Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom (1984)

Preceded by: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Succeeded by: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Indiana Jones	Harrison Ford
Willie Scott	Kate Capshaw
Short Round	Ke Huy Quan	½
Mola Ram	Amrish Puri	-
Chattar Lal	Roshan Seth	-
Captain Philip Blumburtt	Philip Stone	-

Review

With its rather unsettling amalgam of children's program cuteness and a brutal, lighthearted delve into human sacrifice and torture, this sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark tries to be relevant and sharp by upping the ante. But it's all too gimmicky, from the unnecessary violence to the so-called romance between Indy and nightclub singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). Steven Spielberg obviously didn't feel confident that he would be able to recreate the swashbuckling nature of the original with this lightweight script and these wafer-thin characters, so instead he piled it on. The problem is that nothing in the storytelling feels honest, not even within the confines of the Indiana Jones universe. And it doesn't help the cause that every character in the movie is a stereotype and every attempt at suspense is a cheating ticking clock. The aforementioned Willie is particularly ludicrous – she's a good candidate for the worst female movie character of all time. An adorable Ke Huy Quan as Indy's little helper Short Round gives the film the little sweetness it has to offer and keeps it almost bearable for a while.