I admit my rating on this one is a little skewed as I feel like I am 10 years old every time I watch it. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was the best Indy movie, but this one is my favourite. When I first watched it at the age of 9 with my two friends Mike and Ben I really didn't like it. I mean I felt like I should really enjoy it, because of all the great action and crazy things going on in the movie, but I didn't. I think it was because I didn't know how to react to a movie like this. I had never seen a movie like this before. I also believe we were too young to watch it as there are a few scenes that contain some real gross out or violent material. Not too mention this is extremely dark for something that was aimed at kids. But, this one really got me into films and I was running around pretending to be Indiana Jones getting in high stakes adventures.
Right from the beginning of the film we are shown a quite nice transition from the Paramount logo to a metal gong that is hit to welcome you to the movie. Here we are introduced to Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) an American singer who is making it in Shanghai, 1935. Indy (Harrison Ford) is there to visit Lao Che (Roy Chiao) who quickly is wanting the ashes of Nurhaci which Indy has brought along with him. Oh, he also wants Indy dead, too. So once Indy escapes the clutches of Lao Che and then using a raft to jump out of a crashing airplane with no fuel Indy along with Willie Scott and his sidekick Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) visit an Indian village which has two major problems. The sacred stone that they keep in the centre of the village has been stolen by the thugee cult from the Pankot Palace. They have also kidnapped all of the children from the community. So Indy is off to Pankot Palace to in the very least investigate the claims made by these townsfolk. It is here that Indy encounters maybe the worst cuisine ever put out to guests in history. Some people took offence to this in saying that people of Indian heritage do not eat these things. Personally I look at it as a reference to James Bond's OCTOPUSSY where the villain had his own interesting tastes in food. Like this film is trying to do to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK it outdoes that Bond classic film and to some going over the line. I think it is quite funny, but first few times I saw it may have induced some screaming. He also enters a room full of squirming bugs and must try and escape a sealed off room with spikes lowering from the ceiling and ground below. We are also then introduced to the villain Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) of the story which Indy must battle. It is a very, very intense meeting of this character.
When I was 9 I thought that he was a truly evil villain. Within his introduction he rips the heart out of a defenceless man being sacrificed. To this day I can not believe this did not get a R rating when released.
To me this is the hidden jewel of all the scores John Williams has done over the years. He was nominated for an Oscar, so maybe I am overstating that a little, but if you away the amazing Indy theme the music is very intense, scary, but also brilliant. He really adds a lot to the film with his music.
Directed by Steven Spielberg (like all Indy movies) and it seems like come Oscar time they never think of him when he makes an Indy movie after RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. I think he really did a great job here in creating a film that actually doesn't allow you to breathe for very long, which I think great action films excel at. Written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz based on a story by George Lucas.
Personally I love Short Round and I think he is my favourite Indy character beyond well Indy of course. He can stand his ground, smart-mouth off and if not for him Indy would have been in real trouble in this one. Sadly, he is not in any of the sequels and in fact is never even mentioned, but he rocks in this one. Sadly as well there is no Denholm Elliott as Brody or John Rhys-Davies as Sallah which were both great characters in the original.
One problem many people have with this film is the character of Willie Scott and I understand she does get annoying. As well she is no where near as well written or created as Marion from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. By one point in the movie I think all she really is doing is screaming, but in all honesty there is a lot to scream about including a rail system the three are trying to escape on in a mine cart. Pretty cool scene and I always enjoy watching it. I do have a problem with the Willie Scott character as we did need a stronger character like the original or just thinking outside the box here why not add John Rhys-Davies as well and have Indy, Sallah and Short Round in the Temple of Doom. Another problem is some of the dialogue is much more clunky than the original and does not flow like it did so perfectly for it.
Anyways, I think I have gone on long enough and if you have read through this review I do not think it is a perfect film, but I have to thank Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Lucas for at least making the first 3 Indy movies and making me dream of being Indy when I was a kid. I would suggest though if wanting to watch this with your kids should have been at least rated PG-13 when it first came out. Of course there was no PG-13 rating when it came out.
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