*May 20, 2008*The least liked of the three films, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had a hard act to follow. It really is impossibly to catch lightning in a bottle twice, so rather than trying for a similar home run, Lucas and Co. developed a story out of left field (I hate baseball). Indy is back in a prequel where he is looking for Sankara stones, but the film starts a bit rocky. It begins with a lousy musical, followed by a cool James Bond-ish scene and shootout, but then we start hearing Willie Scott talk...and talk...and talk. Her scream is grating and her constant whining makes us miss Marion terribly. But the other pieces of the puzzle remain in place. The damsel category is seriously lacking, but another awesome score, more cool stunts (mine car chase, jumping out the window onto the awnings, and RIPPING SOMEONE'S HEART OUT!). The film goes dark and stays dark, with kids in slavery and probably sexually abused. The scene where Indy drinks blood from a shrunken head then slips into a screaming nightmare is especially spooky. We still get more fun set pieces like the trap room and the bridge that is cut in half. All in all, a very capable sequel whose only major drawback is the utterly useless and annoying Willie Scott. B-
No comments:
Post a Comment