer Elliot Scott. Though not as iconic as the first feature, it's still worth watching, from a genial film maker.