Director Report Card: Steven Spielberg (1984)

11. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

A massive success like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” demanded a sequel. Indiana Jones was a character ready-made for a franchise, more adventures obviously awaiting him. It was planned that way. Like that other series he thought up, George Lucas envisioned Indiana Jones as a trilogy from the beginning. After occupying himself with the production nightmare that was the "Twilight Zone" movie, Spielberg would turn his attention fully towards the second adventure. Though still hugely successful and popular, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” was, for a time, something like the red-headed stepchild of the franchise. It was the least well liked of the series, often criticized for its supporting cast and darker tone. Yet I’ve always loved “Temple of Doom” and, from time to time, consider it my favorite of Indy’s adventures.

In 1935, Indiana Jones hadn’t yet searched for the Ark of the Covenant. Instead, he’s in China, searching for the ashes of ancient kings on the behalf of Chinese gangsters. When that adventure goes pear-shape, he ends up stranded in the jungles of India. There, the adventurer/archeologist is tasked with retrieving the sacred stones for a desolate village. That journey leads him to an underground cult of Thugees. The cult, led by a terrifying sorcerer named Mola Ram, performs hideous ritual sacrifices, practices dark magic, and enslaves children. In order to retrieve the stones, and save the day, Indiana has to confront his own dark side.

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” is a prequel but not in the way the term is used today. It doesn’t explain every detail about the character’s origin. Instead, Lucas and Spielberg simply set this film a year before the previous one because they didn’t want the Nazis to be bad guys again. Instead, “Temple of Doom” devotes itself to another troupe of classic adventure serials largely overlooked in the original. “Temple of Doom” is steeped in jungle adventure clichés. It’s primarily set in the jungles of India. Instead of merely featuring one at the beginning, the movie is mostly set inside a moldy temple riddled with death traps. A Thugee death cult performing evil rituals wouldn’t be out-of-place in a Jungle Jim movie. 

The opinion that ‘Temple of Doom” is darker then “Raiders” has never washed with me. The film’s violence is only a smidgen more graphic then the previous movie’s. The macabre elements of the prequel are strictly of the comic book variety. Instead, the real reason I think the second adventure is less well liked has to do with tone. “Temple of Doom” is far more tonally inconsistent then “Raiders.” The second film does deal with some grim subjects. The bad guys in the first movie might have been Nazis but at least they didn’t work children to death in mines. Yet for these darker elements, the film also features more humor. When Short Round isn’t cracking jokes, Willie is stumbling into some comedic scenario. This tonal inconsistency is blatant from the opening sequence. “Temple of Doom” begins with a musical number of Bubsy Berkley, with women in Chinese gowns posing with fans and performing in kicklines. It’s a good scene, for what it is, but it doesn’t give the audience a good idea of what’s to come.

Let’s talk about Short Round. Shackling Indiana Jones with a little kid sidekick was not a move applauded by everyone. His constant jokes and snarky comments have been accused of being annoying. The character has even been called racist. None of these accusations are exactly wrong. However, I like Short Round. He’s a kid sidekick but rarely needs saving from Indy. More then once, Short Round is trading punches with the bad guys and helping our hero get out of jams. His quips are usually amusing and rarely seem out of place. Jonathan Ke Quan – who is, for the record, Vietnamese – has an entertaining energy that pairs well with Harrison Ford. I wouldn’t exactly call Short Round a racist caricature either, though he’s hardly a sensitive portrayal, that’s true. 

Indy’s love interest for this adventure hasn’t gone without critique either. Willie Scott is a very different woman then Marion Ravenwood. While Marion could scrap with the best of them, Willie is more stereotypically feminine. She shrieks at bats, snakes, elephants, and bugs. She has to be rescued by the heroes, nearly sacrificed by the villains. Even after being saved, Willie rarely helps Indy out. Kate Capshaw was also in a relationship with the director, furthering accusation of nepotism. Having said all that, I don’t entirely dislike Willie either. Capshaw and Ford have solid chemistry, as displayed in their romantic scene where a physical encounter quickly turns sour. Capshaw does spend a lot of screen time shrieking but at least she has some decent comedic beats of her own. And, if nothing else, she looks gorgeous in the belly dancer dress.

