Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984)

Set in 1935, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is forced to flee Shanghai after a murder attempt on his life. Accompanying him are a nightclub singer (Kate Capshaw) and an orphan (future Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan). When the trio arrives in India at a small village, the villagers plead for Indiana's help in retrieving their kidnapped children and the village's sacred stone. Directed by Steven Spielberg, this was a sequel to the 1981 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The original reviews (and some of the public reaction) was rather hostile because of the violence and gore in a PG rated movie and this film was responsible for the creation of the PG 13 rating. It's over the top and outlandish but I've always liked it unlike the two horrid sequels THE LAST CRUSADE and THE CRYSTAL SKULL that came after. True, Spielberg overemphasizes the ick factor what with monkey brains for dessert, hearts ripped out of living people, cockroaches in the hair etc. but it remains an exciting and fast moving action adventure. The film's biggest flaw is the annoying female lead played by the uncharismatic Capshaw (I kept thinking how wonderful Bernadette Peters would have been in the role) who is shrill and brings no appeal to the part. The thrilling score is by John Williams and the handsome images by Douglas Slocombe (THE LION IN WINTER). With Dan Aykroyd, Roshan Seth and Amrish Puri.