Begins with a lengthy
mini-movie as outlandish and improbable as anything from a
James Bond film and is a roller coaster (sometimes literally) of action
for the final twenty minutes, but in between, INDIANA JONES AND THE
TEMPLE OF DOOM lacks the sense of fun, freshness and excitement that
made RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
great escapist fair. One might quibble about the need for the addition
of a
cute kid, a move usually reserved to bring artificial life back into a
franchise that is dying, but I won't accept any arguments about Kate
Capshaw, who
almost single-handedly makes it impossible to enjoy TEMPLE OF DOOM for
more than five minutes at a time. Spielberg's idea was for
Jones to have a different love interest in every film,
but Capshaw's whining, hysterical and over-bearing character will
have you pining for the more earthy charms of Karen Allen from the
previous film. In addition, with Indy merely stumbling into a
new quest, and the film's villains not fully revealed until mid-story,
TEMPLE OF DOOM lacks the focus of RAIDERS. TEMPLE OF DOOM
also ups the "ick factor" with long, tedious and sickening
sequences
featuring thousands of bugs and a royal banquet of live snakes and
monkey brains.
Worth watching for a handful of superior action sequences and
to see Harrison Ford growing into the part, but the weakest of the
four films. ½ - JB