If you listen to some fans, “Temple of Doom” is a pitch black dive into the human psyche. It’s not and the film’s darker elements are often overstated. Yet before the action movie escapism of the last act, the prequel does stick its hero in a nastier situation. The Thugee cult tortures people. Mola Ram yanks a still beating heart from a victim’s chest before slowly lowering the man into a pit of lava, where the heat immolates him. Hundreds of children are enslaved by the bad guys, forced to work to death inside a diamond mine. Most pressingly, Indiana Jones goes through some stuff this time. He’s tortured too, tied up and whipped. This leads to him being brainwashed with the cult’s magical blood. For several minutes, the hero turns against his friends, attacking Short Round and nearly dropping Willie into red hot magma. Naturally, Indy is saved. How the curse is undone – flashing a torch in his face? – has always struck me as slightly random. Yet, more then last time, Jones earns his happy ending.

As much as I love “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” I admitted that its villains lacked a certain something. “Temple of Doom” features a far more memorable threat. It takes an especially evil man to tear hearts from chest, enslave little kids, and turn the hero to the dark side. Mola Ram is that man. Mola Ram is not complexly written. He gets a few lines about wanting his Thugee cult to overtake all other religions, especially western ones. Other then that, his motivations are kept vague. Instead, Ram stares insanely and fumes at the mouth. It’s enough. Amrish Puri – who is also famous in India for playing another villain in spy parody “Mr. India” – creates a fabulously intimidating villain. The Thugees prove to be worthy opponents to Jones, as organized and devious as the Nazis but somehow more frightening.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” deliberately contrasted the evils of the Nazi regime with the Jewish artifacts they sought. “Temple of Doom” doesn’t feature Nazis. The MacGuffin the hero is after is the Sivalinga stone, which is entirely the invention of the screenwriters. (Though the concept of the linga has legitimate roots in Hindu beliefs.) There’s no deliberate point being made with these ideas. Instead, “Temple of Doom” has another goal in mind: All religions are true. Shiva is as real as Yahweh. Just as the Ark of the Covenant brought holy hell down on the Nazis, the Hindu gods are invoke to perform miracles. It’s an interesting statement, even if it makes Indy’s skepticism in “Raiders” harder to justify.

For whatever flaws “Temple of Doom” may have, it’s action sequences are as fantastic as those in the first. The opening shoot-out in a Chinese casino features tommy gun bullets reflected off a giant, rolling gong. This leads into an exciting car chase through the street of Shanghai. The dive from the falling helicopter in an inflatable raft, as impossible as it might be, certainly makes for one hell of an image. Even the smaller action beats, like Indy fighting off a Thugee in his room which cumulates in some ceiling fan assisted strangulation, work fantastically. It all leads to that phenomenal adventure in the temple. There’s some great moments there, like a murderous Thugee yanked into a rock crusher. It all climaxes with the mine cart chase. Some of the optical effects haven’t aged the best but its still a hugely surprising sequence. The carts skid nearly off the rails, bad guys are tossed through the air, brakes sparks and wheels turn as red hot as the lave below them. Awesome.

That’s a hard act to top but ‘Temple of Doom” isn’t done piling on the awesomeness. After escaping the titular temple, Indy and friends find themselves faced with another classic image: The rickety wooden rope bridge suspended over a perilous drop. There’s was no way the movie was ending without covering that chest nut. Like every else, the film puts its own spin on it. Unlike the serials that inspired Indiana, “Temple of Doom” actually shows us what happens when the rope is cut. Better yet, Indiana does it himself, as a last ditch effort to stop the bad guys. Continuing the trend of giving the bad guy’s spectacular deaths, Mola Ram has his hand scorched by a flaming stone, falls down a gorge, slams his head into the rocky wall, and is eaten by crocodiles. It’s a send-off worthy of his villainy.

So what about Harrison Ford? How does he do on his second adventure as Indiana? Jones is only a year younger so he’s not too different, personality wise. He’s a little tougher and equally disbelieving of some of the crazy things he’ll soon see. Despite that, he still shows a considerable empathy. Once the villagers inform him that the Thugees have stolen their children, he’s moved to help him. He flies by the seat of his pants as much as before, improvising and outwitting his way out of crazy situation. About my only complaint concerning the prequel’s treatment of its hero is how it doubles down a little too heavily on the snake phobia.

As a kid, I loved “Temple of Doom,” the second Indiana Jones adventure clearly emerging as my favorite. Maybe the budding horror fan in me appreciated the edgier content. Maybe I just loved those mine cart chases. As an adult, I’m more aware of the film’s flaws. Yes, it truly doesn’t have as tight of a screenplay or as clear of a tone as its predecessor. Yet I still kind of love “Temple of Doom.” The second film does its best to match the heights of the original. In many ways, it succeeds, producing another exciting adventure with several unforgettable set pieces of its own. [Grade: A-]