Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom #PIReviews

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

By: Cameron Smith

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri

   Classic, classic, CLASSIC! I've seen this film previously, but this was an utter joy to re-watch post-childhood. 1984 gave us a myriad timeless films -- many of which were invaluable to my love for film: The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, The Terminator, (as expected) 1984, Gremlins, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Revenge of the Nerds, Sixteen Candles, etc.; but this film is the one closest to my heart. As a small child, my uncle would reenact the "Kali Ma" scene when tickling me (and continues to do so with my younger brother), and I also envied the character Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), wanting desperately to partake on such spectacles and befriend an archaeologist. More on Short Round, he was a perfect character for this film; every one-liner, and his chemistry with Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford) worked and made the film all-the-better. Furthermore, the character of Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) is a prime example of both a "dumb-blonde" and comic relief character -- as well as someone who makes you shout at the screen in suspense.

   Now, I hear all the time during "older" films how the effects are "outdated," and I do not want to hear a peep about that for this film! One can easily say: "this won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects?" Uh... yeah, any problem? The special effects here are timeless, flawless, and all-around beautiful; there is nothing outdated about them. The aforementioned "Kali Ma" scene is stunning, and is easy to take for granted in our CGI world. In fact, I can feel the heat of the Temple of Doom, something which I can seldom say for most films. Often do I wish that more films like this one were made today -- films which both give ode to cinema's past, and simultaneously use the innovations of the present. This film is both fun to watch and well made, something I wish Michael Bay films could be.