I watched the entire indy series this year for the first time and was blown away. Despite KOTCS all of these movies were top notch. I've read nasty things about TOD and even read that spielberg only directed LC to apologize for temple. I enjoyed this movie so much. Is there a huge flaw I'm missing?
shareThe reason this film gets bad press can be summed up in two words: Kate Capshaw. She's a terrible actress. Her character spends ninety percent of the film screaming and one hundred percent over acting. Whatever possessed Spielberg to cast her? Oh yes, that's why. You can't imagine Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence or even Karen Black or Alison Doody producing such a rubbish performance. I like the movie but it's ruined by her.
Oh gravity, thou art a heartless bitch!
LOL, Alison Doody read her lines off a teleprompter, she gave the most bland, excruciatingly painful performance I have ever watched. Capshaw had her fair share of faults, she screamed almost as much as Kim Basinger in Batman, but she was nowhere near the level of failure of Alison Doody. Plus you cannot defend such painful dialogue like "giddy as a schoolboy" or "oh yeah we're going to the library, I have to arrange for it to stay open longer" (STFU) The only reason she was even in the movie to begin with is because she had like 2 lines in A View to a Kill and Spielberg was on a mission to cast every actor who had ever been in a James Bond film.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
You have got to be joking? I counted the screen time Capshaw was screaming, it was incredible., Either way it doesn't detract from the fact that Capshaw was a lousy actress.
Oh gravity, thou art a heartless bitch!
I counted the screen time Capshaw was screaming, it was incredible
Either way it doesn't detract from the fact that Capshaw was a lousy actress.
That's fine if you don't like Capshaw, I had my complaints about her, she was miles better than Alison Doody. I seriously think my top 5 worst performances of all time come out of Last Crusade:
1) River Phoenix
2) Alison Doody
3) Julian Glover
4) Sean Connery
5) Denholm Elliot
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
The reason this film gets bad press
can be summed up in two words: Kate Capshaw. She's a terrible actress. Her character spends ninety percent of the film screaming and one hundred percent over acting.
Whatever possessed Spielberg to cast her? Oh yes, that's why.
More and more people like TOD and realise it's a far more interesting movie than the three others
Everybody agrees ROTLA is the best Indy movie and is considered as a masterpiece.
I'm just sayin' that TOD is no longer "hated" and is not considered as a "weak" or "bad" Indiana Jones film anymore.
Everybody agrees ROTLA is the best Indy movie and is considered as a masterpiece.
Everybody? I've never liked it all that much
Temple of Doom works as a horror adventure film but not so much as a pure Indiana Jones film plus aside from some of the annoying characters, the pacing drags in-between adrenaline-fueled segments and it only really stands out with the various one-liners and gorgeous cinematography near the end.
shareI love both Raiders and Temple but I gotta be honest Raiders is the better movie. I might even make an argument for Temple being more entertaining but overall Raiders beats it.
Crusade however is one big pile of sh!t.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
Crusade however is one big pile of sh!t.
There is not a movie on the face of the Earth that I hate more than Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I feel I get dumber every time I watch it.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
I take it, you've never seen Star Wars: The Phantom Menace...? 
Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?
I dislike Phantom Menace, I HATE Last Crusade. To me Marcus and Henry bumbling around like idiots was worse than anything Jar Jar Binks ever did, in fact I assumed that Lucas based Jar Jar Binks off of Marcus and Henry in Last Crusade.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
Temple of Doom works as a horror adventure film but not so much as a pure Indiana Jones film
Simply put, it is inferior to Raiders in a few departments. It's certainly not a bad movie, but it's not a great one either.
I do appreciate that it's a prequel, although it sort of ruins the character a bit with Indy encountering these supernatural villains before the events of Raiders. The whole point of the first film was that Indy didn't really believe in the "power of God" or magic scrolls or any of that. So as a companion to the first film, it doesn't make much sense. However, the opening in Shanghai with Jones escaping from the mob boss is classic, thrilling stuff.
The general issues with the film are Kate Capshaw's character (an annoying, dumb screaming blonde with a bad 80s perm), Short Round the annoying sidekick, and the movie being too kid oriented with saving the child slaves (which seems to clash with the darker moments). The whole plot with the stones seems rather uninteresting and lacks the mystique of the Ark from the first. Also, the scene with the pilots jumping out the plane instead of just killing Indy in his sleep, and the raft landing on the side of the mountain was rather unconvincing. It's full of moments like that.
However, I must give Temple of Doom bonus points for introducing new villains and not just rehashing the Nazis like Last Crusade did. And the climax on the bridge is thrilling. For what it's worth, I think it's as good as the third one.
