There is a well-known fact that Steven Spielberg used his reputation to alter the way movies are rated with regards to parental guidance by helping to create the PG-13 rating. PG-13 was itself a response to two movies of 1984 with very complicated tones. The first was Joe Dante’s Christmas Monster classic Gremlins. The other was Spielberg’s follow up to his iconic 80s action hero.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a dark film. It deals with harrowing themes of human sacrifice, child labor, voodooesk mind control, and the unfortunate overuse of dated Indian stereotypes. But what really gets this one away from its original counterpart is how much more intimate and eerie the violence and gore is within this prequel than it was in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
When this movie came out, there were only G, PG, R, and X ratings for movies. Temple didn’t fit neatly into either the PG or R categories and while it ended up in PG it received complaints because of its violence, gore, and terrifying scenes. And while you can see some comedic slapstick in most of the horrifying antics of Temple there is that one scene that even if you haven’t seen the movie, you probably know. Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) leader of the Thuggee cultists, uses the magic of his malevolent goddess Kali to pull a man’s still beating heart from his chest and then chants to his devout followers as the man is lowered into magma and the heart catches fire alongside its now disunited owner.
And that moment, though gruesome, sets the stakes for the second half of the movie. It’s a simple and powerful way to show just how dangerous this is. The Nazi’s in Raiders had power and influence, but they did not have supernatural assistance even after finding the Ark of the Covenant. They cannot harness the power of gods. The Thuggee’s have this powerful extra layer of danger and later when Mola Ram puts his hand on Indy (Harrison Ford)’s chest, you wince in horror that Indy may not be able to fight this battle.
And that’s what changes in this movie from the first one. In Raiders Indy is the big hero, and he has to save everyone else all the time. In Temple it’s Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), a 9 year old Chinese boy, who has to come together and save the day, Indy included. And while you can find the character obnoxious and a bit of an odd companion when compared to the first movie, it is kind of the perfect addition to the story because Short Round is a highly capable child who still is a child, so he gets in trouble just as easily as you would expect while still knowing how to handle himself at times.
So you take a character of a child, put him in mortal danger, fighting alongside a Younger, more reckless version of a preestablished character and then place them against a cult that enslaves them both in different ways in order to assist with human sacrifices and bringing about the power of Kali Ma. And when you add in heart ripping gore, and harrowing death traps and yeah. The movie world needs a bit of a change. And thus PG-13 was born.
So, let’s break everything down.
All Spielberg movies will be judged based on the same five pieces of criteria.
Acting – Are the performances good and do they serve the story or are they distracting and awkward?
Story and Dialogue – Does the story being told make sense and is the use of dialogue allow it to succeed or does the story struggle and/or the dialogue drag it down
Shooting and Editing – How is the camera used, how are the shots arranged, what other elements are used to enhance the movie?
Design – How does the movie look? Does it help the movie or hurt the movie?
Iconic Moment – Spielberg has made several big iconic moments throughout cinema, what are they, how many of them are there, and which ones stand out the most?
All these criteria will be judged on a score of 10 for a total score of 50.
So here is my breakdown of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Acting – The acting in this movie is less stellar than the previous Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Ford is certainly finding the character but this younger Indy just doesn’t have the same presence as the first one. Ke Huy Quan is mostly fun but his occasional shouting gets annoying, and Kate Capshaw’s Willie Scott takes that a step further and just feels far too stereotypical compared to previous heroines. All in all it’s ok, but not up to the standard we’re used to. (7/10)
Story and Dialogue – Honestly the story feels kind of purposeless. Like the whole plot, while having some stakes, feels like it just doesn’t have a lot of reasons behind it and instead is very coincidental. And by the end I had kind of forgotten why the cult was even looking for all the stones anyway. And that made the movie feel forgettable in a way. (5/10)
Shooting and Editing – The shots in this are wildly exciting and the whole movie has suspense and care behind it. And when you dive into the cinematography, especially around the terror, it really works well. This movie actually has some incredible moments, and the editing really helps highlight those moments of excitement. (9/10)
Design – This movie looks good. But, there is also a major problem. The design around the Indian characters is wildly racist. The ones played by actual Indians are mired in stereotypes… and the rest are played by Caucasian actors in makeup… look I know it was the 80s but man there were some problematic choices and I just cannot reward this movie for that. (6/10)
Iconic Moment – I just spent a whole blog talking about Kali Ma. If anything else in this movie beats that for an iconic scene, I certainly don’t know what it is. So this one scores well here. (10/10)
Total Score: 37/50
Current Ranking:
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Jaws
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Duel
Twilight Zone: The Movie
The Sugarland Express
1941
We are now halfway through the Indiana Jones movies. So far this whole watch as been pretty good. Even the movies that aren’t as good are still pretty good Hopefully it only gets better from here.
So until next time, as I always say, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated
Ploominate 