Film

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Conceived as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, this kids off in old Shanghai and quickly hotfoots it to the Himalayas in pursuit of another magical talisman. While the set pieces are as spectacular as ever (a neat Busby Berkeley pastiche of 'Anything Goes' as an opener, a corker of an underground helter-skelter ride), the intervening filler shows signs of desperation. Part of the trouble is that anything clearly does go, including the slender hold on credibility that Raiders managed to maintain. Gone is Karen Allen's tough, no nonsense heroine, and instead we have the off-putting sight of Capshaw wittering on about her broken nails. Foreigners are generally perceived as an exotic bunch who are essentially savages at heart. The thrills are there all right, and delivered by the hand of a master, but the frantic flash-bang-wallop sounds altogether more hollow than last time around.

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