"Temple of Doom" Does Not Live Up to Expectations

"Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" was a critical and commercial success. Harrison Ford carried the mantle of "action hero" skillfully, reminding us of his earlier days as Han Solo in the Star Wars movies. As Jones, the treasure hunter, we were entertained by an interesting plot, exciting action sequences and colorful characters. I was anticipating a similar reaction to "The Temple of Doom," the prequel to "Raiders": an intelligent, coherent story with great banter between Jones and his sidekicks. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed. What were Spielberg and Lucas thinking when they directed and produced this movie? The story unfolds a year before Indiana Jones encounters the Ark of the Covenant. He finds himself in a Shanghai night club attempting to trade an artifact for a diamond. The deal goes sour and Indy escapes with the nightclub singer, "Willie" and his sidekick Short Round. They board a plane which will eventually crash in the Himalayan Mountains. The threesome find themselves in a village with an evil ruler who's seeking the Sankara Stone. With this stone the possesser can rule the world. There are human sacrifices, gruesome rituals, idol worship, evil spells and other far fetched and distasteful scenes which turns one's stomach. If the point of this movie is to turn our stomachs, it clearly succeeded! While there are the usual exciting action sequences, especially the mine cart chase, it's not enough to boost the "plot" of this movie. Indiana Jones is much better showcased in an intriguing story with mystery and danger rather than wasting his time with a demi-God who believes in sacrifices and enslaving children. If there's another Indiana Jones movie, let's hope it will live up to the excellence of the first one.