‘Temple of Doom’ is Underrated

With ’Dial of Destiny’ set for release this Friday, you’re going to be seeing a lot of publications ranking the five Indiana Jones movies.

I almost guarantee you that, in most of these lists, the five ‘Indy’ films will be ranked like this: 1) Raiders of the Lost Ark 2) The Last Crusade 3) Temple of Doom 4) Dial of Destiny 5) Kingdom of Crystal Skull

In my movie world, these rankings are semi-wrong, mostly due to my unadorned love for the underrated ‘Temple of Doom’ which, if it weren’t for the iconic nature of ‘Raiders,’ would probably be the best Indiana Jones movie I’ve seen.

Quentin Tarantino agrees. A few years ago he proclaimed his love for ‘Temple of Doom’ on the Reel Blend podcast with his Cinema Archives buddy, Roger Avary:

Because... [Spielberg] was full of piss and gauge, alright, on the case of back-to-back 'Jaws' and 'Close Encounters,' now he figures he could do no wrong, pushes the envelope, creates PG-13! The movie is so f****** badass, it created a new level in the MPAA! Something Brian De Palma's never been able to do as much as he's tried!

Here’s what I wrote on 01.25.23 —

Tarantino later admitted another tidbit that I, again, agreed with: He far preferred "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." "I don't like the Sean Connery one at all," he exclaimed. "That's such a boring one. It's boring! And [Connery's] not an interesting character. The joke is made immediately. It's like 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.'"

Yes, again, Tarantino nails the overrated “The Last Crusade” for what it is: dull. I know I’ll be in the minority on this one, but that third instalment was trying to go back to the safe entertainment of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ but failed miserably in trying to bring back that magic.

Spielberg hasn't been shy about his discontentment with "Temple of Doom," he told the Sun-Sentinel back in 1989 “I wasn’t happy with the second film at all. It was too dark, too subterranean, and much too horrific. I thought it out-poltered ‘Poltergeist.’ There’s not an ounce of my own personal feeling in ‘Temple of Doom.”

The 1984 prequel to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" might have pushed its PG-13 rating to the limit back in the day, a heart is literally pulled out of a living human's chest, but I found it to be an outrageously entertaining film filled with these incredibly thrilling scenes. In fact, Temple" is the only one of the three following "Raiders" that feels like its own movie.

I always thought the Indy movies lessened in quality after ‘Temple’’. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is pretty much perfection, one of the best action films of the 1980s. "Temple of Doom" is closest to the pulpy style of the serials that inspired Spielberg to make "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in the first place. "The Last Crusade" is too lighthearted, almost sitcom-like. Finally, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was a watchable attempt at reinvigorating Indiana Jones for the 21st century, but felt like a rehash of ‘Raiders.’