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Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones is back for round two. The tale begins in Hong Kong in 1935. Indy is meeting with the Chinese Gangster Lao Che. However, Indy is poisoned and has to fight to obtain the antidote. An American singer performing at the club gets her hands on the medicine, and the two flee for their lives. Indy has a young boy waiting with a car outside to help them get away. The singer, Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott, and the little boy, Short Round, board a plane with Indy to get out of Hong Kong for good, not realizing the plane is owned by Lao Che.

The pilots bail out over India and the trio is forced to crash land. The first civilization they discover is a village full of people who believe Indy was send by the god Siva to help them in their time of crisis. A new maharajah has been crowned, and he worships the dark god. The cult that follows the dark god Kali (?) is collecting the unimaginably powerful Sankara Stones and has already located and stolen three of the five. The other two rest below the palace, buried for centuries. Ever since the prince took power, the village has been ravaged by famine, as their Sankara Stone was stolen. The villagers beg Indy to trek to Pankot Palace to persuade the prince to release their children, who were stolen, as well to dig to find the last two sacred stones.

This film is a dark mark upon the name of Indiana Jones. It strays completely from the Nazi archeology storyline, and is much the poorer for it. The female lead is annoying and abrasive -– completely unlike the strong female leads of the other two. The little kid comes from nowhere and is one of the most irritating characters committed to film -– along with the kid who plays the prince. The effects aren't top notch as it is in this trilogy, but this film takes the loser cake. The priest looks frequently constipated and most of the action is laughable. It doesn't even fit as a transition film. Not the worst movie ever, but certainly the worst of the trilogy.

Written by: Tracy Elledge

Reviewers Rating: 5
Reader's Rating: 9.33
Reader's Votes: 3

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