Temple of Doom Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Temple of Doom
Year: 1984
Director: Steven Spielberg
Country: US
Language: English

Adventure stories are not intended to evoke feelings of comfort and safety, but expel any such notion and dangle the audience over the proverbial pit. Temple of Doom may be a greater Indiana Jones installment than Raiders of the Lost Ark because of its greater ability to suspend our disbelief to ridiculous extremes and put our hero into more danger than ever before. What could potentially be more dangerous than freaking nazis? How about human-sacrificing Kali worshippers!

A skirmish in Shanghai puts archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) , his partner Short Round (Jonathon Ke Quan)  and singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) crossing paths with an Indian village desperate to reclaim a rock stolen by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Lucas himself has suggested that because of his 1983 divorce, his temperament demanded a more sinister tone for this Indy prequel, matching the pointedly dark, artistically winning mood of the second entry in his Star Wars franchise. Spielberg too had just gone through a nasty divorce and wanted to make a film that matched his circumstances. Indeed Temple of Doom has a darker atmosphere, and is more inherently violent. Critics at the time considered the film far too bloody an affair for the PG rating, thus Spielberg himself would go to the MPAA and suggest to introduce PG-13. 

One reason for Temple of Doom being more bloody, is because it was necessary to show the atrocities of the ancient tribe to get a better understanding of the evil we are dealing with. Raiders of the Last Ark had nazis, who's evil could simply be recognized by the swastika. Despite having a savage edge, the experience remains pure Hollywood escapism. Indiana Jones takes us to places we have never been and evokes a child-like feeling of adventure that lies within us all.

Temple of Doom would go on to earn nearly $180 million at the U.S. box office and later earn an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.While it was heavily criticized at the time of release, we must not forget that this lies under the shadow of Raiders of Lost Ark. Perhaps the actions, metaphors and themes are simplistic but that doesn't mean we cannot be thrilled by the constant peril we find our hero in.