Continuing our revisiting of the Indiana Jones films, we watched this second entry in the series recently. I remember being somewhat disappointed in it when it came out, and I hadn’t seen it since then. I was curious to see how I’d feel about it now. And, as it turns out, I still don’t like it very much.No need to go into the plot, surely, other than the fact that there’s not much of one. This movie seems like a prime example of sequelitis to me: take whatever worked in the first film and make it bigger, noisier, more frantic, and more special-effects-laden. I actually kind of liked the opening scene in the nightclub, although it gets a little busy and cutesy before it’s over. The kid sidekick isn’t quite as annoying as I remembered. But once Indy and the kid and the girl get to the palace, with that gross-out dinner scene, things start to fall apart for me. After that it’s just one mindless action scene after another. And the ending certainly lacks the ironic kicker of the first movie.
Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a terrible film. And I know I should judge it on its own merits rather than compare it so much to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. But INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM just never really quite works for me.
5 comments:
Yeah, and it's also the most racist of the trio (haven't as yet seen the new one, but I've read James Rollins's novelization - or actually tried to read it, it's pretty dull). The scenes in the underground narrow-gauge railway are pretty dumb.
Spielberg and crew were trying to capture the old British Raj vibe of GUNGA DIN and KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES. I never thought TEMPLE was particularly racist by intent, more like self-absorbed and naive in that it must not have occurred to Spielberg and Lucas that audiences in the '80s would take offense at things that were standard in the old '40s B movies. If there's a racist tinge to the dinner scene, what does that say about the popular shows today on the Food Channel and Travel Channel that titillate by showing the hosts eating fried insects, slugs, organs, etc, in other countries where those things are apparently standard fare. I thought TEMPLE was mechanical and soulless, but I would say the same personally about the other two sequels too.
I found it very unpleasant at the time, not quite right for the tone set in the first one. Sure recapture those thrilling serials of yesterday, but in which ones did children seem so much at risk.
I was thinking more of the scenes in the cave, not the dinner scene, even though that's actually totally unnecessary.
I was fourteen years old when Temple of Doom came out and I loved it. The scene on the bridge was exciting and the mine cart chase was thrilling. Short Round was funny. I watched it a few years ago as an adult and it was dreadful. Who knows whether I had more taste then or now.
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