~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here.
it sort of ruins the character a bit
I watch that part over and over and I do not think he actually tries to save the guy. It is a bit neutral. He holds onto the rope to get away from the crusher. If you look at it, the rope is the only way to get away from it. That and he likes to swing from ropes in movies (signature Indiana). The crusher is pretty high up from the ground and so he could not just jump down, nor stay on the ledge for too long. That rope was his only way of stabilizing himself and transporting himself to the next safest place. It just so happened that that guard was holding onto that same rope and he makes a gesture like "Oh wait, I was possessed too. I did not mean that. HELP ME!"
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You would have to understand the "stones" as comparable to Hindu mythology. The stones are actually comparable to the Shiva Linga. It is believed that stones are represent of Shiva and by touching them, you would be blessed. It is a Pagan belief system.
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The woman was annoying.
shareNo she wasn't. People just compare her to Marion from Raiders. The difference between them was that Marion voluntarily got involved with Indy's adventure in the first movie, whereas Willie got dragged into the situation she found herself in.
Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?
If someone says she's annoying, how can that be incorrect?
Many of the complaints about Willie have nothing to do with comparisons to Marion. She's annoying because I need to mute the tv or FF through her scenes. I cannot bear to listen to her. Period.
That's not a comparison to Marion. YES, Willie IS annoying.
She's certainly flawed but it's Alison Doody I have to hit the mute button on, horrible actress. Listening to her speak is flat out painful (doesn't help that she was given cringe worthy dialogue to work with).
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
Marion voluntarily got involved with Indy's adventure
WILLIE is indeed a different kind of character, compared to Elsa or Marion. And it’s nice sometimes to have a change, and to depart from the easy formula.
For once, the girl is not a femme fatale, a double-agent or an adventurer. Willie is a night-club singer, not made at all for that kind of adventure.
And, unlike what is often said about her, she shows guts and courage.
A superficial and selfish person at the beginning, she ends up punching guys, protecting short round and helping the best she can.
Yes, she complains and scream, but she still does the job, joining in this nightmare to help Indy and to free the children.
It’s a far more interesting character development and evolution than for Elsa or Marion.
I might add that one of the reason she screams more than the other ladies is because the events of the Temple of Doom ar the most terrifying in the entire franchise. I guess anyone would have shouted as loud as she did. And I guess not everyone would have keep on facing them as much as she did.
Willie is a lot like Joan in Romancing the Stone, in that she was ill prepared for the adventure and physicality of what befell her. Except Kathleen Turner's screaming was nowhere near as annoying as Kate Capshaw's.
The point isn't whether WIllie's reactions are realistic. The point is that she makes the film unwatchable for a lot of viewers. I just want to go "click" and shut it off.
I read somewhere that critics and general audience thought it was to dark and to cruel. It wasn't as fun as the first one.
Spielberg agreed and that's apparently why he did a third one.
I have to agree. It is a good movie but it's over-the-top sadistic and cruel. Painful to watch.
The sadistic cruelty of the Thuggees makes it a better movie, because it gives the audience a reason to care about Indy escaping from the Temple, it's not a boring kiddie campfest like Crusade is (I will never forgive Spielberg for the Mickey Mouse joke).
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
That those Thugeees that get their asses kicked by a little kid and are overpowered by a bunch of weak child slaves?
What a joke.
They ripped people's hearts out and beat little kids with whips. Mola Ram chants "kill the pig, flay his skin." That is beyond anything in the joke of a film known as Last Crusade.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
Well, they were probably not fed well. I am assuming they only ate bugs? I highly doubt they spend time working out neither (because they use child slaves to do all the labor). Now you would have me stumped at how that head guard was so strong.
For weak children, it is strength in numbers. If you saw all of them coming at you at once, without any weapon, I highly doubt you would stand a chance.
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Temple of Doom is generally regarded as a pretty good movie, I certainly consider it one, but I'd say it is definitely the worst of the original trilogy of Indiana Jones movies, primarily due to the presence of Kate Capshaw's Willie Scott. She's one of the most flat out grating characters ever to be put to film, and her presence really brings the movie down, making it almost objectively inferior to the Raiders and Crusade.
All other differences in quality usually come down to a question of preference, some fans dislike the darker tone, or prefer the locations or plot lines in the other films, and some prefer the style of Temple of Doom over Raiders and Crusade. But almost everyone can agree that Willie is a truly awful character, terribly written, terribly acted, and the least likeable love interest in any of the movies (which is pretty impressive, since one of them was a nazi). Even so, ToD has many good qualities that elevate the movie and make it enjoyable, but you still have to get past Willie.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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)
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